Chapter six- Business,Not Pleasure
484 Words
The Sapphire Hotel boardroom smelled faintly of polished oak and fresh ink. A long glass table stretched across the space, surrounded by designers, investors, and project heads.
Ava took her usual seat near the end — neat notepad, tablet ready, hair tied in her signature sleek bun. She liked meetings orderly, focused, and silent.
That peace lasted exactly three minutes.
“Morning,” Cassian’s voice said as he slid into the seat beside her — because of course he did.
Ava didn’t look up. “You have a strange way of choosing chairs, Hale.”
He smiled, unfazed. “I choose the view I prefer.”
“Try choosing professionalism next time.”
He chuckled quietly, but to her surprise, when the meeting started, he transformed.
Gone was the teasing tone, replaced with something sharper, more precise. He spoke with confidence — not the arrogant kind, but the kind that came from knowing exactly what he was doing.
Every question the board asked, he answered smoothly. When a design challenge came up — one that had taken Ava’s team weeks to untangle — Cassian studied her sketches and offered a solution that was not only clever but efficient.
For the first time, Ava actually paused to look at him.
“You know architecture?” she asked, mildly impressed despite herself.
Cassian smiled faintly, keeping his voice low so only she could hear.
“Degree in business, minor in architectural design. My father believed I should understand what I invest in.”
Ava blinked, caught off guard. “That’s… unexpectedly reasonable.”
“I like to surprise people,” he murmured.
“You like to annoy them,” she corrected.
“Only you.”
She shot him a look that should’ve ended the conversation, but her lips twitched slightly before she could stop herself.
By the end of the meeting, the project director clapped his hands together.
“Excellent work today, everyone. Ava, Cassian — your coordination seems promising. Keep it up.”
As everyone began to leave, Cassian looked over with that infuriating grin. “See? We make a good team.”
Ava slipped her tablet into her bag. “It’s not a team. It’s business.”
“Then I hope business brings us together more often,” he said easily.
She didn’t respond, just walked out — heels clicking briskly against marble.
But behind her composed pace, her thoughts were annoyingly loud.
He was supposed to be just another smooth-talking investor.
So why did it bother her that he was actually good at what he did?
That night, Ava sat in her apartment, working late as usual, but her mind kept drifting back to the way Cassian had spoken — calm, respectful, sharp.
She shook her head. “Focus, Ava,” she muttered, dragging the cursor across her screen.
But for the first time, focusing wasn’t as easy as it used to be.
- Writer
