His Favorite Confession

After-Hours

The quiet hum of the executive floor settled back into place once the remaining executives cleared out. Alora stepped back from Hayden's embrace, smoothing down the front of her tailored blazer as she checked her wristwatch.

"If we linger out here in the open much longer, Marcus won't even need external consultants to figure out what's going on," she noted, though a playful smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Hayden offered a low chuckle, his hands sliding down to gently grasp her fingers before letting her go. "Let him look. Today proved that you handle yourself better than half the senior vice presidents on this floor."

"Handling a board room ambush is one thing," Alora replied, picking up her portfolio binder. "Handling whatever Marcus is planning next is going to require actual strategy."

"Then we strategize," Hayden said, his tone shifting back to quiet authority as he walked her toward the glass exit doors. "Dinner tonight. My place, eight o'clock. We map out his next move before he even has a chance to make it."

Alora met his gaze, feeling a rush of steady confidence settle deep in her chest. "It's a date, Mr. Vance."

By the time the clock struck five, Alora had cleared her desk and made her way down to the bustling lobby of Vance Enterprises. The evening air outside was crisp, carrying the distant hum of city traffic as commuters flooded the sidewalks. Yet, as she hailed a cab, her mind was already racing ahead to the evening—and to the man waiting at the top of the skyline.