Chapter 3 CLOSE QUARTERS

Lila woke before dawn the next morning, long before her alarm.

She wasn't sure whether nerves or fear had jolted her awake, but either way, her body knew she had to be at Blackwood Industries by six.

By the time she walked into the glass tower, the sky outside was still a dark shade of navy. Only a handful of lights glowed inside the building-janitors, overnight staff, and somewhere on the upper floors... Aiden Blackwood.

It didn't surprise her that he was already working. Men like him didn't sleep. Or if they did, it was probably in the same controlled, efficient way he did everything else.

The elevator hummed softly as it carried her up.

Sixth floor... fourteenth... twenty-first...

Her nerves grew louder with every number.

When the doors opened on the twenty-ninth floor, the hallway was silent. Too silent. Lila walked carefully toward Aiden's office, hoping-praying-he wouldn't notice if she was a minute early.

She gently knocked.

"Enter."

That voice again. Smooth and controlled-yet somehow sharper at this early hour.

She stepped inside.

Aiden was already at his desk, suit jacket off, crisp white shirt sleeves rolled elegantly to his forearms. Papers were organized in perfect lines, a laptop open to graphs she didn't recognize but pretended to understand.

He didn't look up immediately, which shouldn't have made her heartbeat stutter... yet it did.

"Good morning, Mr. Blackwood."

His pen stilled. "You're early."

"I didn't want to risk being late again."

This seemed to earn her the smallest flicker of acknowledgment.

"Sit."

She took her place opposite him. He handed her a stack of documents.

"Review the financial projections for our Evergreen expansion. Then compare them with last quarter's metrics."

She opened the folder. Numbers glared back at her like a foreign language, but she forced herself to nod confidently.

"I'll do that."

"Good."

Aiden returned his attention to his laptop.

"If you have questions, ask. I prefer temporary confusion to permanent mistakes."

A strange way to offer help-but maybe, in his world, that counted as kindness.

For the next hour, she worked in silence. The only sounds were the soft clicking of keys, the faint turning of pages, and occasionally, the low rumble of Aiden's voice as he dictated a note into his phone.

The tension in the air wasn't hostile.

But it wasn't comfortable either.

It was... charged.

Like the room held a storm behind glass.

Every now and then, Lila glanced up-just to breathe, just to rest her eyes from the numbers.

And Aiden was always there.

Always focused.

Always sharp.

He was beautiful, yes-but that wasn't the problem.

It was how still he was.

How utterly controlled.

A man with emotions welded shut.

Around eight o'clock, he finally spoke again.

"Miss Hart."

She jumped a little. "Yes, sir?"

"You skipped page twelve."

Her face heated. "I-I didn't mean to. I was comparing the two graphs-"

"It's fine."

He held out his hand.

"Give it to me."

She passed the sheets across the desk. His fingers brushed hers-barely a touch, barely a second-but it sent a quiet ripple down her spine.

Aiden froze.

Only for a moment.

Then he pulled back, jaw tightening.

"Continue," he said, voice slightly rougher.

She did. But her heart wasn't listening anymore.

Hours passed. They reviewed contracts, debated timelines, analyzed budgets. Lila made notes, reorganized files, fetched coffee that Aiden barely drank, and listened carefully when he explained the more complex parts of the project.

He never raised his voice.

Never snapped.

Never lost control.

But the tension between them lingered-quiet, restrained, simmering.

Around noon, Aiden finally leaned back in his chair.

"You're learning quickly," he said.

The compliment caught her off guard. "Thank you."

"I don't offer praise lightly."

"I... noticed."

For the first time, he held her gaze longer than a passing second.

Something unreadable flickered there.

Something softer.

Lila looked down, pretending to fix a paperclip.

Aiden cleared his throat. "We'll continue after lunch. You may take thirty minutes."

She nodded and gathered her things.

But as she reached the door, his voice stopped her.

"Miss Hart."

She turned.

"Try to eat something," he said. "You haven't taken a break since you arrived."

Her eyebrows lifted. "You... noticed?"

He paused, as if regretting the admission.

"It's my job to notice everything."

But that wasn't true.

Not this time.

He'd noticed her.

Lila stepped out before she could overthink the moment.

---

Lunch was a blur. Lila barely tasted the sandwich she bought downstairs. Her mind replayed the morning over and over-the quiet tension, the brushes of proximity, the way his eyes softened for a heartbeat.

She returned to his office exactly thirty minutes later.

Aiden was standing by the window, staring out at the city.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Come here."

They moved through more data, more planning, more strategy. Hours blended together until the sun began to lower, painting the skyline gold.

At one point, while reviewing a supplier dispute, Lila sighed-long and unconsciously.

Aiden looked up immediately.

"Something wrong?"

She hesitated. "Just... thinking about my mom."

His brows drew together. "Is she ill?"

Lila blinked. She hadn't meant to say anything. "She's been sick for a while. We're managing. Or trying to."

Aiden's expression changed-subtly, but undeniably.

The hardness softened.

The lines of his jaw eased.

His voice dropped a shade warmer.

"I hope she recovers," he said quietly.

The sincerity surprised her.

"Thank you."

He opened his mouth, as if to ask something else-something personal.

But then his phone buzzed.

Just like that, the wall slammed back into place.

He straightened. "Break time is over. Continue with the procurement files."

And he became the Ice King again.

Lila forced herself to focus. But the brief softness haunted her.

Aiden Blackwood wasn't a man without emotions.

He was a man terrified of showing any.

---

By 6 p.m., the floor was empty except for them. Most employees had gone home. Even Jenna had left hours ago, but not without giving Lila one last suspicious stare.

Lila finished organizing the final reports and finally allowed her shoulders to drop.

She hadn't realized how exhausted she was.

Her eyes burned.

Her muscles ached.

Her chest felt tight-too tight.

She inspected the neat stack of documents she'd prepared and exhaled softly.

She missed her mother.

She missed the life she used to have.

She missed feeling like she wasn't drowning.

Before she knew it, tears blurred her vision.

She wiped them quickly, shaking her head.

"No. Not here. Not now."

But the tears kept coming-the quiet kind that hurt more because they made no sound.

She turned away from Aiden's office, stepping into the dim, empty workspace, leaning against a desk as her shoulders trembled.

She thought she was alone.

She thought she was invisible.

She thought no one would see.

"Miss Hart."

The voice was low.

Close.

Too close.

Lila whipped around, breath catching.

Aiden stood in the doorway, the light from his office silhouetting him... watching her.

And for the first time, his expression wasn't cold or unreadable.

It was something far more dangerous.

Concern.

-End of Chapter Three