Part 9 –
The next day brought no texts.
No knowing glances. No veiled teasing.
Just silence.
The kind that made Lila question everything that had happened in Ethan's office the whiskey, the look, the heat. Was it a mistake? A test? Another power play in a building where loyalty was currency and intimacy a liability?
She pushed it all down and threw herself into her work.
Because that was safer than wanting more.
Wolfe Enterprises – Gala Command Center
The newly assigned planning room once a bland boardroom—had been transformed into Lila's unofficial war room. Whiteboards lined with mood boards and timelines, digital displays playing walk-throughs of the ballroom design, and folders stacked with last-minute approvals and contracts.
She was standing in front of the floor plan, mid-conversation with the audio team, when the air in the room shifted.
She didn't need to turn around to know he was there.
"Lila," Ethan said, voice low.
Her team went quiet. Eyes flicked toward him. Then to her.
She turned calmly. "Yes?"
"We need to discuss the security walkthrough for the VIP section. In private."
There was no heat in his voice now. No flirtation. But she saw it in his eyes tight behind the calm. Controlled, but only just.
She nodded. "Of course."
Downstairs – The Ballroom (Under Construction)
The massive ballroom was in full setup mode crates being unpacked, ladders climbing toward lighting rigs, florists arranging mock centerpieces, and designers checking acoustics.
Ethan led her to a quieter corner of the space near the stage where no one could overhear.
But the moment they stopped, the act dropped.
"You disappeared," he said.
"I was giving you space," she countered. "Wasn't that the unspoken rule?"
"I didn't ask for space."
"You didn't say anything." Her voice rose slightly before she caught it.
He stepped closer. "If I let this go any further, I won't be able to stop. You understand that, don't you?"
Lila swallowed. "I'm not asking you to stop."
That admission bare and honest hung between them like a match lit in the dark.
"I can't afford to lose focus," he said.
"Then don't," she whispered. "But don't pretend like this is one-sided."
Ethan's hand twitched, like he wanted to reach for her but didn't trust himself. "There are things about me, Lila about my past that you don't know. Things that could hurt you."
Her heart stilled. "Try me."
A beat of silence.
Then: "This isn't a fairy tale. I'm not a prince, and you don't want to be part of the kingdom I've built."
She shook her head slowly. "I never asked for a prince. I just want to know if the man in front of me is real. Or if it's all just strategy."
Ethan's eyes darkened, unreadable. "You don't want real, Lila. Trust me on that."
She took a step forward. "I do. Especially if it's you."
And in that second, the mask cracked.
Just a fraction.
He looked away first.
But not before she saw it the fear behind the fire. The vulnerability in a man who had built his world on control and solitude.
Later That Evening – Wolfe Penthouse
Ethan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, tie gone, shirt sleeves rolled to his forearms. The city below shimmered, oblivious to the storm inside him.
He could still hear her voice "I do. Especially if it's you."
No one had ever said that to him before.
Not without wanting something in return.
Lila didn't play games. She didn't flirt for advantage or dance around the truth.
And that terrified him more than anything.
Because it meant what he felt might actually be real.
And Ethan Wolfe hadn't let anything real touch his heart in a very, very long time.