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Chapter 11: Strategic Partnerships
Above the city skyline with floor-to-- ceiling windows displaying the great urban sprawl below, the conference room was a glass and steel fortitude. The weight of the coming pitch pounding against her chest as Isla sat at the shiny conference table felt worlds away. Traffic far below felt worlds away. The room hummed with the subdued murmur of voices, the air charged with expectation. < Sharp and focused, executives and potential financiers shifted in their chairs.
Isla turned to find Noah in front precisely still. He had a tidy blue suit, a trim black haircut, and a confident but quiet manner. Seeing him should have comforted her, but instead it increased her spiral of anxiety. She was an enemy employed against Noah, not an ally. Today, though, they were on the same side and it was time to show that this partnership was more than just show-value.Noah nodded, a natural signal that it was time to get going. She raised her eye to meet his. His voice clRelated chapters
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The cold night air faintly smelled like rain that had fallen hours earlier. Isla walked off the structure with soft heels on the moist earth. Around her the city was alive, soft glow from neon lights tinting the streets pink and blue. She paused after the pitch conference to let the hum of New York at night sink in and help her to separate from the still-running flow of adrenaline. It had done better than she could have imagined. Working with Noah had been surprisingly easy. Although their banter had changed with time, it remained as sharp and irregular as it had been years earlier. For two people meant to be little more than business colleagues, their entering an old rhythm that seemed far too familiar was both exciting and upsetting.Lost in her thoughts, she had no idea the tall man only a few feet away was there until he spoke. "Did not expect I would find you here." Startled, Isla turned to see Noah sloppily curled on the side of the bui
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 13: Secrets in the Open
Cutting through Isla's office glass walls, the sharp, golden angles created by the early sun seemed to mirror the turmoil inside her. Her uneasy sleep into the early hours had last night been a flurry of mixed feelings. She could picture Noah's face every time she closed her eyes; his honest look stuck in her mind: united. The name had seemed to be an invitation as much as a chore. Now, though, beneath the harsh light of day, the emotional whirl left her naked and vulnerable. She tried to smooth the worry lines on her reflection on the black computer screen with her finger tips. It took her till her door knocked to recover.Not expecting for an invitation, Evan said, "Morning, boss." He was wearing his usual strange style, a blazer in an odd teal color mixed with loafers nobody else could carry off. He seemed cheerful when he sat down across from her, but he also showed flashes of nervousness. Laughing, Isla replied, "Evan, I swear you
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 14: A Game of Tension
The big glass windows in the meeting room let the sun in mid-morning make golden lines across the polished mahoganey table. Sitting opposite Noah, Isla sensed an implicit challenge in the close air. They had been working on numbers, discussing estimates, and arguing tactics for one hour. But somewhere between strategic planning and analytics, the conversation had devolved into a verbal sparring match flavored with a tension unrelated to business. Dark eyes fixed on hers, Noah said, "Your proposed rollout is too conservative," the hint of a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "It won't seize the momentum we need to differentiate us."Not making eye contact, Isla disagreed, stating, "And your proposition is irresponsible.Before we start running, we must establish our footing; else, we will tumble before we ever approach the second phase." Noah tilted back with arms across his chest. She tracked the movement and had to persuade herself no
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 15: Lines Crossed
Isla pushed herself to remain still as the hushed buzz of the workplace filled her. The wall clock ran nonstop, the sound far too loud given what had just happened. Her memories looped back the final few seconds, Noah's words, the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the magnetic attraction nearly, almost broken the professional distance they had been so careful to preserve. She shakily exhaled and dropped her hands to her lap, firmly closing them into fists as though it would help them stop shaking. Years ago, she had felt this conflicted. At the height of their competitiveness, Noah had never made her feel this off-balance. Still, considering all the backstory and unsaid conversations between them, things were different now. increasingly difficult.She bit her lip to conceal a sigh as the memory of his smile, one that promised both danger and delight, shined itself without invitation. Not while her work, reputation, and sanity were all under qu
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 16: Echoes of Desire
The sun hardly showed itself as Isla sat at her kitchen counter drinking strong coffee that had already lost heat. The evening before ran in her thoughts like a scene on a loop: Noah's black, sharp stare locking with hers, their proximity sending a current through her she hadn't felt in years. No matter how many times she told herself it was only business; the almost-kiss hung between them, a moment caught in time she could not shake. She drew a long breath and then gently set the mug down. Lawson murmured to her, "Get a grip." Still, the motivational speech looked hollow. Her thoughts drifted to the way Noah had leaned in, the minute change in his expression implying he was as enthralled in the moment she was in. Her most troubled by her not stopping him.Her phone buzzed her out of the whirl of thoughts. Evan sent the note asking Brunch at Monroe's Café. The treat that my friend brought We had to talk. Graced by the diversion, she sm
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 1: The Business Sharks Shadow
Leaning back in her chair, Isla Lawson watched the wavering cursor on her screen disparaging her lack of focus. Though it hung heavily in her thoughts, her history was the one she couldn't quite escape, not the current campaign she was working on. Her last email to the board stayed with her. Noah Vincent was the name she hated to say aloud at the root of it all; the takeover that almost ruined her career felt as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. She massaged her temples, trying to ignore the thought. She told herself that was ridiculous. Here were her new job and her life. Light-years from the corporate jungle she had left behind, she was a budding fashion company marketing manager. Her coworkers' unorganized whisper penetrated the office, the hum of the coffee makers, and the faint thrum of pop music streaming in from the design floor. This was safe; it energized even. Still, Noah's shadow hovered like a shark stalking just under the surface.Earth to Isla! Evan Monroe's voice
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 2: New Beginnings, Old Scars
At the fashion marketing office, Isla Lawson had come to like the mix of urgency and excitement inherent in the Monday morning rush. Unlike the great silence she had known working under Noah Vincent's empire, the murmur of voices brainstorming campaigns, the clicking of keyboards, and the faint tune of pop tunes from the design floor all indicated development. Still, the memory of their last-week unplanned rendezvous burned in her thoughts, a flame she couldn't quite put out as she drank her coffee and the steam curled around her face. " Why do you look as though you have seen a ghost?" Evan Monroe waltzed into her office, his cobalt blue blazer collided violently with his brilliant yellow tie. Today Isla was grateful for his vivid and disarming vitality. The solution is not a ghost. More like a haunting, Isla replied with half-smile. Evan glided across from her desk down onto the chair, gracefully crossing one leg over the other, as someone who understood just how amazing he loo
Addicted to the Enemy: Falling for Trouble Chapter 3: A Fashion Empire's Ambitions
The only fashion show was a rainbow of color, lights, and well chosen anarchy. Isla Lawson looked around the room, absorbing the clusters of New York's elite mingling under the golden chandeliers and the low murmur of talks broken by laughter. This was more than just a performance; it was a battlefield where designers, models, and fashionistas battled for power using fabric and style. And Isla was here ready to assert her claim, not only as an observer. She was also a participant. Evan Monroe, beside her, grinned knowingly as he drank his champagne. Even in a throng where sticking out was the norm, his turquoise blazer, covered in beautiful embroidery that shimmered when he moved, caught attention. Tilting his head and acting to inhale deeply, he remarked, "Can you smell that, Isla?" She shot a roll of her eyes and said, "Please don't say it's the perfume of ambition." He laughed, a rich sound that caught the interest of a couple inquisitive visitors. Oh, not at all There is the ar
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