"So, Laurent. Will the issue be resolved by this week?" Ethan asked his developer.
"Yes, Mr. Vescovi. I apologize again. I'll personally fix this," Laurent replied.
The issue wasn't major at first, but after Luca dug deeper, it turned out to be more complicated. It needed to be resolved quickly—his tender for a five-star hotel in Milan was on the line. And with three hotel tenders happening simultaneously, this was a crucial milestone for Luxe Haven Development. No hiccups were allowed until the deals were finalized.
As they went through the project papers, Ethan signaled his staff and ordered two lattes to go. Once they were done reviewing the details, he and Laurent would head to the site for a quick inspection.
An hour later, with all the documents gathered, Ethan walked ahead while Laurent and Luca followed. As he approached the reception, an employee pressed the elevator button for him. The familiar ding signaled the doors opening, and Ethan rushed inside—only to collide with someone, sending coffee splashing all over them. His eyes widened. Ava.
Her once-pristine white blouse was now a mess of brown stains. Thankfully, the coffee wasn't scalding, but it was still hot. She froze, her expression unreadable, as if she had already given up on the situation. He reluctantly spontaneously said sorry.
A collective gasp echoed through the lobby. Ethan Vescovi just apologized. Even he was shocked by his own words. Without thinking, he turned to Luca.
"Go ahead with Laurent to the site. I'll catch up later." Then, without waiting for a response, he held Ava's hand and went toward the private elevator that went straight to his penthouse. She remained silent the entire way.
"Hey, are you okay? Did it burn your skin? Are you in pain?" he asked, concerned.
No response. Maybe she was in pain. Maybe she was in shock. Worried, he called a private doctor to examine her as soon as they arrived. But when the doctor arrived and reached for Ava's blouse, Ethan instinctively stepped in.
"Sir, I need to check her skin before the burn worsens," the doctor explained.
Before he could proceed, Ethan hesitated. He couldn't stand the thought of another man touching her right in front of him.
The doctor reached for the first button of her blouse, but before he could undo it—she slapped his hand away.
"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped. "Who are you? And why the hell are you touching me? And.... Ow! Damn, that coffee was hot! And Oh. My. God this was a brand new blouse!" She rushed to the mirror, inspecting the damage, muttering curses under her breath.
The doctor took one look at her and sighed. "I guess she's fine now. I'll be heading back downstairs, sir." He left, returning to his practice on the ground floor of Luxe Haven's building.
Ethan exhaled. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes. But I need a change of clothes while I wash these." she quickly barked orders to him.
He blinked. Nobody had ever given him an order before. He was always the one giving commands. Yet, without hesitation, he went to his wardrobe to find something but all he saw was a problem. Why? His closet was filled with tailored suits, pressed shirts, polos, cashmere sweaters—nothing remotely suitable for a woman.
He wasn't the type to bring women home, let alone keep clothing for them. Come to think of it, Ava was probably the first woman to stay in his penthouse for more than an hour beside his mother.
Frustrated, he grabbed his phone. "Luca, where are you? I need you to buy a dress or a blouse and pants for a woman. Size? Uh..." He paused, frowning.
'What size was she?
S? Too small.
M? Maybe... but it could be tight.
She will accuse him as a pervert. Better to play it safe.'
"Get everything in large. Just bring options." he said to Luca.
"For who?" Luca asked, confused.
"For a girl," Ethan answered bluntly before hanging up. 'Luca was probably losing his mind right now.' He walked back to the living room and glanced around. Ava's bag was still there, which meant she hadn't left.
"Ava? Ava, where are you?" He raised his voice slightly, unsure where she had disappeared to. "I couldn't find anything for you to wear, but give me half an hour— Luca's fetching something."
Then, a voice came from behind him.
"Don't worry about it. I took the liberty of using your washing machine and dryer. Which, by the way, I'm surprised you even own. You don't seem like the type to do laundry."
Ethan turned around—and immediately regretted it. Ava stood there, wrapped in a towel, her damp hair twisted into another. Her bare shoulders glowed with a soft pink hue from the steam, and suddenly, he felt unbearably hot.
He turned back around so fast his neck almost snapped. "Uh—my mother insisted I have them for when she stays over," he muttered. "And... again, I'm really sorry for the coffee. It was an honest mistake." That was twice he had apologized in one day. 'What the hell was happening to him?'
