72737\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Ridley left his office to handle the emergency, I remained frozen for several moments, my arms still tingling where he\u2019d gripped them. I couldn\u2019t sort through the jumble of emotions\u2013anger at his intensity, confusion about his questions, and something else I refused to name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Work became my refuge. I buried myself in a project revisions, each completed task helping restore my equilibrium. The hours flew by in a blur of blueprints and material specifications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With Oliver back with his family, I\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0finally had the luxury of working late without worrying about rushing home. Before I knew it, the clock had struck 9:30 PM, and my growling stomach finally forced me to pack up my things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I opened my office door, I was greeted by darkness. The entire floor was deserted, with only the faint emergency exit signs providing any illumination. During my years at Wright Creatives, I\u2019d grown accustomed to working into the early morning hours\u2013a mandatory expectation from my adoptive family. Those nights had taught me not to fear the dark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I navigated the shadowy hallway with practiced ease, reaching the elevator bank where motion sensors finally triggered the lights. As I pressed the down button, I heard footsteps echoing from the darkened corridor behind me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While I wasn\u2019t afraid of the dark, I wasn\u2019t fearless either. The building should be empty at this hour\u2013who else would be here? I clutched my portfolio bag tighter and repeatedly jabbed at the elevator button, watching the floor indicator crawl: seven\u2026 eight\u2026 nine\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why was the elevator so slow? The footsteps grew closer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust now leaving?\u201d A deep, controlled voice emerged from the shadows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I jerked my head up to see Ridley stepping into the pool of dim light. His tall frame materialized gradually, the amber glow softening his usually stern features and casting a long shadow behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d I exhaled, relieved it wasn\u2019t an intruder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWaiting for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWaiting for me?\u201d I blinked in surprise. \u201cWhatever for?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo drive you home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley strode into the elevator that had finally arrived, as if his presence here at this hour was the most natural thing in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reluctantly joined him, feeling uncomfortable. \u201cMr. Sterling, I\u2019m perfectly capable of getting home on my own\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The implication wasn\u2019t subtle. A male CEO offering to drive a female employee home late at night? The scenario practically wrote itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have some work matters to discuss with you,\u201d he replied, his posture rigid and formal as we descended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I didn\u2019t know better, I might have believed him. But I hadn\u2019t forgotten how I\u2019d caught him watching me several times. Or that night he\u2019d almost kissed me. Or this morning, when he\u2019d momentarily lost control in his office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept a mental tally of these incidents, and I certainly wasn\u2019t going to invite trouble into my home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
::49 pm P\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 81\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s about work, we could discuss it back in the office,\u2018 I suggested diplomatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat works too. Regardless of how late it gets, Fil still drive you home afterward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 bit my lip in frustration. His intentions were becoming increasingly transparent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sterling,\u201d I said firmly, perhaps we should be direct. What exactly are you trying to do here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised an eyebrow. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I value my position at Nest Design. You\u2019re the CEO of Sterling Design Group, and I\u2019m just a project manager. Office rumors spread quickly when male executives show special attention to female employees. I\u2019d hate to find myself forced to resign over misunderstandings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His dark eyes studied me for a moment. \u201cYou seem awfully concerned about me seeing your home. Is there something there you don\u2019t want me to discover?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her defiance both irritated and intrigued me. Most women would jump at the chance to have me drive them home, yet here she was, practically accusing me\u00a0<\/p>\n
of harassment,\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched her eyes widen in disbelief at my question. Good. I\u2019d caught her off guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To my surprise, her expression shifted into a bright smile. \u201cIn that case, thank you for the ride, Mr. Sterling, I live in the Wicker Park apartments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her sudden capitulation was unexpected. So whatever\u2013or whoever\u2013she was hiding wasn\u2019t currently at her home. The thought inexplicably improved my\u00a0<\/p>\n
mood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked ahead to my car and settled into the driver\u2019s seat. When I noticed her reaching for the back door, I couldn\u2019t help but feel slighted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Unfinished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 81 72737\u00a0 After Ridley left his office […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}