His Favorite Confession

Unmasked

Alora’s mind raced as she stared at Hayden. The air in the glass office felt suddenly too thin to breathe.

“Is something wrong, Miss Alora?” His voice was so soft, yet every syllable felt like a deliberate lure.

She swallowed hard, forcing her hands to stay still as she set the tea back down on his desk. "No, Mr. Vance. Nothing is wrong. I was just... surprised by your suddenly considerate gesture."

Hayden’s lips curled into a slow, tantalizing smile that sent a shiver straight down her spine. "I assure you, Miss Alora, I am capable of being considerate. Especially to people who work as hard as you do." He leaned back against the edge of his desk, crossing his ankles and resting his hands in his pockets. "Tell me... do you usually stay up past midnight working, or was yesterday a special occasion?"

Alora felt her breath catch. Was he asking as her boss... or as Midnight?

"I usually try to maintain a healthy work-life balance," she replied carefully, keeping her tone strictly professional. "Though lately, my evenings have been occupied."

"Occupied?" Hayden raised an eyebrow, his grey-blue eyes gleaming with amusement. "A boyfriend?"

"A personal matter," she countered, her chin lifting slightly. "If there isn't anything wrong with the supply chain breakdown, Mr. Vance, I should return to my desk."

Hayden didn't push. Instead, he simply picked up his pen and tapped it lightly against the mahogany surface. "Go ahead. But keep your phone nearby today, Miss Alora. I might need your input on a few late-breaking files."

"Of course, sir."

Alora turned and walked out of his office, feeling his gaze heavy against her back the entire way to her cubicle.

When she sat down, her hands were trembling slightly. She immediately opened her desk drawer, pulled out her personal phone, and opened Echo.

She stared at Midnight's blank profile picture. It’s impossible, she reasoned with herself, pressing her fingertips against her temples. Hayden Vance is a cold, ruthless CEO running a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Why on earth would he spend his nights on a random anonymous app talking to me?

Yet, as the afternoon wore on, every interaction felt like a game where only he knew the rules.

At 2:00 PM, he called her in to review a marketing deck. When she made a sharp, insightful point about consumer behavior, he looked at her with an intensity that made her cheeks burn.

At 4:30 PM, he walked past her desk and casually dropped a folder on her counter. "Page twelve. Check the references," he murmured as he passed.

When she flipped to page twelve, nestled between two dense statistical charts was a tiny, hand-written note on a yellow sticky tab:

Drink your tea before it gets cold, Star.

Alora’s heart stopped dead in her chest.

Her head snapped up toward the glass enclosure. Through the polished pane, Hayden was standing by his desk, looking straight at her. He slowly raised his black coffee mug in a silent, dangerous toast, a brilliant, breathtaking smirk gracing his features.

The blood rushed to Alora’s ears, a loud ringing drowning out the hum of the office AC.

He knew. He had known the entire time.

Her mind spun with a chaotic mix of absolute shock, embarrassment, and an electric wave of anger. The man she had been pouring her heart out to—the stranger who had listened to her complain about her "tyrant boss"—was the very tyrant himself!

She grabbed the sticky note, crumpled it tightly in her fist, and stood up from her chair.

Without waiting for an invitation, Alora marched straight toward his glass office, pushed the door open, and stepped inside, shutting it firmly behind her.

Hayden didn't look surprised. He set his mug down calmly, turning to face her with a cool, unbothered composure. "Can I help you, Miss Alora?"

Alora took two steps forward, throwing the crumpled yellow note onto his desk.

"You think this is a joke, don't you?" she demanded, her voice shaking with restrained fury.

Hayden looked down at the paper ball, then slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, his playful smirk fading into something much deeper, warmer, and undeniably intense.

"I don't think it's a joke at all, Star," he whispered, stepping out from behind his desk until he was standing just inches away from her. "In fact, it's the most real thing that's happened to me in years."