The city was buzzing ; a blend of blaring horns, impatient footsteps, and the occasional yell from a street vendor chasing a sale. Aria Lane was late. Again!
Her flats slapped the pavement as she dashed across the busy intersection, phone pressed to her ear. "Yes, Mom, I'm almost there it's the first day of Internship. I told you this morning, remember?"
She barely heard her mom's voice over the roar of a delivery truck as she zigzagged past pedestrians, barely avoiding knocking over a coffee cart. "Love you too gotta go!"
Click.
Suddenly, a shoulder collided with hers hard. Her iced coffee flipped in mid-air, crashing squarely against a crisp white shirt and soaking a well-tailored navy blue suit
"Oh no," she gasped.
The man stiffened. His jaw clenched like he was biting into steel. "Watch where you're going lady," he said icily, eyes narrowing at the splattered mess on his chest.
Aria's eyes darted up. He was tall,Impossibly tall ! Mid-thirties, broad shoulders, suit screaming expensive. Handsome in a terrifying sort of way dark hair, sharper cheekbones than reality should allow, and the kind of eyes that looked like they'd seen hell and walked back for fun.
But Aria? She didn't do intimidation. Not when she hadn't even had a sip of caffeine.
"I said I was sorry," she snapped. "You're the one storming around like you own the sidewalk."
"I do own this block," he shot back coolly, eyes flicking over her wrinkled blazer and messy bun with thinly veiled disdain. "Maybe if you looked up from your phone, you wouldn't be crashing into people and making a mess."
"Maybe if you didn't walk like a skyscraper with an attitude"
"Miss Lane!" someone called across the street.
Aria jolted. Her eyes widened. She turned away from Mr. Arrogant Suit without another word and sprinted off, her heart thudding.
Well. That was embarrassing.
By the time she arrived at the towering glass building labeled Wayne Corp, she was sweaty, shaky, and definitely regretting every outfit choice she'd ever made. Her blazer felt like a furnace, her blouse stuck to her back, and her brain was still reeling from that sidewalk clash.
Great. I've been in the city twenty-four hours and I've already assaulted a man with coffee. At this rate, I'll be unemployed by lunchtime.
A sharply dressed assistant led her through chrome halls and up a mirrored elevator.
"Conference Room C. Orientation's just starting. Good luck," the woman said with a tight smile before vanishing behind the elevator doors.
The hallway buzzed with quiet murmurs as other interns waited outside the room. Aria adjusted her ID badge and took a deep breath before pushing open the door.
And froze.
There, standing at the front of the room, commanding the attention of thirty interns in pristine suits and name tags, was none other than…
Mr. Arrogant Suit.
"Good morning," he said smoothly. "I'm Darian Wayne. CEO of Wayne Corp. And if you're sitting in this room, it means I now own your next six months."
Aria nearly choked. Wayne. As in THE Darian Wayne Billionaire, Widower, Ruthless in business, colder in reputation. A legend with a dark past and the very man she had just called a skyscraper with an attitude.
He scanned the room. His gaze paused locked onto hers.
For a moment, time stopped.
His lips curved upward, just a fraction. That smug, infuriating, soul-snatching smirk.
Aria's stomach dropped. Oh no. He remembers.
The orientation continued, but she couldn't hear a word. Her brain was too busy spiraling.
Why him? Of all the people in New York, why did I have to spill coffee on the most powerful man in the company?
Her fingers trembled as she took notes she'd never read again. Every few minutes, she dared glance up only to find Darian Wayne's gaze flick briefly in her direction, cool and unreadable.
After what felt like an eternity, the orientation ended the Interns lined up to shake hands with their department supervisors.
She tried to blend into the crowd, to disappear into a sea of blazers and business cards, but then
"Miss Lane," came the voice. Deep. Calm. Deadly.
She turned slowly, praying it wasn't him.
It was.
Darian Wayne stood with one hand in his pocket, the other casually holding a file. He wasn't smiling, but there was something amused in the way his brow arched slightly.
"Yes… sir?" she said, her voice a pitch higher than normal.
"Glad you could join us. I trust your… navigation skills will improve now that you're on company property."
There it was. The verbal knife, slid in so smoothly she almost smiled at the cut.
She cleared her throat. "I'll try not to spill coffee on anyone important."
He leaned in slightly. Close enough that she caught the subtle spice of his cologne sandalwood and danger.
"Too late for that."
As she walked toward the elevators, heart racing, she could feel his gaze trailing her. There was something unsettling about it not just anger or smugness. Curiosity. A flicker of recognition. Something darker.
She pressed the elevator button three times, even though it was already lit. Calm down, she told herself. He's just your boss. A scary, ridiculously hot boss with a grudge. You'll avoid him, do your work, and this internship will fly by.
The doors opened. She stepped in, exhaled
And froze again.
Darian Wayne stepped in behind her.
Alone.
Of course.
The doors closed with a soft hiss.
The silence was suffocating.
Aria kept her eyes glued to the glowing floor numbers, silently begging the elevator to move faster. She could feel his presence like static electricity charged and impossible to ignore.
"Do you always run headfirst into your bosses on the street?" he asked suddenly, voice low.
"Only the terrifyingly judgmental ones," she muttered before she could stop herself.
He chuckled not loudly, but enough to surprise her. "You have a sharp tongue, Miss Lane. Most interns stutter when they speak to me."
"Maybe they didn't spill coffee on you."
The pause that followed was electric. Tense. His next words made her spine straighten.
"I'll be watching your progress closely. Let's see how well you handle real pressure."
Oh joy, she thought. So it begins.
Next Chapter: "Assigned to the Devil"
Aria starts her first day expecting a cubicle. Instead, she finds her nameplate… outside the CEO's office.