Room For One More

CHAPTER FOUR : Familiar Stranger

My heels clicked on the marble floor like a metronome of anxiety.

I hadn't slept. I blamed the hotel bed, but we both knew it wasn't the bed.

It was him.

Aiden's touch still lingered like perfume. Warm hands, teasing words, green eyes that had no right being so distracting.

I shook it off.

This was a new day. A clean start. One interview stood between me and the life I’d worked for.

I straightened my blazer and pushed through the double doors of ColeTech headquarters.

The receptionist smiled. “You’re Elena Okoye?”

“Yes. Here for the product design interview.”

“Take the elevator to the 12th floor. Mr. Cole is expecting you.”

Mr. Cole. Of course.

I nodded, heart racing, and stepped into the sleek elevator. Floor twelve. Breathe. Smile. Be brilliant.

When the doors opened, a woman in sharp heels and a colder smile greeted me.

“I’m Cassandra. Mr. Cole’s assistant. This way.”

Her heels clicked louder than mine.

We stopped outside frosted glass doors. She gave me a once-over, unimpressed, and opened them.

And there he was.

Behind a polished desk. In a full suit. Hair slicked back. Eyes unreadable.

Aiden.

I stopped breathing for two full seconds.

His face didn’t move. Not a twitch. Not even a blink.

“Elena Okoye,” Cassandra announced.

He nodded, eyes locked on mine.

“Thank you, Cassandra,” he said smoothly. “I’ll take it from here.”

The door clicked shut behind me.

And that’s when Aiden leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and said:

"So. how was the rest of your night?"