His Favorite Confession

Rules of Engagement

The air in the glass office crackled with an intensity that felt almost physical.

"I don't think it's a joke at all, Star," Hayden repeated, his voice low and magnetic as he took another step closer. The lingering scent of sandalwood and cold rain clung to him, wrapping around Alora’s senses and making her pulse hum wildly.

Alora backed up half a pace until her spine touched the cool frame of the glass door. "You knew," she breathed, her fingers clutching her folder so hard her knuckles turned white. "You sat on that app listening to me vent about my terrible, tyrant boss, knowing the entire time that you were that boss!"

"I didn't know until late last night," Hayden said firmly, holding her gaze without a hint of apology. "When you told me about your new boss keeping you until past ten, and then I saw your signed audit file on my desk... the pieces clicked together. Do you think I planned this?"

"You could have told me this morning!" Alora countered, her eyes flashing with defiance. "Instead, you left a note on a file! You played with me!"

"I needed to see if the spirited, sharp woman who talks to me in the dark was the same woman who stood in my office looking like she wanted to throw a report at my head," Hayden said softly, a faint, genuine warmth softening the hard edge of his jaw. "And you are. Exactly the same."

Alora’s breath hitched. Her anger, which had felt like a shield just moments ago, began to melt under the sheer weight of his focus.

"This is unacceptable, Mr. Vance," she said, trying to regain her ground. "You are my employer. I am your senior analyst. The boundary between our professional lives and... whatever Echo was... has completely dissolved."

"Then let's establish new rules," Hayden replied calmly, resting one hand on the glass frame right beside her shoulder, trapping her in his space without touching her.

"Rules?" she echoed, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"Rule number one," Hayden murmured, dipping his head slightly so his dark eyes were level with hers. "In this office, between 9 AM and 5 PM, I am your CEO, and you are my best analyst. No special treatment, no easy passes."

"And after 5 PM?" Alora asked, her voice dropping to a breathless whisper before she could stop herself.

A slow, breathtaking smile spread across Hayden’s lips—a smile that transformed his intimidating features into something painfully handsome.

"After 5 PM," Hayden murmured, his voice dropping into that deep, velvet tone that had lulled her to sleep for months, "I am just Midnight. And you don't get to run away from me."

Alora stared at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Every rational part of her brain told her to put in her two weeks' notice, to run as far away from Vance Enterprises as possible. But looking into his eyes, hearing that familiar voice in person, she knew it was already too late.

She was hooked.

"I don't run," Alora said, squaring her shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. "Just don't expect me to make things easy for you, Mr. Vance."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Miss Alora," Hayden replied, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he stepped back, freeing her path to the door. "Now... go finish the revised projections. We have a late meeting tonight."