KISS'S POV
The office was unusually quiet, a low hum of air conditioning and distant typing filling the space. My heels clicked softly against the polished floor as I made my way toward Adrian's office. My stomach was a mix of nervous anticipation and lingering adrenaline from the confrontation with Ashley earlier.
I had tried to focus on my work all morning, burying myself in emails, schedules, and reports, but my mind kept drifting back to Adrian—his sharp gaze, the way he had stood up for me, the way the office seemed to fall silent the moment he stepped in.
Now, walking to his office, I realized I had one burning question I couldn't ignore.
Why?
Why had he defended me?
The thought made my chest tighten, and when Oscar, his assistant, opened the door for me, I hesitated only briefly before stepping inside.
Adrian was seated behind his desk, head slightly tilted, fingers interlaced, and eyes on a screen in front of him. When he noticed me, his gaze lifted, and for a fraction of a second, I felt exposed under the intensity of his stare.
"Miss Hilson," he said, voice low, measured, almost teasing in its calmness. "Close the door."
I obeyed, heart racing, feeling the familiar thrum of tension in my veins. The room felt smaller somehow, the glass walls and polished surfaces fading into the background as his presence filled the space.
"Have a seat," he continued, gesturing to the chair in front of him.
I didn't. I stayed standing, fingers gripping the edge of his desk lightly, a nervous habit I didn't notice I had developed.
Adrian's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and then he leaned back in his chair. "You have a question," he stated rather than asked, the certainty in his tone making me swallow hard.
"I… I just wanted to know," I began, trying to keep my voice calm, "why… why did you defend me? Back there with Ashley?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he rose from his chair smoothly, the movement deliberate, controlled. He walked slowly around the side of the desk, each step measured, his presence almost magnetic. By the time he stopped in front of me, the room felt electric.
He was close. Too close. The scent of his cologne hit me, warm and intoxicating, making my heart race uncontrollably.
"I told her to stop," he said finally, voice low, almost a growl, "because she was lying. And I don't tolerate lies about my people."
I blinked. "Your people?"
His lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. "You've been under my protection since you stepped into this office, Kiss. Whether you realize it or not, I watch over you. I defend what's mine."
My chest tightened at the words. "But—" I swallowed, trying to make sense of the emotions swirling inside me. "But I'm just your secretary. You didn't have to do that. You didn't need to—"
He didn't let me finish. He took a step closer, closing the space between us until I could feel the heat radiating from him.
"You misunderstand me," he said softly, voice barely above a whisper. His eyes locked onto mine, intense, calculating, yet impossible to read completely. "It's not about duty. It's not about responsibility. It's… personal."
I swallowed, my throat dry. I could feel his gaze scanning my face, lingering on my eyes, and then—something more intimate—on my lips. I licked my lips unconsciously, a subtle motion, but one that didn't go unnoticed.
Adrian's eyes darkened. For a heartbeat, everything else disappeared—the office, the building, the city beyond the windows. It was just him, just me, and the almost-there intensity that made my knees threaten to give out.
He leaned closer. Slowly. Deliberately. His lips mere inches from mine. My heart thudded violently in my chest, and I felt a flush spread across my face.
And then—
"Adrian! There you are!"
The voice cut sharply through the tension, jarring and almost painful.
I blinked. His best friend, Isaac, appeared at the doorway, a stack of files in his arms, completely oblivious to the storm he had just walked into.
Adrian froze, his sharp gaze flicking toward Isaac, a flash of frustration crossing his otherwise controlled features.
I stumbled slightly backward, covering my lips with my hand, heat flooding my cheeks. The moment—the almost-kiss, the charged atmosphere—was shattered.
Adrian took a slow step back, regaining the space between us, though the air still felt charged. His eyes flicked to mine briefly, a spark of something unspoken passing between us, before returning to the more professional, unreadable mask he often wore.
"I—" I began, but the words died in my throat.
"Miss Hilson," he said, voice returning to its usual calm precision, "sit. We'll discuss your schedule for the next project. Immediately."
I nodded, unable to speak, feeling the residual heat of the moment clinging to me.
Isaac gave me a sidelong glance, smirk tugging at his lips, clearly aware of what had just happened. I shot him a glare that could melt steel, my embarrassment almost overwhelming.
Adrian, seemingly unaffected, returned to his desk, flipping open a folder, his eyes scanning the papers as if the previous moments had never occurred. But I knew better. I felt it in the electricity still sparking in the room, in the tension lingering in the space we shared.
I sank into the chair across from him, heart still hammering. Every rational thought told me to focus on work, to remain professional, to ignore the storm of feelings raging inside me.
And yet… I couldn't.
The image of his intense gaze, the way he had leaned toward me, the subtle—but undeniable—attention he had given me, played on repeat in my mind.
It was clear: he cared. He noticed. And he protected. Not just as a CEO would, but in a way that was personal, intimate, and impossible to ignore.
I licked my lips again, almost without thinking, realizing how much I wanted that closeness, that protective energy, that raw, magnetic presence he exuded.
And with that realization came the inevitable truth: staying professional, staying detached, staying under his radar… would be harder than I had ever imagined.
Because Adrian Goodwill wasn't just a man in a suit with a title.
He was a force. And now, unknowingly, I was in his orbit.
And resisting it? Impossible.