The next morning felt heavier than most. Lilly had barely slept. Her body had been restless, her mind a storm. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face, his hands, the way his control had reduced her to trembling silence. But then the memory of that woman, her soft kiss on his cheek, the casual way he'd dismissed Lilly afterward, returned like a slap.
By the time she arrived at Bergen Global, she had rehearsed a thousand ways to avoid him. Stay buried in work, keep her head down, and pretend he wasn't there. But fate, it seemed, was cruel.
The elevator doors slid open on the ground floor, and as she stepped inside, her breath caught. A familiar figure slipped in just before the doors closed.
Mark Bergen himself.
Her pulse stumbled violently. She took a step back, pressing herself into the corner, praying the floor would swallow her whole. His eyes cut to her sharply. For a moment, silence pressed thickly between them.
"Miss Levine," he said at last with a clipped voice, "Straight to my office."
It definitely wasn't a request.
The air left her lungs. Her throat dried, but her body betrayed her as her legs carried her upward beside him. The ride stretched endlessly, every second a battle to control her shaking breath.
When the doors opened on his floor, he didn't glance at her. Just strode forward, expecting her to follow. And she did, her heels clicking too loudly against the polished floor.
Inside his office, he closed the door.
"Sit."
She didn't. Her spine stiffened, defiance flaring despite the nervous tremor in her veins, "The woman from yesterday, I need to know who she was," she said, voice breaking the silence like shattered glass.
His jaw tightened. He leaned against the edge of his desk, folding his arms as though this conversation bored him, "That was my wife."
The word crashed into her like a blow. Her chest constricted, "Your wife?"
He nodded once, unbothered.
Lilly staggered back a step, her hand finding the edge of a chair to steady herself. Rage flushed through her veins, scorching hotter than the humiliation, "Are you insane?" she snapped, her voice trembling but sharp, "You're dragging me into this! You're married!"
His gaze sharpened, cold steel under fire, "Watch the way you talk to me, Miss Levine."
But the warning only fueled her anger, "I don't care! You're my boss, you're supposed to be professional, and instead you—you—" Her words stumbled, her breath catching in fury, "You're unbelievable."
His eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, she spun toward the door.
"I'm done here."
"Lilly!"
She didn't stop. Her hand gripped the handle, yanked the door open, and she walked out without his permission, her heart pounding so violently it hurt.
Lilly back at her desk, forced herself into her chair. The computer screen blurred before her eyes, and the numbers became meaningless. Every breath felt like fire in her chest. She didn't look up when Maria approached with a file, didn't move when her phone buzzed.
Half an hour later, Maria's desk phone rang. Lilly glanced up just long enough to see her supervisor's eyes flick toward her, lips tightening.
"Yes, Mr. Bergen," Maria said, her tone professional but strained, "Of course."
She hung up slowly, then turned toward Lilly with thinly veiled irritation, "He wants you in his office now."
"I'm working," Lilly said flatly, not even lifting her gaze from the spreadsheet.
Maria blinked, caught off guard, "Excuse me?"
Lilly raised her head, meeting her supervisor's eyes with a sharp clarity she didn't know she possessed. "I said I'm working. I'm not going back to his office."
Maria just stared at her, mouth parting as though she couldn't quite believe what she'd heard. Then she stepped closer, lowering her voice, "Do you realize who you're talking about? He's the CEO. You don't just say no."
"With all due respect, I can't," Lilly said. The words startled even her, but once they were spoken, she didn't regret them.
Maria's expression tightened with exasperation. She hissed under her breath, "You're playing with fire. He can end your career with a phone call."
The phone on Maria's desk rang again, cutting through the tension. She snatched it up, "Yes, Mr. Bergen?" Her eyes darted toward Lilly, then back to the phone, "She's, ah, she's in the restroom, sir. She'll be there shortly."
When she hung up, her fury turned on Lilly, "What the hell are you doing?" she snapped, leaning closer, "He's called twice now. Do you have a death wish?"
Lilly's chest heaved, but her voice remained steady, "I don't want to go. He doesn't treat me like an employee there, Maria. He treats me like... I don't know..." Her voice faltered, anger and shame colliding.
Maria's hand slammed against the desk, startling her, "Oh my God, Levine! He's the boss. That's all that matters. You don't get to pick and choose what meetings you attend. Now get up, before you ruin yourself."
But Lilly stayed rooted. The office around them was quieter than usual, though a few coworkers pretended to be buried in their work, ears tilted toward the conversation.
Then, before Maria could scold her again, the atmosphere shifted.
The sound of heavy, decisive footsteps filled the finance floor. Heads lifted. Conversations stopped. A silence spread like a ripple through water.
Lilly froze.
Mark Bergen, the man who never set foot in the finance department, was there.
He moved through the rows of desks like a shadow cutting through light, his gaze sweeping the room until it locked on her. He didn't look at Maria, didn't look at anyone else. Only her.
The closer he came, the faster Lilly's pulse beat in her throat. By the time he reached her desk, the air was thick with tension, every set of eyes pretending not to stare.
"Didn't I ask you to come to my office thirty minutes ago?" His voice was low, but every word carried, slicing through the silence like a blade.
The weight of the room fell on her shoulders.
Every coworker. Maria. Him. All were waiting to see if she'd obey.