The elevator doors slid shut behind me, but I was already regretting stepping into them.
Too late now.
The ride up felt too fast and too slow at the same time—like the building itself knew I didn't belong in this moment and was rushing me toward it anyway.
This can't be happening… if Adrian even gets a hint about this, he's going to lose his mind.
My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. I stared at my reflection in the polished steel doors.
Calm. Composed. Controlled.
Same lie as this morning.
By the time the elevator chimed, my heartbeat had already picked up speed.
The doors opened.
And I walked straight into chaos wearing a suit.
Phones ringing. People moving. Voices overlapping in a sharp, rhythmic kind of panic that only corporate floors ever managed to produce. Everything looked normal.
Which made it worse.
Because I knew something wasn't normal.
I didn't slow down. I couldn't. If I stopped, I might actually think about what "see you tonight" meant.
And I didn't have the mental space for that. Not right now. Not with—
I turned the corner.
My steps stopped.
Instantly.
Like someone had hit pause on my entire body.
There, at the far end of the glass-walled hallway, was Adrian.
Sitting in my chair.
Relaxed. One leg crossed over the other, sleeves rolled up like he owned the building instead of just inheriting half of it. Papers were spread in front of him, and he was speaking to two senior managers like they were reporting to him personally.
Because apparently, they were.
Of course he was here.
Of course today of all days.
My brain went completely blank for half a second.
Then came the reaction.
Shit.
I straightened immediately, forcing my expression back into place as I walked forward.
"Adrian," I said.
My voice came out steady. That surprised me more than it should have.
He looked up slowly, like he'd been expecting me. Like I was the interruption, not him.
"Well," he said, leaning back slightly. "Look who finally decided to show up."
One of the managers immediately stood straighter. The other looked between us like he was witnessing something he'd rather not understand.
I ignored them both.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
Adrian tapped a pen against the table once. Twice.
"Last I checked," he said casually, "this is also my company."
"It's my division's morning review."
"And yet," he glanced down at the documents, "you were late."
My jaw tightened.
I hated that he noticed.
I hated more that he was right.
I forced my voice to stay even. "I had an early meeting."
That made him pause.
Just a fraction.
His eyes lifted to mine.
"Did you," he repeated.
Not a question.
An evaluation.
A warning.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
My pulse, which had already been unstable since this morning, decided to make things worse.
I didn't blink. "Yes."
A beat.
Then Adrian slowly closed the folder in front of him.
That simple sound hit harder than it should have.
The managers quietly excused themselves, suddenly very interested in not being in the same space anymore. Smart men. I would've done the same if I could.
The moment the door shut behind them, silence dropped like a weight.
Adrian stood.
He didn't rush. He never did.
That was the worst part about him. Everything he did looked calm—even when it wasn't.
"You're getting sloppy," he said.
"I'm not."
He tilted his head slightly. "You walked in here like you were running from something."
"I wasn't."
Another lie.
He stepped closer.
Not threatening. Just… deliberate.
I held my ground anyway.
Adrian studied me for a moment, then glanced toward my desk—my space—like he was reminding me exactly what I was supposed to be.
In control.
In charge.
Untouchable.
"First day in your official role," he said quietly. "And you're already distracted."
That word again.
Distracted.
Zane's voice flickered in my memory without permission.
You seem distracted, Miss Gambino.
My fingers curled slightly at my side.
Adrian noticed that too.
Of course he did.
"What happened?" he asked.
Simple.
Direct.
Dangerous.
I exhaled slowly through my nose. "Nothing you need to worry about."
That earned me a look.
A long one.
The kind that used to make me fold when I was younger.
It didn't anymore.
At least, it wasn't supposed to.
"Everything in this building is something I need to worry about," Adrian said. "Especially if it affects you."
There it was.
The problem with him.
Control disguised as care.
Protection disguised as possession.
I stepped past him, heading toward my desk so I didn't have to keep looking at his face.
"I'm fine," I said again, sharper this time.
Adrian didn't move.
Which meant he wasn't convinced.
Which meant this wasn't over.
I sat down, pulling a file toward me just to have something to do with my hands. My brain still hadn't fully caught up from earlier.
See you tonight.
My eyes flicked to the glass wall instinctively.
Outside, the city moved like nothing had changed.
Inside me, everything had.
Adrian leaned against the edge of my desk now.
Too close.
Always too close.
"You're meeting with Genovese today," he said.
It wasn't a question.
My grip on the file tightened.
So he already knew.
Of course he did.
News like that didn't stay quiet in families like ours.
"Yes," I replied.
A pause.
Then Adrian's voice lowered slightly.
"Be careful."
Two words.
Simple.
But they didn't sound like advice.
They sounded like a threat to something I couldn't name.
I finally looked up at him again.
"I always am."
He studied me for a second longer, then straightened.
"Good," he said. "Because I don't have time for mistakes right now."
He turned to leave.
Then stopped at the doorway.
Without looking back, he added, "And Luna?"
I didn't respond immediately.
My name in his voice always meant something was coming.
"Yes?"
A beat.
"Don't let anyone make you lose focus."
And then he was gone.
The door clicked shut.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't peaceful.
It never was anymore.
I sat there for a moment, staring at nothing.
Focus.
Right.
I let out a slow breath and opened the file again.
But my eyes weren't reading anymore.
They were waiting.
For tonight.
For whatever Adrian was planning.
For whatever Zane had already decided.
And for the very real, very annoying truth I didn't want to admit even to myself.
My life wasn't just dramatic.
It was starting to feel like a trap I was walking into willingly.