Ava had gone to his office to deliver the updated presentation files. That was all.
But nothing felt simple anymore—not when Ethan looked at her like that. Not when the air between them crackled with questions neither of them dared to ask.
"You're avoiding me," Ethan said, standing from his chair as she placed the folder on his desk.
She didn't answer. Didn't trust herself to.
He walked around the desk, slow and deliberate, until there was barely a breath between them. "Is it because of what I said… or what I didn't?"
Ava's voice trembled. "We shouldn't be having this conversation."
"You think I don't know that?" he muttered. "But you walk in here and I forget the rules. I forget the past and everything I've built to survive it."
Her heart thundered. She stepped back, but he followed. One step. Two.
Then—
He reached out, not roughly, but like a man losing a grip he never wanted to admit he had. His hand brushed her cheek, and instead of pulling away, she closed her eyes.
"We can't do this, Ethan," she whispered.
But it was too late.
His lips crashed against hers, and she met him halfway. Fire. Regret. Need. Memory. It was all there, tangled in a kiss they weren't supposed to want.
And then—
Just as suddenly, she tore away. "This was a mistake."
He didn't say a word. Just watched her walk out the door.
---
The next morning…
Ava kept her eyes on her screen, though she hadn't typed a word in fifteen minutes. Her fingers hovered uselessly over the keyboard, her thoughts tangled somewhere between shame and memory.
The kiss.
It played on a loop in her head. Ethan's touch. The heat. The silence that followed.
He hadn't said a word after she left.
And today, he hadn't even looked her way in the conference room. Not once.
She had thought maybe it meant something. That maybe… he still felt something real.
But maybe it was just a mistake. A moment of weakness for a man who regretted her.
The soft click of heels drew her attention. Several employees subtly straightened in their seats. Whoever it was had power written in every step.
Then the door opened.
Claudia Cole.
Poised. Elegant. Terrifying in the way only a woman with influence could be. Her designer coat fit perfectly, pearls glowing against her skin, and her eyes—cold, calculating—swept the room like a queen choosing who was worthy of being acknowledged.
They settled on Ava.
"Miss Bennett, is it?" Claudia said smoothly.
Ava rose slowly, confused. "Yes, ma'am?"
"I was hoping we could talk. Just a moment of your time."
A few heads turned. Ava followed the woman out of the room with hesitant steps, trying not to let her unease show.
Claudia didn't stop until they were in a quiet corner near the executive lounge. She turned, her smile tight.
"I've heard your name quite a bit lately," she said. "Though not from your work."
Ava stiffened. "If this is about the kiss—"
Claudia's eyes flashed. "It's about my son's future."
Ava blinked.
"Ethan is on the brink of a major transition. We've arranged a dinner tonight with the Van Allens. Elizabeth is… a far better match for him. Sophisticated, poised, politically valuable."
Ava's throat dried. "You're matchmaking him?"
Claudia's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Guiding him. The media, investors, board—everyone watches his next move. He doesn't need a scandal. Or a distraction."
Ava swallowed hard. "So you're here to tell me I'm… what? A mistake?"
Claudia tilted her head slightly. "I'm here to tell you that if you care about him, truly care… you'll step aside. You'll leave quietly. Before things become… complicated."
Ava's voice dropped. "You think you can threaten me into disappearing?"
Claudia leaned in, her words like ice. "Oh, dear. I don't need to threaten you. Life at the top is enough. Do you really think he'll choose you when everything is on the line?"
She walked away before Ava could reply.
But the words hit their mark.
Hard.
---
Later that day…
Ava was heading toward the boardroom to drop off some documents when she paused at the slightly open door to Ethan's private lounge.
She hadn't meant to listen.
But she heard Claudia's voice.
"She's not suitable, Ethan. You know that."
A long silence.
Then Ethan's voice, low and clipped. "It doesn't matter."
"It always matters. What you feel now will pass. She was a mistake years ago, and she still is. You'll thank me one day."
Ava's fingers curled around the folder in her hand. Her heart cracked in places she didn't even know were still vulnerable.
She turned away before she could hear anything else. Before she let herself hope for an ending that was never going to come.