Chapter 17 - Authority You Dont Have
Friday morning, I discovered that apparently nobody at Vale Architecture had hobbies.
This was unfortunate.
Because it meant they'd all spent Thursday night watching me dance with Adrian Vale.
I had barely put my bag down when Ben appeared beside my desk.
"Morning."
"Morning."
He stayed.
I looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Then go away."
"I was just wondering."
"Dangerous."
"How does it feel?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"How does what feel?"
"Being the only woman in Miami who can make Adrian Vale change his mind in under thirty seconds."
Nicole made a choking sound from the next desk.
I stared at Ben.
"I didn't make him do anything."
"Of course not."
"Ben."
"I'm agreeing with you."
"Your face isn't."
Daniel turned around.
"Wait. Are we talking about the dance?"
"No," I said.
"Yes," Ben said.
Daniel grinned.
"I'm still mad I left early."
Nicole looked at me.
"I thought he said he wasn't dancing."
"He did."
Ben nodded.
"Very clearly."
"Thank you, eyewitness."
"And then Ethan asked you."
I pointed at him.
"Don't."
"I'm just establishing the timeline."
"Nobody asked for a timeline."
"I appreciate narrative structure."
Maya arrived behind me.
"Are we discussing Cinderella?"
I turned.
"What?"
"You know. One dance. Handsome emotionally unavailable man. Fancy dress-"
"That is not Cinderella."
"Close enough."
Ben nodded. "She did almost lose a shoe."
"I stepped on his shoe."
Silence.
Shit.
Nicole's eyes widened.
Daniel started laughing.
Ben stared at me.
"You stepped on Adrian Vale?"
"Once."
"And he still finished the dance?"
"I'm going to kill you."
"See, that's the detail you should've led with."
Maya started humming Se?orita.
I reached for my stapler.
She stopped.
"Understood."
By ten, thankfully, everyone had found something else to do.
Mostly.
Adrian and I spoke three times that day.
All about work.
The first time, he disagreed with a material adjustment I'd made.
The second time, I told him one of his revisions made no sense.
He told me it made perfect sense.
I asked him to explain it.
He said, "Because I said so."
I stared at him.
"That isn't a technical argument."
His mouth twitched.
Mine almost did too.
And for one stupid second, I heard his voice from the night before.
There you are.
I didn't say it.
But by Friday afternoon, something between us had started loosening again.
Not completely.
Not enough to forget what had happened earlier that week.
But enough that when he stopped beside my desk to question a dimension, I argued.
And when I argued, he stayed.
Normal.
Or whatever passed for normal between Adrian Vale and me.
Monday morning, Adrian was standing beside my desk reviewing the revised elevations when Maya walked over.
She looked at me.
Then at Adrian.
Then back at me.
That look alone was enough.
"No."
Maya blinked.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"I was going to ask you a work question."
"Sure."
She ignored me and held up the folder in her hand.
"Did your dance partner approve the revised elevations?"
Oh God.
I stared at her.
Adrian stopped turning the page.
Just-
stopped.
"Maya."
"What?"
"You know his name."
"I do."
"Then use it."
She nodded.
"Did Mr. Vale, your dance partner, approve the revised elevations?"
I closed my eyes.
Beside me, Adrian hadn't moved.
"Maya."
"Yes?"
"Go away."
"I need the elevations."
"Then ask for the elevations."
"I did."
"No. You added unnecessary information."
She looked thoughtful.
"Was it inaccurate information?"
I gave her a look that should have killed her instantly.
Unfortunately, she survived.
Adrian finally spoke.
"The elevations are approved."
Maya looked at him.
Perfectly innocent.
"Thank you, Mr. Vale."
Then she looked at me.
"See? Your dance partner is very helpful."
"Maya."
She walked away before I could murder her.
I looked down at the drawings.
For approximately three seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Adrian turned another page.
Ben passed behind us.
His eyes flicked from Adrian to me.
There was the faintest hint of amusement on his face.
"Morning, dance partners."
He kept walking.
I closed my eyes.
Oh God.
Adrian didn't say anything.
But his jaw tightened.
I saw it.
Not again.
"Okay," I said.
Maya turned around.
"Seriously. Enough."
She blinked.
"I was joking."
"I know."
I glanced at Ben.
"You too."
Ben, now several feet away, lifted both hands.
"I'm gone."
"Good."
"For the record, I said good morning."
"Keep walking, Ben."
"Already walking."
I looked back at Maya.
"We danced once. That's it."
Nobody answered.
"There is nothing happening between Mr. Vale and me."
The words landed strangely in the sudden quiet.
"There never has been."
I kept my eyes on Maya.
"He's my boss. I'm his employee. We happened to dance at a company event. That's literally the entire story."
