I knew he must not feel the same. Two days of silence suggested otherwise. I had just been his latest flavor of the week. I had thought I was different. I had thought we had something special, but every hour that went by without a word just told me otherwise.
And so, I buried myself in work. If I kept busy, I didn't think quite so much about him or what I had said. Looking through witness statements and working on logistics kept me from remembering the smell of his hair and the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled. Quarterly reports banished the way his laughter made me smile. It was a blatant lie I told myself to make me feel better, but it was what got me through the day.
I had the choice to sit and mope, or to let the experience make me stronger. For once in my life, I chose stronger. I was going to use this as the opportunity to become the person I wanted to be. The person Aiden showed me I could be.
I was working hard on not letting anyone walk over me again. Not even Alexa. When I first met Aiden, I had believed I was worthwhile simply because he did. Now, I realized that even though he wasn't here or even still believed it himself, I did. I was worthwhile because I believed in me. If Aiden did nothing else for me, he at least gave me the chance to believe in myself. He had changed me and I was going to make sure it was for the better.
The coffee finished and my stomach grumbled. Kathryn had arranged for meals since we were all working late this week, but it wasn't time for lunch to arrive yet. I remembered seeing a pizza guy walk into the conference room late last night. If I was lucky, there still might be a couple of slices left. I set my coffee on my desk so I wouldn't have to juggle it and a plate, and went on the hunt for leftovers.
The conference room was a bust. All that was left of the pizza was empty boxes and bare plates. I sighed and headed for the library. Darcie usually had some cookies stashed in her desk. If I asked nicely and told her it would make me feel better about Aiden, she would happily give the me a couple to dip in my coffee while I worked.
“Lena,” Kathryn's voice called to me. I turned to see her standing with an older, sadder version of Aiden. Looking at him made my heart twist. He was so very much like the man I loved, and yet so very different.
“What can I do for you, Ms. McDonald?” I asked, putting on my best professional smile.
“Mr. Hayes was interested in getting a copy of all the meeting minutes as well as the updated litigation forms,” Kathryn explained. “Would you make sure they're on my desk by the time I return from lunch?”
“Of course.” I looked to Mr. Hayes and saw brown eyes where his son had beautiful hazel. “Do you need anything else?”
“You must be the woman Aiden spoke of from the conference,” Mr. Hayes said, evaluating me.. His voice was deeper and smokier than Aiden's.
I swallowed hard. “There were quite a few women at the conference,” I replied, dodging his eyes.
While I doubted Aiden could have meant anyone else, this wasn't exactly a topic I was ready to discuss in the middle of the hallway, especially considering I had no idea what Aiden would have told his father about me.
“We really should be getting to lunch,” Kathryn announced, stopping that path of questioning. “Thank you for those forms, Lena.”
Mr. Hayes gave me one last look turning to leave with Kathryn. He and his son had the same shoulders and walked with the same confident stride. Empty loss caught in my throat.
“There she is.” Alexa's voice cut through my hunger and heartsickness like a knife. If it had any more disdain, it would have melted through the floor. “There's Lena the paralegal.”
I had barely seen a perfectly curled eyelash of Alexa since arriving. One of the first things Kathryn had done upon arriving back was to send out a new team of lawyers to Houston. Alexa and the rest of the lawyers from the Houston group had been sent back to Chicago with their tails between their legs. Alexa had the good sense to stay down in the Dungeons and away from Kathryn's domain, which meant she had stayed away from me as well.
But now, she was standing in the middle of the hallway with Aiden.
Announcing my job title.
Now he knew.
My chest tightened and my stomach started flip-flopped so hard I was certain I'd never want to eat again. My forehead and stomach flushed with heat while my hands and shoulders turned to ice. He was here. Over two days of silence and now he was here, standing in my office building next to the woman who wanted to ruin my life.
He looked so handsome and fit the part of the billionaire perfectly today. There was no way anyone could mistake him for an assistant. He wore a strong black suit that fit him like the designer had made the suit with him in it. Silver cufflinks matched his tie and the ascot folded elegantly in his left breast pocket. I didn't know that a man could look that good in a suit without Photoshop.
His hair was neatly combed back and picture perfect. Not a honey curl out of place. He had shaved recently, so his jaw was smooth and clean under dark, unreadable eyes. It was the eyes that made my heart quiver. They were focused entirely on me.
“Imagine my surprise to find a billionaire in my office,” Alexa told the crowd starting to gather in the hallway. Gerald Hayes stopped in his tracks and turned to see what was going on, with Kathryn right next to him. He looked shocked. Alexa smiled at me like a snake. “He seemed to think it was yours, Lena. I informed him that paralegals don't have offices like lawyers do.”
I didn't move. She was baiting me and I wasn't going to take it. Besides, my body didn't seem to be working. I couldn't move and I certainly couldn't think of anything to say. All I could do was stare at Aiden. This was not the way I wanted him to find out I wasn't a lawyer, and this was most certainly not the way I wanted his father to find out who I was.
Alexa put her hand on Aiden's coat lapel. I knew they had met once at a legal function, but it still felt incredibly forward. She looked stunning in her pencil skirt and silk blouse draped up against him. Like something that belonged on a movie poster. “Whatever you need Lena for,” she purred to Aiden. “I'm sure I can do it better. She's barely more than a poorly trained secretary.”
There was no doubt exactly what she meant. Something inside of me broke free. Something that fed on hazelnut coffee from the blue cups.
“Shut up, Alexa.”
Alexa's hand didn't drop from Aiden's lapel, but she did startle. “What did you say to me?”
“I said shut up.” My tongue felt thick, but I wasn't about to stop. She was touching the man I loved. Even if he didn't want me anymore, there was no way in hell I was going to let her anywhere near him. I took a confident step forward, my head held high.