Contracted Obsession

Chapter 2: Top Floor

I stood in front of the gleaming black skyscraper at exactly 9:58 PM, rain still dripping from my hair.

Vale Tower stabbed the night sky like a blade. The lobby lights glowed cold and expensive. Two security guards eyed me like I was already a problem.

I clutched the USB drive in my pocket like a lifeline and walked in.

The elevator ride to the top floor took forever. Soft music played. My reflection in the mirrored walls looked like a drowned rat — split lip, bruised cheek, eyes too wide.

The doors opened straight into a massive office that smelled of leather and power.

He was waiting.

Nash Vale sat behind a desk that could probably buy my entire apartment building. Black suit, no tie, top button undone. Dark hair perfectly in place even at this hour. His face was all sharp angles and controlled lines.

He didn’t stand up. Just watched me step out of the elevator with eyes so dark they looked black.

“Miss Sinclair,” he said, voice low and smooth, like velvet wrapped around steel. “You’re on time. I like that.”

I stopped ten feet away, heart banging against my ribs. “Let’s skip the pleasantries. Call off your dogs. My sister stays out of this.”

One corner of his mouth lifted — not quite a smile. More like he found me mildly entertaining.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. “Two-point-four million is a lot of money. Your father owed it. Then he chose the easy way out.”

My hands curled into fists. “He didn’t kill himself. You know it. I know it. That’s why I have this.”

I pulled the USB from my pocket and held it up.

Nash’s gaze dropped to it for half a second. When his eyes came back to mine, something had shifted. Sharper. Hungrier.

“Sit,” he ordered quietly.

I stayed standing. “I’m not your employee.”

“Not yet.”

The word hung between us. Heavy.

He rose slowly. God, he was tall. Broad shoulders filled the suit like it was made to threaten. He walked around the desk and stopped right in front of me — close enough that I caught the faint scent of his cologne, something expensive and dangerous.

“You sent that email because you’re desperate,” he murmured, looking down at me. “Desperate people make mistakes. Like walking into my building alone.”

My breath caught. I lifted my chin. “I’m here to make a deal. Erase the debt. Leave my sister alone. And I’ll give you the drive and walk away.”

He reached out and brushed a wet strand of hair from my cheek with his thumb. The touch was light, but it sent electricity racing down my spine. I jerked back.

Nash didn’t follow. He just studied me like I was a puzzle he’d already decided to solve.

“Interesting,” he said softly. “Most people beg. You negotiate.”

“I’m not most people.”

“No,” he agreed, and that almost-smile returned. “You’re not.”

He turned and walked back to his desk. Opened a drawer. Pulled out a single sheet of paper and slid it across the surface toward me.

“Sign this and the debt disappears tonight. Your sister never sees another collector. You get a new apartment. New life. All expenses paid.”

I stepped closer against my better judgment and scanned the document.

It wasn’t a simple agreement.

It was a contract. One year. Personal assistant to Nash Vale. Live-in. Full access to his properties. Non-disclosure that could bury me forever. And one line that made my stomach drop:

“Exclusive availability to Mr. Nash Vale at all times.”

I looked up at him. “This is basically selling myself.”

He tilted his head, eyes never leaving mine. “It’s saving yourself. And your sister.”

The silence stretched.

I picked up the pen he’d left beside the paper. My fingers hovered.

Before I could decide, his phone buzzed on the desk. He glanced at it once, then ignored it.

But I saw the name on the screen.

Mia Sinclair – Emergency Contact Alert.

My blood ran cold.

Nash noticed my reaction. His voice dropped lower. “Time’s ticking, Ava. What’s it going to be?”

I stared at him, pen trembling in my hand.

He wasn’t just offering to clear my debt.

He was offering to own me.

And the worst part?

A tiny, terrifying voice in my head whispered that part of me wanted to find out what that felt like.