Chapter 19
Landon
Adriana looked like she’d seen a ghost when she turned the corner. She seemed disheveled, but I figured that was because she’d had a particularly hard day. I couldn’t blame her for that after the incident in the kitchen. I’d done what I could to slow down the rumors, but they were still swirling.
“Landon,” Adriana breathed, frozen to the spot. “What are you doing here?”
I was surprised at that. Hadn’t she been wanting to see me all day?
“I thought we could talk,” I explained as gently as I could. “Can I come in?”
She seemed to think about my request for a moment, looking flustered and confused. But eventually, she walked past me to her door and unlocked it.
“Yeah, uh, I mean, sure,” she said, before heading inside. I followed, and shut the door behind me.
Adriana’s suite was much smaller than mine, and far more minimalist in terms of luxury. Most of the furniture was standard for the staff quarters, not exactly pretty but very practical. She kept the place neat, too. There weren’t many personal effects or additional decorations, either.
She turned to face me with her arms crossed. Closed-off, careful.
“I know I reacted badly about Nolan,” I started, and noticed the surprise in her eyes. “I realize we’re not exclusive, and I can’t exactly be possessive when we’ve barely been together.”
She was listening with eyes that were widening by the second, as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying. I wondered what was going on in her head, and wished that she would speak up. It didn’t look like she was upset with me, just like she didn’t quite know how to process what was going on.
That made sense. This was a full turn-around from how I had reacted earlier.
But I hadn’t known about her and Nolan. I had no idea that I was not the only man that she was seeing.
I hadn’t expected to come across that scene in the pantry, especially not with other people witnessing it, too.
At that point, I had to be professional, and had to focus on my job.
I couldn’t have a meltdown, and I didn’t have any time to process all of it.
“How long have you—?” I started, then cut off my own sentence. “No. I don’t need to know. It’s none of my business.”
“Not long,” Adriana answered, still looking uncomfortable and a bit distracted. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you anything. I… shouldn’t have done any of this in the first place. Now it’s all so unnecessarily complicated.”
“I have to apologize, too.” I took a step closer to her. “I could’ve reacted better. But… Seeing you with someone else— It was a shock to the system. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t think it was a possibility. I suppose I was wrong.”
This time, she raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you mean by that?”
I blinked a few times. I was fairly certain that what I meant was obvious. Did she think I was insulting her? That wasn’t what I’d intended to do.
“Nothing like that,” I insisted, starting to feel like this conversation was going south. “Look, my point is, I don’t want to end things with you. I want to be with you. I want you to choose me. That’s what I came here to say.”
She was staring at me silently now. I didn’t know whether she was thinking about it or not. There was something about her that still seemed distracted. I wasn’t sure what else could be going on. Had she spoken to Nolan already? Was she leaning toward choosing him instead?
“I don’t know,” she said, rubbing one arm with the other. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
That hit harder than I thought it would. Frustration flooded my body, but I forced myself to stay calm. It was, luckily, one of my greatest talents to keep a straight face.
“Why?” I asked, realizing that some of my true feelings were slipping into my tone. “I know that you want me as much as I want you. I know that you don’t want this to end here.”
“I don’t,” she admitted softly, though she looked away from me as she said it and pulled her shoulders up. “But I don’t want to lose Nolan, either.”
That sentence plowed through me like a bulldozer.
I tightened my jaw. That wasn’t something I was prepared to accept right there and then.
She had to know that she would have to make a choice between us.
Nolan would tell her the same thing, or I hoped he would.
Knowing him, he might already have considered their relationship to be over.
If he’d made the choice for her, maybe this would be easier.
“Adriana,” I said firmly, hoping that she would listen. “I— I care about you.”
“If you truly cared, you wouldn’t try to force me into something I don’t want,” she answered with constrained venom in her voice.
I stayed silent after that. I didn’t know what to say in return.
This entire conversation wasn’t what I had expected when I came to her room.
I’d thought we’d be in each other’s arms by now, that she’d say Nolan was a mistake and she and I should be together.
Now, it looked like that was too much to wish for.
“I need to think,” Adriana eventually continued, and it was somewhat obvious that she was overwhelmed. “About you. About Nolan. About… About everything.”
There was a heavy pause between the last few words, one that hinted she was still hiding something. I had no idea what it might be, but that could be sorted out later. I couldn’t let her just leave me behind like this. I wanted to fight for us and what we could be.
