CELINE

I was just a small-town Montana girl, fresh off the bus in New York, when I landed a paralegal gig at Sterling, Cromwell & Finch – the Everest of law firms.

Then Ethan Sterling, the devastatingly handsome senior partner, noticed me. A kiss, a secret, an "arrangement." For four years, I was his dirty little secret, hidden in the shadows of his gleaming towers.

But then Seraphina Blake, Ethan's long-lost love, returned, and I was instantly demoted from mistress to...convenience. Humiliated, framed for theft, I resigned, my career in flames.

Why did I let him use me for so long? Was I really that blinded by his charm and power? How could I have been so stupid?

Now, he needs me again. His precious Seraphina is desperate to win a charity dance competition, but her partner broke his leg. He wants me to step in, dance with her, pretend everything is fine. After all she did? Hell no! I'm done being convenient. I'm done being a placeholder. This time, I choose me. I'm going to expose Seraphina for the viper she is, and maybe, just maybe, find some real happiness in the process. Prepare for a showdown, NYC's elite, Montana's coming for you!

1

The call came on a gray Tuesday morning.

My cell phone vibrated on the cheap nightstand I'd bought for this temporary apartment.

A number I didn't recognize.

I answered.

"Ms. Hayes?" a crisp, unfamiliar female voice asked.

"This is Maya Hayes," I said.

"This is Patricia from HR at Sterling, Cromwell & Finch. I'm calling to confirm that your resignation, effective last Friday, has been processed."

Her tone was flat, like she was reading from a script.

"All outstanding payments, including unused vacation days, will be direct deposited by the end of the week."

"Thank you," I managed.

"Have a good day, Ms. Hayes."

Click.

No 'we're sorry to see you go.' No 'good luck in your future endeavors.'

Just processed. Final.

It felt like a door slamming shut, quietly but firmly.

My four years there, erased with a bureaucratic keystroke.

Chloe called an hour later.

"So, it's official?" she asked, her voice softer than the HR woman's.

"Official," I confirmed, trying to sound breezy.

"You sure about this, Maya? You haven't told me the real reason. 'Seeking new opportunities' is such corporate BS."

I forced a laugh. "Just needed a change, Chloe. You know how it is. New York grinds you down after a while."

"If you say so," she said, unconvinced. "But if Ethan Sterling had anything to do with this, I swear..."

"He didn't," I lied, the name a sudden, sharp pressure in my chest. "It was my decision. Purely professional."

There was a pause. I knew she didn't believe me.

"Okay, Maya. Whatever you need. But call me if you want to talk. Really talk."

"I will. Thanks, Chloe."

I hung up, the lie bitter on my tongue.

I stood by the window of my small, rented room on the Upper West Side.

It wasn't much, but it was mine, and it was far from the gleaming towers of midtown.

My gaze fell on a small, velvet box on the dresser.

I hadn't unpacked much, but that box... I'd taken it out.

Inside lay a pair of delicate diamond earrings. A birthday gift from Ethan, two years ago.

Impersonal. Expensive. Like everything he gave.

The city spread out below, indifferent. My mind drifted back.

Four years ago, I was fresh from Montana, a full scholarship to a paralegal program in New York under my belt.

The city was a beast, glittering and terrifying.

Sterling, Cromwell & Finch was the Everest of law firms.

Getting a job there felt like winning the lottery.

I was determined, wide-eyed, and completely out of my depth.

My first cubicle was smaller than my childhood closet.

The clothes I wore, bought on sale, felt cheap next to the tailored suits and silk blouses that rustled through the halls.

Chloe Davies, a fellow paralegal, took pity on me.

She was city-smart, quick-witted, with a wardrobe I envied and a kindness that was genuine.

"You look like a deer in headlights," she'd said on my first day, offering me half her bagel. "Stick with me, Montana. I'll show you the ropes."

Ethan Sterling was a name whispered in awe and a little fear.

Senior partner. Razor-sharp. Devastatingly handsome in that old-money, East Coast way.

He was in his early forties then, with a charisma that filled any room he entered.

I saw him mostly from a distance, a titan striding through his domain.

He rarely acknowledged junior staff like me.

