Chapter 6 I want your mind

~006

Tension on the 20th Floor

---

Bella Bluefield adjusted the strap of her satchel as she stepped out of the elevator and into the exclusive executive wing of LV Groups. The 20th floor wasn't just high-it felt like a whole other world. Where the 18th floor buzzed with ideas and organized chaos, this one whispered power with every muted footstep.

The air smelled cleaner, the lighting was softer, and the offices-encased in polished glass and gold accents-were intimidating without even trying. Everyone here walked like they owned the place. Some probably did.

Bella didn't.

Not yet.

"Ms. Bluefield?" came a crisp voice.

She turned to see Miriam, Xavier's sharp-eyed assistant, approaching her with a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Mr. Louis requested your presence in the Strategy Room for the quarterly rollout preview," Miriam said. "You'll be shadowing him and the core team today."

Bella blinked. "I thought I'd be reporting to Clara again."

"You are. But Mr. Louis wants you there," Miriam said. "Follow me."

Bella's pulse sped up. She hated that it did. Xavier hadn't spoken to her since their conversation in his office. Not a message. Not a glance. And yet she had felt his presence every day like heat lingering in a room after the fire is out.

Now he wanted her by his side again?

No.

Not his side. The team. She was here for the job. The work. She had earned her place.

She reminded herself of that as she followed Miriam down the hall and into a glass conference room overlooking the Seine. The table was already half-full-department heads, brand directors, and high-level creatives chatting over sleek tablets and espresso shots.

And at the head of the table sat Xavier.

As composed and unreadable as ever.

He was reviewing a document, his fingers toying absently with a pen, his body language relaxed but commanding. When Bella entered, he didn't look up.

But she felt it.

She took her seat near the end, across from a man who introduced himself as Leo-Head of International Retail-and beside a quiet woman named Anya from Digital Branding. No one seemed surprised by her presence. That somehow made it worse. Like she was being carefully placed, seamlessly folded into Xavier's world with a touch so subtle no one would notice-except her.

The meeting began, and for the first half hour, Bella forced herself to stay locked in.

Clara's division presented first-seasonal textile strategy, supplier logistics, and the sustainable material integration Bella had helped research during her trial week. When Clara mentioned her by name-"Bella Bluefield drafted the material comparison layout you're seeing on slide four"-Bella sat straighter. Xavier glanced up. Just briefly.

But his eyes found hers.

And held.

She felt the air shift.

He didn't smile. Didn't nod. But there was something in his gaze-quiet approval, maybe. Or maybe something far more dangerous.

Bella looked away.

---

Two hours later, the meeting wrapped with polite claps and a few snide remarks about the upcoming merger with a luxury Italian label. People filtered out slowly, still talking, making plans for lunch meetings or golf reservations.

Bella gathered her notes quietly. She was almost to the door when she heard his voice behind her.

"Miss Bluefield. A word?"

She turned slowly.

Xavier stood by the window, his back to the river view, hands in his pockets.

The others gave her knowing looks-some amused, some indifferent-as they filed out, leaving the room empty except for the two of them.

Bella walked back in, heart pounding, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

He watched her the whole time.

"You were impressive today," he said simply.

"I did my job," she replied, keeping her voice steady.

"You did it better than people who've been here five years."

She blinked. "If you're trying to compliment me, Mr. Louis, just say it."

He chuckled-a rare, genuine sound. "You're still impossible to rattle."

"You keep trying," she said. "That's the problem."

A flicker of something passed over his face. "Do you see me as a problem?"

Bella took a slow breath, then stepped toward the table and set down her tablet.

"I see you as a complication," she said honestly. "One I didn't ask for."

"And yet here you are."

"I'm here for the work. For the experience. I told you before-I won't play games, Xavier."

He said nothing.

Just walked toward her, slow and measured.

"You think this is a game?" he asked.

"I think you're used to getting what you want," she said, tilting her chin up.

"And you think I want you."

Silence.

Her breath faltered for a second too long.

Xavier stopped just in front of her.

"I want your mind," he said quietly. "Your work. Your perspective. Your fire. I've never met someone who challenged me like you do."

She didn't answer.

Not right away.

His words weren't flattery. They were too sharp, too precise. Like he was carving something out of stone and offering it to her bare.

"And the rest of it?" she asked finally.

"The rest of it," he said, voice like silk, "is what I fight every day not to act on."

Bella's heart pounded like a war drum.

"You shouldn't say things like that," she whispered.

"I know."

She stepped back, creating space between them before she drowned in his eyes. "This can't happen again."

"I'm not making a move. I'm giving you truth," Xavier said. "You can walk out of this room and never speak to me outside of business again, and I'll respect it."

Bella grabbed her tablet again, her fingers trembling slightly.

He didn't stop her.

Didn't chase her.

But just before she reached the door, he said one last thing.

"I meant what I said that night. You were never forgettable, Bella."

She paused.

Then walked out.

---

Back at her desk, Bella tried to focus on the emails piling up in her inbox. She answered a few, forwarded another, but her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

She had stepped into LV Groups thinking she could keep this professional.

That her heart wouldn't betray her.

But now... she wasn't so sure.

Not when Xavier Louis looked at her like she was the only thing real in a world of artifice.

And worst of all?

Part of her wanted to look back.