UNTIL I MET YOU

. Even as she dressed for work, the image of his piercing gaze, the weight of his words, and the strange pull she felt toward him clouded her thoug

w at the edge of her life, and no matter how

her shift like she always did-efficiently, quietly, her movements automatic. A smile here, a word there, taking o

idn't la

surprised to see an unknown number. Hesitation flicke

voice on the other end

mi

ut she forced hersel

as a note of something darker behind it. "I thought I'd invite you to lunch. It

ned her world upside down in a matter of seconds? She tried to think of an excu

ound. She took a breath, steeling herself. "I don't think tha

d of the line. She could almost hear hi

an change that, hmm? I think we both ha

smooth, too confident in his words. He wasn'

to sound more firm than

sinesslike. "I'm sending a car to pick you up in an hour. It'll be at the

Was he really this confident? Or w

rted to protest, but there was already

sense. It was ridiculous. He was a stranger. A rich stranger, at tha

pretend it was all just some strange misunderstanding. But something inside her-something she wasn't sur

r the car that Damian had promised. She couldn't help but notice how wrong this felt. A woman lik

with a quiet hum. The driver, a man dressed in a sharp suit, met her eyes through the g

between her life and his, the overwhelming gap between them. But she

blurred past her, the hum of the engine filling the silence, and the further they went

twisted in knots. This wasn't just any building. This was his world. Damian Voss's world. The towering gla

ingers fidgeted with the hem of her jacket, trying to hide the nervous tremble she could feel

was unmistakable, his dark eyes catching hers the moment she stepped in. And for a br

ertain heat behind it now. He didn't offer her a handshake, didn't eve

Her heart raced in her chest, unsure whether she was angry, afr

e sharp. "What makes you thin

at him. "Because no one does something like

e glimmer of something else in his eyes-a spark of somethi

oice quieter now. "Not yet, anyway. But I think you'll f

to protest, but he

e any more assumptions. There's a

ls she had so carefully con

e gotten he