But I noticed him. The way his eyes, a cool, assessing blue, missed nothing.

The way he could charm a hostile witness or eviscerate an opposing counsel with a few quiet words.

My heart, foolish and young, developed a secret, schoolgirl crush.

I knew it was ridiculous. He was a world away.

I buried it deep, focusing on my work, determined to prove myself.

I worked late, took on extra assignments, learned everything I could.

One Thursday night, almost a year into my job, I was working late on a discovery deadline for one of Ethan's cases.

The office was mostly empty, quiet except for the hum of the HVAC and the distant city sirens.

I was in the firm's library, surrounded by stacks of documents, coffee cold beside me.

The door opened. It was Ethan.

He looked surprised to see me. "Ms. Hayes, still here?"

"Just finishing up the briefing binders for the Keston trial, Mr. Sterling."

He walked over, picked up a binder, flipped through it.

His proximity made my breath catch. I could smell his cologne, something subtle and expensive.

"Good work," he said, his voice low. "Thorough."

He looked at me then, really looked, for the first time.

His eyes lingered.

"You should get some rest," he said, but he didn't move away.

The air crackled. My pulse hammered.

He reached out, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair from my cheek.

A jolt went through me.

Then he leaned in and kissed me.

It was unexpected, overwhelming.

My carefully constructed professional boundaries shattered.

Against every sensible thought in my head, I kissed him back.

The next morning, a small, unmarked envelope was on my desk.

Inside, five hundred-dollar bills. No note.

My stomach twisted.

It felt clinical. A transaction.

Later that day, he called me into his office.

His demeanor was all business.

"Ms. Hayes," he began, not meeting my eye directly, "last night was... an error in judgment. It won't happen again in a professional setting."

I nodded, my face burning.

"However," he continued, finally looking at me, his gaze unreadable. "If you were amenable to a more... discreet arrangement, outside of office hours..."

He named a figure, a monthly "allowance," he called it, that made my head spin. More than my salary.

"I'm not looking for a relationship, Maya," he said, using my first name for the first time outside of that kiss. "I'm not capable of one right now. This would be... companionship. Physical."

He paused. "No strings. No expectations beyond what we agree."

I should have walked out. I should have been insulted.

Part of me was.

But the larger, longing part, the part that had secretly adored him for a year, ached.

I thought of the bills in my purse. I thought of his kiss.

"I understand," I heard myself say.

It wasn't long before I learned about Seraphina Blake.

Her name would come up in office gossip, whispered by senior associates who remembered.

"Ethan's one true love," someone said once at an after-work drinks Chloe dragged me to.

"The one that got away. Broke his heart, they say."

Seraphina Blake. A name that sounded like old money and effortless glamour.

I saw her picture once, tucked discreetly into a silver frame on a low credenza in Ethan's office, almost hidden behind a stack of legal journals.

Blonde, beautiful, an almost ethereal quality to her smile.

They said she'd left him for a European prince years ago.

Ethan never mentioned her. But her ghost was always there.

It solidified what I already knew: I was a placeholder. A convenience.

My significance in his life was minimal, confined to darkened bedrooms and hushed encounters.

Despite it all, despite the clear terms, despite Seraphina's shadow, I fell deeper.

The "allowance" went into a separate account, mostly untouched. I didn't want his money, not really.

I wanted him.

His rare smiles, the fleeting moments of shared laughter after a difficult case, the way he sometimes looked at me when he thought I wasn't watching – I collected these crumbs.

One night, after a particularly stressful week, we were at his penthouse.

He was quieter than usual, staring out at the city lights.

I took a breath, my heart pounding. "Ethan," I said, "I know what you said about no strings. But... I care about you. More than I should."

He turned, his expression unreadable.

"I want to be with you," I blurted out, "even like this. Even if it's all I can have."

I was offering myself up, knowing the terms were his, always his.

He was silent for a long moment.

Then he said, "Are you sure, Maya? I can't offer you more."

"I'm sure," I whispered, a fool in love.

For four years, that was our life.

A secret, lived in the margins of his real existence.

Late night calls. Discreet arrivals and departures from his apartment.

Never a public acknowledgment. Never a dinner date that wasn't room service.

My friends, my family back in Montana, knew nothing.