(Sienna Vale – POV)
The first "date" with Adrian Kade was like a nightmare inside a nightmare.
I'd just left the office, traded my pencil skirt for silk, my exhaustion for lipstick, and my name for one the agency gave me. The handler's call came as I was fixing my hair in a bathroom mirror that didn't belong to me.
"You're booked," she said. "Private suite, usual rate, new client. Initials A.K."
It could've been anyone. I told myself that all the way across the city. But deep down, I knew. Because when the universe wants to ruin your life, it doesn't do subtle.
By eight, I was standing in front of the kind of hotel that charges by the reputation, not the room. My heels clicked against marble floors that echoed too loudly.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and I stepped into silence that smelled like wealth and control.
And there he was.
Adrian Kade.
Sitting like he owned the air. Jacket gone, sleeves rolled, drink in hand.
He didn't look surprised. Of course he didn't.
"Miss Vale," he said smoothly, as if this were just another business meeting.
My stomach dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I rarely joke."
"You booked me?"
He nodded once, calm as stone. "I did."
"Why?"
"Because I could."
The anger came fast, sharp enough to burn.
"You think this is funny?"
"I think it's practical," he said. "You work for me anyway. Why complicate things?"
"I don't work for you after hours."
His mouth curved slightly. "Apparently you do."
Every word was a needle.
"I should leave," I said.
"You won't."
He said it like he was commenting on the weather—confident, absolute.
And that's when I realized something was off. He wasn't leaning back anymore. He was watching me. Waiting.
He wanted to see what I'd do next.
Control—that was his addiction. He didn't drink in access, didn't gamble, didn't laugh. He collected obedience like currency.
And that's when it hit me.
He might own my daylight, but not this.
Here, he was in my world.
I took two slow steps forward, just enough to shift the air between us. His eyes followed, but he didn't move.
"Do you know what this is, Mr. Kade?" I asked. "This is the one place you don't give orders."
He tilted his head slightly, studying me. "You think you're in control here?"
"I know I am."
He stood, slow and deliberate. "Then prove it."
Fine.
I closed the gap between us until I could smell his cologne—dark, expensive, unnecessary. His pulse jumped just once at his throat. That was all I needed.
"I don't work for you here," I said. "You can play boss in your glass tower, but this—" I gestured between us "—this is paid time. My time."
He said nothing, but his jaw tightened.
"You booked an escort, not an employee. You wanted control, but you came to me for it."
He exhaled, slow and steady, like he was calculating a loss. "You're dangerously arrogant."
"Funny," I said. "That's what people say about you."
For the first time, he smiled—not a smirk, not superiority. Something quieter. "You're enjoying this."
"I'm surviving this."
"Same thing, sometimes."
We stood there, the silence vibrating. I knew he could end it. He could say one word, flash one look, and the balance would shift again. But he didn't.
Because I wasn't moving.
"You're playing with fire, Miss Vale," he said finally.
I took a step back, deliberate. "Then stop standing so close."
Something flickered across his face—amusement, surprise, maybe both.
And in that flicker, I saw it. The crack in the armor. The smallest hint that for once, he didn't have the upper hand.
That was the moment I took control.
Not because he let me.
Because I decided to.
He gestured toward the table. "Sit down."
"No."
That single word broke the tension like glass.
His brow lifted. "You're refusing a client?"
"I'm refusing you."
"You think that's wise?"
"No," I said. "But it's honest."
I reached for my coat, smoothing the lapel with shaking hands I refused to hide. "You wanted curiosity. You got it. You wanted to see how far you could push. Congratulations—you hit the wall."
He didn't stop me. Didn't say a word. Just watched as I walked past him toward the door.
The carpet muffled the sound of my heels, but the air between us crackled like static.
My hand closed around the knob.
"You'll regret this," he said.
I looked back at him, steady. "So will you."
The hallway was colder than it should've been. I took the elevator down, my heart pounding like I'd just walked out of a fire.
I hadn't won, not really. But I hadn't lost either. And with a man like Adrian Kade, that counted for something.
The lobby was empty when I passed through. I didn't look back.
Outside, the night hħair hit like clarity. I breathed it in, tasting metal and rain.
For the first time all day, I wasn't working for anyone.
Not him. Not the agency. Not even survival.
Just me.
I checked my phone. Two missed calls from the agency, one text I didn't bother opening.
Then another pinged through.
Unknown Number: You forgot your payment.
My fingers hovered over the screen before I typed back.
Me: Keep it. Consider it a refund.
I hit send before I could second-guess it.
The truth was, it wasn't about money anymore.
It was about control.
And tonight, it was mine.