The jet landed just after sunset.
The skyline of New York City glowed through the windows like a wall of light. Towers of glass and steel. Endless traffic. Endless movement.
Home.
Lillian sat quietly in the leather seat near the front of the jet, her laptop open but forgotten.
Sebastian hadn't spoken to her for almost the entire flight.
The moment they boarded, he disappeared into the private room at the back of the jet.
And he stayed there.
The door never opened.
Not once.
Lillian glanced toward it again.
Still closed.
Her stomach twisted slightly.
So he's back to normal, she thought.
Cold.
Distant.
Untouchable.
A few minutes later the pilot's voice came through the speakers.
"Mr. Wolfe, we've landed."
The door at the back of the jet opened immediately.
Sebastian stepped out.
His expression was the same as always.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Unreadable.
He walked past Lillian without slowing.
"Miss Parker," he said calmly.
She looked up.
"Yes, Mr. Wolfe?"
"Tomorrow's schedule."
She blinked, then quickly opened her tablet.
"Board meeting at nine. Investor call at eleven. Product review at—."
"That's sufficient."
He grabbed his suitcase.
"Be in the office at eight."
Then he walked down the stairs of the jet without another word.
Lillian stared after him.
That was it.
No mention of the trip.
No mention of the hotel.
No mention of anything that had happened.
It was as if the last few days had been erased.
She slowly closed her laptop.
"Right," she muttered quietly.
"Back to normal."
An hour later Lillian stood outside Chloe's apartment.
She knocked twice.
The door flew open.
Chloe stood there with messy hair and a curious expression.
"Well?" she said immediately.
"Well what?" Lillian asked.
Chloe grabbed her arm and dragged her inside.
"The trip!" Chloe said. "You disappeared for days with the most terrifying CEO on earth. Obviously I need details."
Lillian sighed and dropped her suitcase by the door.
"You're dramatic."
"I'm accurate."
They walked into the living room.
Chloe flopped onto the couch.
"So," she said eagerly.
"Start talking."
Lillian sat down beside her.
"You're not going to like it."
Chloe grinned.
"Oh, I absolutely will."
Lillian rubbed her face.
"Okay. First of all… I accidentally booked only one hotel room."
Chloe froze.
"You what?"
"One room."
Chloe's eyes widened.
"One room."
"Yes."
"With one bed?"
"Yes."
Chloe sat up instantly.
"You shared a bed with Sebastian Wolfe?"
Lillian groaned.
"Yes."
Chloe slapped a pillow over her mouth to muffle a scream.
"You shared a BED with your cold, terrifying billionaire boss."
"It wasn't like that!"
"You slept in the same bed!"
"It was a king-sized bed!"
"That doesn't help!"
Lillian buried her face in her hands.
"It was fine," she muttered.
Chloe leaned forward.
"Did he snore?"
"No."
"Did he talk in his sleep?"
"No."
"Did he cuddle?"
"CHLOE."
Chloe burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay. Continue."
Lillian sighed.
"There's more."
"Oh good."
"I found out something about him."
Chloe tilted her head.
"What?"
"He has severe insomnia."
Chloe blinked.
"Wait… what?"
"He barely sleeps," Lillian said quietly. "Sometimes he doesn't sleep for days."
Chloe frowned slightly.
"That explains a lot actually."
"Right?"
"But how did you find that out?"
Lillian hesitated.
Then she muttered,
"I drugged him."
Chloe's jaw dropped.
"You WHAT?"
"With his own medication!"
"That's still drugging!"
"He wouldn't sleep!"
"So your solution was crime?!"
"It was one tablet!"
Chloe stared at her.
"You're insane."
"He slept eight hours."
Chloe blinked.
"…okay that's impressive."
Lillian leaned back on the couch.
"He was furious in the morning."
"I'm not surprised."
"But he still went to the meeting."
Chloe smirked.
"Because of you."
"Don't say that."
"I'm just saying."
Lillian groaned again.
"And then something else happened."
Chloe leaned forward again.
"Tell me."
Lillian hesitated.
Then said quietly,
"He teased me."
Chloe froze.
"…what?"
"He teased me."
"Sebastian Wolfe teased you."
"Yes."
Chloe grabbed a pillow and squeezed it.
"What happened?"
Lillian sighed.
"He forgot clothes when he went to shower."
"Okay…"
"So he called me to bring some."
"And?"
"He opened the door wearing only a towel."
Chloe's eyes widened dramatically.
"Oh my god."
"And when I looked at his chest—."
"You looked at his chest?"
"Of course I looked at his chest! It was right there!"
Chloe grinned.
"So?"
"So he noticed."
Chloe leaned forward slowly.
"What did he do?"
Lillian covered her face.
"He told me I could touch it."
Chloe screamed.
"WHAT?!"
"Quiet!"
"You're kidding!"
"I wish!"
Chloe fell back onto the couch laughing hysterically.
"Sebastian Wolfe told you to touch his chest."
"Yes!"
"That is the best story I've ever heard."
Lillian groaned again.
"It was embarrassing."
Chloe wiped tears from her eyes.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Does he have a nice chest?"
Lillian opened her mouth to argue.
But then she accidentally said,
"…yes."
Chloe smirked.
"Aha."
Lillian froze.
"Oh no."
"You said it."
"I didn't mean to!"
"You absolutely meant to."
Lillian buried her face in a pillow.
"He has a very good body," she admitted weakly.
Chloe laughed again.
"Your terrifying CEO is hot. Noted."
But then Lillian slowly lifted her head.
Her smile faded slightly.
"There was something else."
Chloe tilted her head.
"What?"
"I saw a scar."
"A scar?"
"On his back."
She traced a line down her own spine.
"It ran all the way down here."
Chloe's expression changed immediately.
"Oh."
"What?"
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
Chloe stared at her.
"Wait."
"You seriously don't know?"
"Know what?"
Chloe blinked.
"You're his secretary."
"Yes."
"And you've never heard the story?"
"What story?"
Chloe shook her head in disbelief.
"How do you not know this?"
"Chloe."
"What?"
"What happened to him?"
Chloe hesitated.
"I don't know the full story."
"Just tell me."
Chloe sighed.
"It's mostly office gossip."
"I don't care."
Chloe leaned back slightly.
"When Sebastian was thirteen… he was in a car accident."
Lillian froze.
"A bad one."
Her stomach dropped.
"How bad?"
"Bad enough to damage his spine."
Lillian's eyes widened.
"That scar you saw?"
She nodded slowly.
"That's probably from the surgeries."
"S-surgeries?"
"Yeah," Chloe said quietly. "Apparently he had multiple operations to fix the damage."
Lillian felt a chill run down her spine.
"He was thirteen."
"Yeah."
"And that's not the worst part."
Lillian looked up.
"What do you mean?"
Chloe hesitated again.
Then said softly,
"His mother died in that accident."
The room went completely silent.
Lillian stared at her.
"She… died?"
Chloe nodded slowly.
"That's what people say."
Lillian sat there in stunned silence.
She suddenly remembered Sebastian's cold eyes.
His constant exhaustion.
His insomnia.
The nightmares.
And now the scar.
All of it suddenly felt heavier.
More complicated.
"I didn't know," she whispered.
Chloe studied her carefully.
"You really didn't?"
Lillian shook her head slowly.
"No."
She looked down at her hands.
"I didn't know anything about him."
And for the first time since meeting Sebastian Wolfe…
Lillian Parker began to realize just how little she truly understood about the man she worked for.