Clark's POV
Kelvin didn't bother knocking before walking into my office. He never did.
"You called?" he asked, dropping into the couch opposite mine like he owned the place.
I turned back slightly, studying him.
Kelvin leaned back lazily on the leather couch in my office, one ankle resting on his knee as he watched me pace like a man with unfinished business.
"You've been doing that for the past five minutes," he said dryly. "Either sit down or wear a hole into your Italian floor."
I ignored him.
Aria Wynter. Even her name carried weight.
"She came here on her own," I muttered, more to myself than to him.
Kelvin raised a brow. "Who?"
"Her name is Aria Wynter," Clark said flatly.
Kelvin didn't blink. "I know who she is."
"I want her close. Inside the company. Secretary position, like a CEO secretary."
Kelvin was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned forward and picked up the glass of whiskey that Clark hadn't touched and took a slow sip himself. He set it down.
"So you're doing it."
"I already decided months ago."
"You decided months ago," Kelvin repeated slowly.
I stopped pacing. There was a pause. Then….
"Well…..that's convenient." I shot him a look.
"Convenient?" I repeated coldly.
He shrugged. "Isn't that what you've been waiting for? The perfect opportunity just walked into your company in heels and desperation."
My jaw tightened. He wasn't wrong. I had previously hired detectives to find out some clues about the Wynter family, but it was as if they had disappeared from the Earth's surface.
But something about the way he said it irritated me.
"She was here for a job," I said flatly. "Not for whatever you're implying."
Kelvin chuckled. "Everything is for something when it comes to you, Clark. Don't pretend this isn't falling perfectly into your revenge plan."
I walked over to my desk, pouring myself a glass of whiskey I didn't need.
"I've already decided," I said.
"Oh?" Kelvin leaned forward now, interested.
"That's risky."
I scoffed. "No. It's efficient."
Kelvin stood up now, his playful demeanour fading into something more serious.
"Clark," he said, "bringing her close isn't the problem."
I took a sip of the whiskey, unfazed.
"It's what happens when you keep her there."
I set the glass down slowly.
"I don't get attached."
Kelvin let out a short laugh.
"Yeah? Because from where I'm standing, you looked pretty damn interested downstairs."
My eyes snapped to his.
"That was nothing."
"Sure."
"She's a target. Nothing more."
Kelvin shook his head, running a hand through his hair.
"You keep saying that like it'll make it true."
Silence stretched between us.
"I need you to look into her."
Kelvin raised a brow. "You don't usually sound like that unless it's business… or trouble."
"It's both."
That got his full attention.
I slid a file across the desk toward him. He opened it, scanning the contents briefly before his eyes flicked back up to mine. He read aloud slowly.
There was a pause. Then he leaned back, letting out a low whistle. "Well… this just got interesting."
"I want everything," I said coldly. "Daily routine. Friends. Weaknesses. Anything that can be used."
Kelvin shut the file halfway, studying me carefully now.
"Used?"
"Yes."
He tapped the file against his palm thoughtfully. "Clark...this isn't just business, is it?"
I didn't respond.
Kelvin exhaled. "This is about Selene."
Still silence.
"That means revenge," he continued. "Which means you're planning something dangerous."
I leaned forward slightly, my gaze hardening. "I already have a plan."
Kelvin's jaw tightened. "And where does Aria fit into this plan?"
"She's the key."
A long silence stretched between us.
Kelvin shook his head slowly. "I don't like this."
"That's not your job."
"My job," he shot back, sitting upright now, "is to stop you from doing something you'll regret later."
"I don't regret anything."
Kelvin let out a dry laugh. "That's exactly what people say before everything goes to hell."
I stood up, walking toward the window. "Her family f*cking destroyed Selene's life."
"That's what you believe," Kelvin corrected.
I turned sharply. "It's not a belief. It's a fact."
"According to who?" Kelvin asked.
I didn't answer.
And that alone told him everything. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"This is Evans, isn't it?"
My silence confirmed it.
Kelvin scoffed lightly. "That man gives me bad vibes, Clark. I've told you before."
"He has no reason to lie."
"Everyone has a reason to lie," Kelvin said flatly. "Especially rich, powerful men with secrets."
I walked back to the desk, my expression unreadable. "Just do what I asked."
Kelvin didn't move.
Instead, he looked at me…really looked this time.
"And what happens after?" he asked quietly.
I frowned. "After what?"
"After you use her," he said. "After you drag her into whatever revenge plan this is."
His voice dropped.
"What happens if she's not what you think?"
Something about that question irritated me.
"She is," I said banging my hand on my desk.
"And if she's not?" he pressed.
I didn't hesitate. "Then it changes nothing."
Kelvin stared at me for a long moment… before finally nodding.
"Fine," he said, picking up the file again. "I'll dig."
You've been planning this for two years," Kelvin said quietly. "Two years of information, of strategy, of letting Evans whisper things in your ear until you were convinced that the Wynter family destroyed Selene's life. Two years of deciding that Aria Wynter was a pawn you could position on a board."
I said nothing.
"And now you've seen her," Kelvin continued. "And instead of the enemy you built up in your head, you met a girl who was late to an interview because of traffic, who stood outside a locked door and still refused to give up, who bumped into you in a lobby and apologised twice even though she was already embarrassed." He paused. "That's who you're planning to destroy."
"I'm not destroying anyone." Clark's voice was even. "I'm marrying her."
The room went still.
Kelvin looked at him for a long moment.
"Clark."
"It's a contract marriage. Controlled. Strategic. It puts pressure on her family, gives me access to…."
"I know the plan." Kelvin's voice was low now. "I helped you build it, remember? I'm the one who ran the background check on her father. I pulled the financial records. I sat in this same room while you outlined every step." He exhaled. "I'm asking you if you still believe it."
My eyes narrowed. "What kind of question is that?"
"The kind I need you to answer honestly. Not strategically. Honestly." Kelvin held his gaze.
"Evans told you a story. A convincing one. About Selene's parents. About what the Wynters supposedly did. But Clark...we've never verified it independently. We've taken Evans at his word this entire time and you know that."
I stood up and moved back to the window.
"Selene confirmed it," I said, my voice quieter now.
"Selene confirmed what Evans told her." Kelvin stood too. "That's not the same thing. Selene is grieving and angry and her uncle handed her someone to blame. That's not evidence. That's manipulation."
"So you think I'm wrong."
"I think," Kelvin said carefully, "that you are the most calculated person I have ever known, and that this is the one situation where you stopped calculating and started feeling. And that terrifies me. Because you are about to make a move that will affect a real person's life...a person who, from everything I can see, has done nothing wrong; and once you make it, there is no coming back from it."
I became silent for a long time. The city blinked below me.
"She will sign," I finally said.
"Her family needs the money. She'll see it as a lifeline."
"She'll see it as a lifeline," Kelvin echoed, his voice hollow. He picked up his jacket from the arm of the couch. "And what will she see it as when she finds out the truth?"
I didn't answer.
Kelvin paused at the office door. "I'll be in your corner, Clark. I'm always in your corner. But I need you to know that I think this is wrong." He looked back once. "I need you to at least know that."
The door clicked shut behind him.