Chapter 84 Adeline
Adeline's POV
The wind howling through the narrow streets of Soho the next morning was brutally cold, biting right through the wool of my tailored coat. It made me miss my old coat that Zara described as a tarp.
I kept my head down, my leather briefcase clutched tightly in my gloved hand as I navigated the morning rush. Zara’s penthouse was only a ten-minute walk to the nearest subway station, but every step felt like I was getting further away from the station.
Halfway down the block, the familiar, rich scent of roasted coffee beans drifted from a small metal street cart, and I stopped to pull my wallet from my bag to order an espresso.
As I waited for the vendor to hand me my cup, my eyes drifted to the subway grate a few feet away, where my eyes drifted to a man in a tattered, oversized army jacket. He tried to huddle himself into a ball for warmth, but it did nothing against the chill. His gray beard was matted, and his dark eyes watched the bustling commuters pass by with a resigned exhaustion. He didn't even beg anymore, just kept looking on.
A sharp ache tugged at my chest. I knew what it looked like when the world abandoned you. I knew what it felt like to be sitting in the cold and waiting for a danger you couldn't fight off.
"Excuse me," I said, turning back to the vendor. I handed him an extra twenty-dollar bill. "Can I get a large drip coffee, black, and two warm bagels? Keep the change."
The vendor nodded, quickly bagging the food.
I took the paper bag and the steaming cup, walked over to the man, and bent so I was at eye level with the man. He flinched back in distrust, and I held out a hand in caution.
"It’s just breakfast," I said softly, holding the bag out to him. "It’s freezing out here today. You should eat."
He stared at me for a long moment, his dark eyes wide and intense, before slowly reaching out a dirty, trembling hand to take the cup.
"Thank you," he mumbled, his voice rough like gravel. He didn't look at the food; his gaze remained entirely fixed on my face with heavy gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Miss.. You're... you're an angel."
"Stay warm," I murmured, stood back up, and
and walked down the steps into the subway station, but as I swiped my metro card, that familiar prickle of survival instinct flared at the base of my neck. The feeling of being watched came back in full force.
This time around, I whipped around and watched everyone on the crowded platform. All I saw was a businessman reading a paper, a teenager with headphones, and a woman pushing her baby in a stroller. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but still the feeling didn't go away.
Now that I was without my usual protection, I felt exposed and useless. Knowing that there was nothing I could do and that if whoever was watching me was going to harm me, they would have, I headed to work.
Thankfully, Percy hadn't tried to pull a trick on me so I could see or talk to him, so I was able to concentrate. I worked so hard that I had no idea that four hours had flown by after work.
By 9, my office floor was a ghost town since everyone had gone home.
I rubbed my tired eyes from staring at the glowing screen of my laptop. Percy hadn't been bluffing when he handed me the new case file. Vanessa had left behind a massive amount of work to do. And untangling it required absolute focus, and that was what I had been doing.
"You missed a liability loophole on page forty-two." I jumped and turned around to find Percy leaning against my office door. I wondered how he had been able to appear so silently.
He had shed his suit jacket hours ago. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and the sleeves rolled up to reveal his strong forearms. He looked exhausted but also so handsome that it took every ounce of my willpower not to reach out to him.
"I didn't miss it," I said, my voice deliberately cool as I turned back to my screen. "I flagged it for revision. The commission will never approve it without secondary audits."
Instead of arguing, he came around my side of the table and sat on the edge of it. I almost leaned into his lap, but I thankfully caught myself on time. He was too close and telling him that would give him the idea that I couldn't resist him.
"Show me," Percy murmured, his deep voice dropping into that quiet one he reserved strictly for the bedroom.
I swallowed hard and pulled the contract toward us. "Right here, under Section 8, if it faces a data breach, we are going to absorb forty percent of the litigation costs. Vanessa practically gave them a blank check."
Percy leaned in to read the clause, and as he did, his shoulder brushed against mine, and a jolt of electricity shot straight through my veins. Percy froze so I knew he felt it too.
Slowly, he turned his head to look at me. We were mere inches apart. I could see the gold flecks in his dark eyes. They were swirling with a mix of possessiveness and regret.
I thought he was going to start with getting together again, but he didn't. "Did you eat dinner, Adeline?" he asked softly.
"I had a salad," I lied.
"You're lying," he countered smoothly, his gaze dropping momentarily to my lips. "You haven't left this desk since nine this morning, and Zara's doorman confirmed you didn't eat breakfast before you left her building."
My head snapped up in anger, grateful that I could focus on any other emotion other than love. "You're checking up on me with Zara's doorman?"
"I am making sure the woman I love isn't passing out from exhaustion," Percy stated, completely unapologetic. He reached out, his long fingers gently catching my wrist to force me to lower the pen. His thumb traced a slow circle against my pulse point. "Come back to the penthouse, Adeline. Just to sleep. You don't have to talk to me or even have to look at me. Just let me know you're safe."
For a split second, I wanted to say yes. I wanted to collapse against his chest and let him carry the weight of the world, but then I remembered the several men he was paying.
"I am perfectly safe, Mr. Akilov," I said coldly. I turned my eyes back to the contract. "Now, if you want me to fix this liability clause, I need you to authorize a renegotiation with the board. Otherwise, you are wasting my billable hours."
Percy stared at me with a clenched jaw, but the possessive glint in his eyes didn't waver. He slowly stood up and left my desk.
"I'll authorize the renegotiation," Percy said. "But do not mistake my patience for surrender, Ms. Volkov. I always win my cases. You of all people should know that."