Chapter 197: You will notice me
Aveline walked the corridor with the kind of practiced grace that made men’s heads turn and women’s eyes narrow. She wasn’t in a rush, no, she let her heels click softly against the polished marble floors, savoring every step like a queen in her court.
In her hand, a slim file folder, one she didn’t need to be delivering, not to Ethan Anderson’s office anyway. But she had made a detour, charming another junior associate into giving it to her under the pretense of doing them a favor.
The real favor was for herself.
As she neared his office, the glass walls of the executive suite came into view, and there he was. Ethan. Sharp. Collected. Disarmingly handsome in a way that pissed her off, because no man had any right looking like that and not notice her, they always do.
Aveline slowed, her gaze lingering on him, the cut of his jaw, the way his brow furrowed when he made a point, the way his hand raked through his hair, frustrated but in control. A quiet kind of chaos lived under his skin, and it called to her, though she’d never admit it.
Through the glass, Ethan felt the weight of that stare before he saw it. His eyes lifted mid-sentence, locking onto hers.
For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then Ethan’s brow twitched, irritation flickering behind his gaze. What the hell is she doing here?
Aveline took that as her cue.
She pushed the door open with a polite smile, ignoring the tension slicing through the air.