But it could be the right thing to give her the time that she was asking for. I just didn’t think that I’d be able to avoid my own desire for her, or to shove it aside for as long as I needed to.
“Okay,” I eventually said, stretching the word uncomfortably long. “Look, I understand. Actually, I don’t, but I’m trying.”
She stared at me carefully, waiting for me to finish what I was saying.
I wasn’t certain this was the right choice, but I was going with it.
If there was a chance that I could win her over, I would take it.
No other woman had lit a fire in me before like Adriana had, and I wasn’t letting her slip through my fingers that easily.
“How about a compromise?” I was aware that some of my professional tactics were seeping into this situation, but those were my best skills. I could convince the richest people in the world to follow my suggestions. It should be possible to convince Adriana to go along with my ideas, too.
“What?” she asked, a frown forming between her brows.
“I’m not going to make you choose right now,” I answered, formulating my words in my mind as I spoke. “But I can’t just let you go, either. What if I give you the time to make up your mind, but we keep seeing each other?”
Her eyes widened, but she quickly drew her lips into a tight line.
It didn’t look like she had much energy to keep talking.
In fact, it was like there was something else on her mind, on top of everything that was already going on.
I wanted to ask her what had happened. What else there was that was bothering her.
But I managed to keep my questions to myself. They could be addressed later. Right now, I only needed her to agree. We had time to figure things out and she had time to think. That’s all that was important.
Eventually, Adriana sighed and hugged herself, looking toward the floor.
“Look, I’m— I’m really tired,” she explained, and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “I’ve had such a long day. My mind is fried.”
I nodded in understanding. Dahlia’s bridal shower was already a big ask, but add onto that the personal stress and the fact that midnight was long gone and anyone would be at the end of their rope.
“Can we talk about all of this in the morning, please?” Adriana asked, finally looking up to meet my eyes. “I— I can’t think right now.”
“Yeah,” I agreed softly, before turning away. I headed for the door, with a small part of me wishing she’d ask me to stay. I wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with her and hold her, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen anytime soon.
As I opened the door, I heard her going into the bathroom and turning on the shower.
I paused. Normally, I was not the impulsive kind of man. Everything I did was planned and thought out meticulously, down to how full my glasses of water were during the day. I never did spontaneous things and strived for perfection in absolutely everything.
My thoughts were clear, my suits were pressed, my suite was spotless. Everything in order, as it was supposed to be.
But with Adriana, that had been thrown completely on its head. When she was around, my self-control seemed to fly out the window. I wanted to follow her on this adventure, wanted to join in her wildness.
I turned back, and closed the door. If she chased me away, I would leave, but something told me to try.
Purposefully, I walked toward the bathroom, the door to which Adriana had not closed. I knew she could hear my footsteps approaching. She wasn’t yelling for me to go, and that encouraged me to keep going.
I took off my suit jacket and tie, and placed them neatly on a nearby chair. I undid a few buttons and rolled my sleeves up. I wasn’t planning some crazy sexual exploits this time; I just wanted this connection between us to grow stronger. I just wanted to be as close to her as I could be.
Inside the bathroom, Adriana had undressed. When she turned to face me, we were both silent. I reached out my hand, and she took it. My heart began racing, but I kept a straight face. This was good. This was hopeful.
I led her to the shower, and she stepped inside. Hot water rushed over her and splashed onto the floor at my feet.
My shirt and shoes were getting wet, but I didn’t mind it.
Adriana threw her head back, letting the water run through her hair. Even in these subtle movements, I could take in her sheer beauty. There was something about her, something so alluring, so powerful, that it was impossible to resist.
When I thought about it, it was no surprise that Nolan had fallen for her, too.
Frankly, I was shocked that Bryant hadn’t gone after her harder, that he hadn’t reached her first. She had a mystery about her waiting to be solved, a depth that I wanted to fall into, and a passion that was rare to find in anyone.
It had been one of the main reasons I had chosen her for the job. She had been perfect for it.
I undressed myself, intending nothing more than being close.
Adriana took a step forward to give me space in the shower behind her.
I felt some of the water splash onto me, but all of my focus was on her.
On how the droplets raced over her skin, how her muscles moved ever so slightly, how her breath was deep and even.
I reached for the shampoo, and put some in the palm of my hand before I reached for her hair. Crimson strands danced over my fingers as I washed her hair, sensing that she was offering more than her body to me now. She was offering her heart.