Chapter Three
557 Words
I wore black.
A very simple black dress, but tight enough to remind him what he lost and long enough to stay professional. Heels sharp enough to cut glass.
Maya buzzed at 9:58.
“Mr. Rivers is here.”
“Send him in.”
The door opened.
Aaron walked in looking exactly the same and completely different. Same height. Same shoulders. Same face that used to make my knees weak. But the eyes were tired. The suit was expensive but wrinkled at the sleeves. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in weeks.
He stopped three steps inside the door.
I stayed behind my desk. I didn’t bother to stand neither did I smile.
His eyes moved over me slow. From my shoes to my face. I watched the moment it hit him.
His lips parted. No sound came out.
I let the silence sit.
Finally he spoke. Voice rough.
“Khia?”
I tilted my head.
“It’s Khai now. Sit down, Aaron.”
He didn’t move.
“You’re K. Voss?”
“That’s what the sign says.”
He walked forward like he was in a dream and dropped into the chair across from me. His hands shook when he put them on his knees.
I opened the red folder. Turned it around. Pushed it toward him.
“Four point eight billion. Hundred days. Tell me why I should save you.”
He swallowed hard.
“Because I’m f****d without you.”
I leaned back, crossed my legs slow.
“Wrong answer. Try again.”
He looked at me like I was a stranger. Good.
“I know what I did,” he said quietly. “I know I destroyed you. I know I don’t deserve this. But Empire is everything I have. My father built it. Thousands of people will lose their jobs. I’m begging you, Khia—”
“Khai.”
He closed his eyes. “Khai. Please.”
I stood up. Walked around the desk. Stopped right in front of him.
He looked up at me. Same eyes that once promised forever.
I bent down until my mouth was near his ear.
“You threw me away like garbage,” I whispered. “You let them kill my baby. You married my sister the same week I was bleeding in a clinic. And now you want my help?”
His whole body shook.
I straightened up.
“My fee is fifty million upfront. Another fifty if I win. Non-negotiable. Take it or leave.”
He didn’t even blink.
“I’ll pay.”
I smiled for the first time.
“Then welcome to hell, Aaron.
You just hired the one person who wants to watch you burn.”
I walked back to my chair and sat.
“Leave the cheque with Maya.
I’ll see you in court.”
He stood up slowly. Looked at me one more time like he wanted to say something.
I beat him to it.
“Close the door on your way out.”
He did.
The second it clicked shut, I let out the breath I’d been holding for eight years.
Tasha opened the side door from the conference room where she’d been watching.
She grinned.
“Damn, girl. That was cold.”
I looked at the city through the glass.
“It’s just getting started.”
- Writer
