His elevator. Of course, a man like him would think he owned everything, even the space people went to cry in fucking peace.
“I apologize if my human emotions are inconveniencing you,” I snapped, immediately regretting it. Insulting the CEO who just indirectly fired me probably wasn’t the wisest choice, seeing as though I was going to be on the job hunt the minute I stepped out of the building.
But instead of anger, I saw something that looked almost like amusement flicker across his face.
“You’re leaving,” he said, observing my box. “Fired or quitting?”
I scoffed. “Does it really matter?”
“It might,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug.
I studied him, trying to understand why Adonis Holland was even speaking to me, a nobody he’d, in a roundabout way, just had fired. Up close, his presence was even more intimidating—tall, with those penetrating brown eyes that seemed to see right through me. But there was something else there, too, a tension in his bearded jaw, a tightness around his eyes that spoke of stress beyond the usual CEO pressures.
“Fired,” I finally admitted. “Because my son was sick last night, and I was late this morning.”
Something shifted in his expression. “You have a child?”
“A son. He’s four.”
I don’t even know why I’m telling him this. It won’t change a damn thing.
He studied me for a long moment, and I felt stripped bare under his gaze. Then he did something unexpected—he reached out and took the box from my hands, setting it on the ground.
“What’s your name?” he inquired, unable to locate my badge since I’d dropped it inside the box.
“Sim. I mean, Simora. Simora Campbell.”
“Simora.” He said my name slowly, like he was testing how it felt on his tongue. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, stepping back until I hit the elevator wall.
He arched an eyebrow, seeming to realize how his words sounded. “A business proposition, Ms. Campbell. One that could potentially solve both our problems.”
My brows snapped together in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
Adonis Holland reached past me to restart the elevator, his dark brown orbs never leaving mine. Even the slightest eye contact sent an unexpected shiver down my spine.
“Follow me,” he instructed when the doors opened to the lobby. The look in his eyes told me it wasn’t a request.
And despite every instinct telling me to run in the opposite direction, I picked up my box and followed the most powerful man in the building out into the bright September morning, wondering what kind of proposition could possibly connect his world with mine.
Simora followedme out of the building with hesitation in every step, which was warranted. After all, we were strangers. But I planned to change that very soon. I slowed my pace, aware that I was walking too fast, a habit I’d developed from years of people struggling to keep up with me. Both my stride and my decisions tended to leave others breathless.
“Mr. Holland,” she called out. “Where are we going?”
I halted at the curb where my driver waited with the car door open and the engine running. “We’re going somewhere we can talk privately.”
Her no longer teary eyes—a warm amber color I hadn’t fully noticed in the elevator—darted from me to the sleekblack Bentley and back again. She hugged her sad little box of belongings closer.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” she said firmly.
Smart woman. Cautious. I found myself approving of her instincts, even as they inconvenienced me.
“The café across the street then,” I suggested, nodding toward an upscale coffee shop I’d never actually entered despite owning the building it occupied. “Is that public enough for your comfort?”
She considered it for a second, then nodded slowly. “Alright.”
I stepped closer and held out my hands to relieve her of the box, signaling for my driver to place it inside the car for safekeeping before following Simora to the café. Inside, it was all exposed brick and hanging plants, with the rich scent of fresh coffee beans permeating the air. The few patrons glanced up as we stepped inside, doing double-takes when they recognized me. It was one of the downsides of being featured inForbeslast month.
