Wednesday – 447 PM
“Do you always glower at your staff like that?”
I look up, already irritated.
The voice belongs to the one person who still walks into my office without knocking. Aiden. My little brother strolls in wearing jeans, a leather jacket, and sunglasses indoors like some celebrity delinquent. Golden boy. Reckless charmer. Everything I’m not and never intend to be.
He drops into the leather chair across from me, ankle hooked over his knee. “I came to see if you’ve murdered anyone. The mood you’re giving off is causing a staff migration pattern.”
“She’s fine,” I growl. “And I’m busy.”
He lifts a brow. “Oh, I wasn’t talking about her. I meant the rest of your office. That poor intern looked like she met Satan when she left here.”
A pause. His smile sharpens like a blade. “And now that you mention your assistant… want to tell me why you just snarled at me like a territorial dragon?”
I don’t answer. Because he already knows.
“She’s cute,” he says casually. “Real soft. Real quiet. Is that your type now? Or is there a reason I can feel the heat radiating off your glass walls every time she walks by?”
“Aiden,” I say slowly, “you’re walking a very thin line.”
He waves me off. “Relax. I just never thought I’d see the day Alexander Hunt got flustered over a girl with no lipstick and trauma eyes.”
The folder in front of me slams shut, loud enough to echo. I did that. “She’s not a girl.” The words leave me like a threat. Low. Final. “She’s a woman. And she’s been through more than you’d ever understand.”
Something shifts in Aiden’s expression—not fear, but something like respect. A rare softness. “She means something to you,” he says quietly.
“Yeah. Whatever.” I lean back in my chair. Close my eyes. Swallow the part of me that wants to scream the truth. “I don’t do relationships, Aiden.”
“You did once.” His voice gentles, and it shouldn’t piss me off—but it does.
“Don’t,” I warn.
“Alex—”
“I said don’t.” But the damage is done. The past hits me like a bullet all over again.