CHAPTER FIVE
Aria’s POV
The red dress was still hanging in my closet. My fingers brushed it as I fished for the one cloth I wore almost every single time I had no idea what to wear to the office.
It was a simple black dress that clung to my frame like a second skin and made me feel confident.
“Why is that dress still in there?” Ethan yawned from the bed, reaching for his glasses as he sat up. “You said you were going to send it back.”
“I haven’t had the time to yet, honey,” I replied automatically, looking back at him with a small smile before proceeding to grab my pair of nude stilettos. “You know how hectic it has been in the office. The last thing on my mind is some silly dress.”
I hated lying to Ethan, but how else would I have told him that for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to toss it out? He was right the night I explained what the dress was for.
Kael was trying to lay claim to every part of me and I shouldn’t let him.
"You know what?" I started as I got on my feet, grabbing my already packed tote. "You can send it out as charity before you go to work today. I'm sure someone else needs it more than I do."
“You do not need it at all.”
“Right.”
Ethan pulled himself out of bed and planted a chaste kiss on my lips. “Have a great day, baby.”
I had a feeling that it was going to be the exact opposite. Maybe it had something to do with the quiet that had lasted for the past five days, since the dinner party.
Or not.
'Aria, whatever Kael says or does does not matter,' I whispered to myself as I got behind the wheel and pulled out of the driveway. I wasn’t selling my company to him and that was final.
By 9:05 am, I pulled up outside my building and made my way to the entrance, my tote slung over my shoulders. I walked past the huge lobby and got to the barrier.
My hands moved mechanically, retrieving my access card and swiping it across the screen. A loud groan responded and the screen displayed in caps.
ACCESS DENIED.
What the hell was happening?
The shrill of my phone reverberated in the empty space. Tiana.
“Where are you?”
“Don’t use the office line once you get in,” she said in one breath. “He is here already and an audit of the accounts is being carried out.”
I shook my head, confusion coursing through me. “What are you saying, Tiana? Who is…Kael?”
“Don’t freak out,” she continued. “Okay. Maybe freak out a little, but in a sexy way because I think that is the only thing that can get you a calm morning. He looks pissed. What did you do?”
“Tiana, who let him in?”
“Are you asking me who let the sexiest billionaire in the city in? Please!” I could hear the disdain in her voice. “And you’re going to want to fix your hair. Your daily hasty bun won’t do today.”
The line clicked dead, and I looked around in a frenzy. Anger bobbed under my skin. I counted one to ten in my head, then blew out a deep breath.
“Miss Vale!” I turned around and sighed in relief when I saw Mr. Cole heading in my direction.
“Who blocked my card?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing. I have no access in either.”
And that was when I finally took a good look at my surroundings. There was someone else occupying Mr. Cole's space. A man in his late twenties who looked overly qualified to be a doorman.
I walked over to him. “I need to go in. I am the CEO of the Vale Firm.”
“The CEO is already in ma’am,” he answered with a polite nod.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Are you Miss Vale?” His gaze strayed away from my face as he scanned a screen in front of him. “Right. He’s expecting you. This way please.”
It was strange that I was being led into my own building. Everything was off, and I soon discovered that the further we went. There was new security, and a new receptionist.
The new doorman escorted me to the executive boardroom, but just like every other part of the building, it was different too.
There was a new name on the door.
K. Knox.
Now, this man was just overdoing it.
I pushed into the boardroom, about to unleash my anger and pent-up frustration on him, but I halted in my steps the minute my feet touched the lush rug.
"The numbers aren't adding up. Get the team to do it all over again." Kael wasn't yelling, but his deceptively calm voice sounded scarier than anything I'd ever heard. This was a man who didn't just make threats. He followed through with them.
His frame blocked the sunlight coming in from the window, as he had his back turned towards me, his phone pressed against one ear.
Those hands.
I remembered how easily they had held me in place last night, forcing me into a dance I didn’t want to partake in. My face felt red as I recalled how he leaned in, the heat from his breath causing a little chaos in the pit of my stomach.
I had no idea he had ended the call, and turned around, his eyes now regarding me intently.
“You are late.”
“And how is that any of your business?” I shot back, despite the red patches I was certain were visible on my face from a mile away. “What are you even doing in here? I didn’t sign the contract.”
“I gave you one night.”
“I didn’t take it.”
He walked over to the imposing desk I was certain wasn’t there last night, plopping behind it.
“The papers have been signed by the board, Miss. Vale, the minute I reached out to them to supply the firm the money it desperately needed.”
I'd told them yesterday to give me a bit more time to find another buyer. How could they have done that behind me?
“Kael…”
“It is Mr. Knox now. I am your boss and you would regard me that way.” He placed his hands on the desk gingerly, leaning forward. “And if you can't do that, I suggest you clean out your desk. At least, while it's still yours.”