Maya studied my face for a second.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
"Thank you."
I looked back down at the elevations.
Adrian said nothing.
A moment later, he placed the drawings on my desk.
"I need those revisions before three."
"You'll have them."
Then he walked away.
I didn't look after him.
The afternoon review started at three.
Solara.
Seven people around the conference table.
Adrian at the end.
Claire beside him.
Me across from Daniel.
Ben farther down.
And Ethan beside Daniel, pulled into the review because his team had been coordinating one of the adjoining interior packages.
Normal.
Professional.
We were reviewing the revised eastern elevation when Adrian pointed toward the screen.
"Shift the vertical line here."
I looked at it.
"That'll throw off the spacing on the adjacent bay."
"Not enough to matter."
"It'll be visible."
"No, it won't."
I studied the drawing.
"It will."
Adrian looked at me.
Normally, this was where we argued.
Normally, Ben would look up from whatever he was doing.
Daniel would pretend not to listen.
Adrian would get irritated.
I'd get sarcastic.
Eventually one of us would give three inches and pretend we hadn't.
Normal.
Us.
I looked at the screen again.
"If we move the line two inches instead of four, you keep the alignment without compressing the next bay."
Adrian's expression changed.
Barely.
But I saw it.
Oh.
Oh, no.
"Four," he said.
I stared at him.
"Mr. Vale-"
"Four."
His voice was sharper now.
Claire glanced between us.
Across the table, Ethan looked up.
I should have stopped.
I knew I should have stopped.
But this was work.
And he was wrong.
"I'm just saying two would solve both-"
"Ms. Stone."
There it was.
The room went still.
I stopped.
Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair.
His face had gone completely controlled.
CEO controlled.
The version of Adrian Vale that existed before I knew what his smile looked like.
Before coffee.
Before cheerful carrots.
Before his hand in my hair.
Before There you are.
"You've made your recommendation."
I swallowed.
"Okay."
"Then that's enough."
Something in his tone made Claire look at him.
I felt heat beginning to creep up my neck.
"I was only explaining why-"
"I understand your reasoning."
His voice carried across the conference room.
Cold.
Precise.
"And I made a decision."
I went quiet.
Adrian should have stopped there.
He didn't.
He looked directly at me.
"Don't confuse what I've allowed from you with authority you don't have."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
I didn't move.
Claire's head turned sharply toward him.
Daniel stared at the table.
Ben froze.
And Ethan-
Ethan looked at Adrian.
The easy expression he wore almost constantly was gone.
Completely.
His jaw tightened.
Adrian continued.
"You're part of a team, Ms. Stone. You're not the person running it."
My face burned.
Not because he was yelling.
He wasn't.
That somehow made it worse.
Every word was perfectly controlled.
Perfectly professional.
Perfectly designed to remind everyone in that room exactly where I belonged.
Below him.
"I've tolerated a great deal of informality from you."
Beside Daniel, Ethan shifted in his chair.
Just slightly.
His hand tightened around the pen he was holding.
My stomach dropped.
"Adrian," Claire said quietly.
He ignored her.
"If I've allowed that line to become unclear, then that's something I should have corrected sooner."
Oh.
I stared at him.
And suddenly I understood.
This wasn't about four inches.
It wasn't even about the drawing.
He was scared.
I knew it.
I could see it now.
The same fucking thing he'd done every time we got too close.
Except this time everyone was watching.
And Adrian Vale couldn't run away from a conference room full of people.
So he was putting me back where he thought I belonged.
Publicly.
I looked down at the drawing.
"Understood."
The room stayed silent.
Adrian didn't move.
Maybe he'd expected me to argue.
Maybe he'd expected sarcasm.
Whatever he'd expected-
I had nothing.
I picked up my pen.
"Four inches."
My voice was calm.
Professional.
"Anything else, Mr. Vale?"
And for the first time since he'd started speaking-
Adrian looked like he wished he could take every word back.
I didn't look at Ethan.
But I could feel him looking at me.
When I finally did-
just for a second-
there was no pity on his face.
Thank God.
There was something worse.
He looked hurt.
Not for himself.
For me.
And when his eyes moved from mine to Adrian-
the hurt disappeared.
His jaw hardened.
Then he looked back down at the drawings and said nothing.
That silence somehow made the room feel even smaller.
The meeting ended twelve minutes later.
I knew because I watched the clock.
Not Adrian.
The clock.
Claire closed her notebook.
Daniel gathered his papers.
Ben didn't say a word.
Neither did Ethan.
I stood.
"Anything else?"
Adrian looked at me.
"No."
"Okay."
I picked up my laptop.
Then I walked out.
Nobody followed me.
Good.