Page 6 of All That She Needs

"I have to go. I have a meeting at nine," Aiden announced, giving me one last lingering kiss before turning to the kids. "Stay out of trouble, you two."

With that, my husband left for work, taking a piece of my heart with him.

And I worried, all over again, if he would come back to me.

*** *** ***

I stared at the new sign that was plastered in the lobby of my office building while I was waiting for the executive lift to arrive. InfiniTech. I recalled the news I read about them a few weeks ago about the company being founded by a software engineer, a genius young man named Liam Banks, who had big ideas and bigger dreams. He brought in a few friends to work with his idea and created a cloud program named InfiCloud. That product was his big break, which quickly caught the eye of major investors. In a brief span of six years, InfiniTech proudly secured a spot on the Forbes list of the world's top 100 cloud companies.

InfiniTech had moved in right across from my office, taking one and a half floors in the building. The company I worked for was one of the largest steel manufacturers in the world, and we had taken up six and a half floors. The half-floor penthouse was reserved for my office, the rest of the board of directors, and two conference rooms. InfiniTech had set up shop in the other half, which meant their executives—and, of course, the founder—would share the executive elevator with me.

I glanced around the busy lobby, half-expecting to spot someone from InfiniTech standing by my side, waiting for the executive elevator. But for now, it was just me.

The elevator finally arrived, and I stepped inside. Just as I turned around and was about to press the button for my floor, I saw someone running towards me, shouting, "Hold the door!" I frantically searched for the open button, pressed it, and watched as a tall, broad-shouldered man in a black hoodie with the InfiniTech logo on the left chest and faded black jeans ran faster and jumped into the elevator. "Thank you," he wheezed, clearly having been running for quite a while.

"You're welcome," I muttered, wondering if this young man was the famous Liam Banks that everybody was talking about.

He stood beside me and glanced at the panel on the wall, noticing that we were headed to the same floor, out of the two floors this elevator served. His eyes then returned to me, and he turned his body to face me. "Hi," he said, flashing a set of perfect teeth. "We're neighbors."

"Yes," I replied, "apparently we are."

He extended his hand toward me. "I'm Liam. Nice to meet you."

So, this was the famous founder of one of the most successful startups in the world—the man people couldn't stop talking about. I had read plenty of articles about InfiniTech, but Liam was never in the spotlight. I'd seen no pictures of him; it was always someone else from his team in the media, and he was only mentioned by name. He seemed to prefer working behind the scenes, focusing on the magic he was creating rather than basking in the attention.

He was young, likely in his late twenties or early thirties, and incredibly attractive. Sharp angles and high cheekbones defined his face, made even more striking by the buzz cut he was sporting. A pair of thick, perfectly arched brows caught my attention, making me wonder if he took the time to trim them. But it was his turquoise-colored eyes that truly stood out—unlike any I'd seen before—framed by dark, thick lashes that seemed almost too luxurious for a man.

And then there was his presence. He was intimidatingly tall, and even in those baggy clothes, I could tell he was built. The defined muscles were unmistakable, and the air of alpha-male confidence rolled off him in waves. He was the kind of person who commanded a room without saying a word.

I shook his hand, noting the firm grip. "Asha."

"Asha," He muttered my name back at me, each syllable slowly rolling out of his lips as if he wanted to test how it sounded coming from his mouth. Liam glanced around the glass walls of the elevator, his gaze wandering over the sleek, modern design of the building.

"This place is impressive, isn't it?" he said, nodding appreciatively. "I thought it might be too much for us at first, but the building management was eager to have us here. They offered us a great deal." I could understand why. His company had been in the news constantly, and having them in the building would undoubtedly boost its image.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," I agreed. "It's been home for me for a while now."

He smiled, leaning back to the railing that protected us from the glass wall, and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were looking at me a little too intensely. "I can see why. There'sa certain charm here, even with all the glass and steel. I guess we're lucky to be in this building."

I nodded, my eyes drifting to our reflection in the elevator doors. He was looking at it too, and I noticed him sizing me up from head to toe through the mirror, completely unapologetic. His confidence was impressive. Then he met my eyes in the reflection and said, "You must be with Fortis Steelworks, since we're on the same floor."

"Yes," I answered curtly, feeling uneasy under his gaze.

The elevator dinged softly, signaling that we had reached our floor. The doors slid open, revealing the hallway that led to our offices. As we stepped out, Liam turned to me with a smile. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other," he said.

I nodded, unsure of how to respond. "I suppose so. Anyway, welcome to the building."

"Thank you, Asha." His voice was deep and smooth like honey, and the way he huskily said my name made my cheeks flush. "Have a nice day."

He walked to his door as I walked to mine, and as I pushed the glass door open, I could feel his gaze boring into my back, propelling me to look over my shoulder. I found him standing there, his back straight, his hand holding the handle to his office, looking at me with a kind of gaze that I couldn't understand. He gave me another smile. I replied, with a confused nod. Then I went in.

The rest of the days were uneventful, marked only by the usual grueling meetings that seemed to drag on endlessly. I was exhausted—always exhausted these days—and at thirty-nine, I wondered if it was time to consider retirement. I had accumulated more wealth than I knew how to spend, and theidea of staying home, tending to my beloved garden, seemed increasingly appealing.

But then I thought about the time I'd have on my hands—time that would inevitably be filled with worrying about where Aiden might be at any hour of the day. I could already imagine myself spiraling into paranoia and doubt, driving myself crazy with endless speculation.

I glanced at the clock on my desk, noting that it was already almost six p.m. If I left now, I'd get home around six-thirty. But at that hour, the house would likely be empty. Kayden had basketball practice, and Chloe was at ballet. As for Aiden... I did not know if he'd be home. His schedule remained unpredictable, though lately, he came home in time for dinner more times than he ever did.

The idea of coming home to an empty house, not knowing where Aiden was, made me uneasy. Last night had been one of those rare moments where we really connected, and it left me torn between hope and fear. I didn't want to fall back into being ignored again. I wasn't sure I could handle it. Maybe it was better to stay at the office longer and get through the emails I still needed to read.

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