Then he heard her giggle.
"What's so funny?" he asked, turning his head slightly.
"You," she chuckled. "I had you all wrong. You're so much different than the bossy jerk I met two days ago. I thought you were the type who never admitted his mistakes, but here you are saying sorry—twice already. Are you okay?"
Before he could respond, two things happened simultaneously: the doorbell rang, and the dryer beeped, signaling it was done.
He went to answer the door while Ava disappeared into the laundry room. Luca stood there, arms full of shopping bags.
Ethan frowned. "What the hell is this?"
"You told me to buy clothes for a woman, so I got some options," Luca said, his voice nervous. "The store assistants recommended these." Ethan took a closer look. Tommy Hilfiger. Ralph Lauren. BOSS! He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Luca. These are all men's clothes."
Luca panicked. "I—I didn't know what brands women wear, boss! They said these were the women's section, so I just grabbed them and rushed over!"
Before Ethan could say another word, Ava's head popped out from behind his shoulder. She took one look at the bags and burst out laughing. "HAHAHA! What the hell did you buy for me?" she teased. "Luca, right? It's fine, you can return them. I don 't need them anymore. But thank you so much!" Then, just like that, she walked off, leaving both men dumbfounded.
After a moment of silence, Luca cleared his throat. "Is she...your girlfriend now, boss? Wait—she looked familiar.. isn't that Ava Sinclair?"
Ethan sighed. "No, and yes. She's not my girlfriend. And yes, she is Ava Sinclair. Now leave.." Luca, still looking stunned, turned to return the bags. Ethan walked back inside to find Ava sitting on his couch, sketching on her tablet.
"There you are," Ava said, her tone casual but pointed. She sat comfortably in his living room, completely unfazed by the tension still hanging in the air. Her tablet rested on her lap, her fingers moving swiftly across the screen as she sketched. "You know, you should be nicer to your assistant. He's really loyal to you. I don 't get how you can just order someone around and not feel bad about it."
Ethan exhaled sharply, crossing his legs as he leaned against the wall near her. "It's called being a boss, Ava. How do you give orders to your staff, then?" "I don 't give orders," she replied without looking up. "I do my best to handle things myself first, then delegate when necessary. Mostly, I just ask for help. I don 't hire people to be my servants, I hire them to work with me." She glanced at him before continuing. "Do you remember Maya?"
Ethan frowned, trying to recall the name. "Maya... Maya... Oh, the other lady at the meeting? What about her?"
Ava smirked. "Guess what her job is."
"Same as you, a designer," he assumed. "Maybe not as diligent as you, but still—"
"Nope," she cut him off. "I hired her to be my emotional support. That's why I didn't yell at you during the last meeting."
His eyes widened. "What? You wanted to yell at me? Why the hell would you do that? You were the one who was late!"
Ava stopped sketching and turned to face him fully, her expression sharp. "I was late because of you," she stated firmly. "You changed the meeting time the night before. What if I had other priorities? Do you expect me to just drop everything and obey you? I have my own business to run too, you know."
Ethan scoffed, his ego bristling. "I had my staff email you and call you in the morning to confirm. It's not our fault you weren't paying attention."
Ava's eyes darkened, and he knew immediately that he'd struck a nerve. "Excuse me?" she snapped. "Is this how you always are? Do you think the world revolves around you, huh? You give an order, and just like that, everyone has to follow? Let me clarify something to you, I showed up because I owe Mr. Stark. He gave us an opportunity that brought us three new clients. That's why I came. That's why I'm here. Not because I need your money, not for you, not even for me. It's all because I owe someone."
She then stood up abruptly, her frustration boiling over then she continued to speak her thoughts. "For a moment there, I really thought you were more than just another entitled billionaire. But here we are." She let out a dry laugh, shaking her head. "You know what? I've had a long day. I don't need your money. You can keep your unlimited budget to yourself. I don't need this. I apologized but for a moment forward, please find another designer. I'm done." Without another word, she grabbed her bag and stormed out.
Ethan was too stunned to speak. No one had ever called him out like that. Not in eight years of business. He stared at the door, debating whether to run after her, to apologize—but his body wouldn't move. His ego was in the way. And for the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do.