Chapter 86 Awakening
My head snapped up so fast my neck screamed in protest.
For a split second, I didn’t know where I was.
The sterile white of a hospital room flashed through my mind. Sirens. Fire. Blood. A baby’s cry that echoed even though I’d never heard it before.
Then reality slammed into place.
Fluorescent lights.
The low hum of air-conditioning.
The familiar gray cubicle walls of Cole Enterprises.
I was still at my desk.
My laptop screen glowed faintly, untouched for how long had I been out?
My heart pounded like I’d run miles. I pressed a hand to my chest, breathing hard, my body slick with cold sweat.
It was a dream.
It had to be.
I looked down at my hands. No IV marks. No tremors. No scars. Just my chipped nude nail polish and the faint ink stain on my thumb from earlier.
Slowly, shakily, I reached for my phone.
The screen lit up.
My stomach dropped.
The message was still there.
If you’re free tonight, want to watch something… adult, raw and crazy?
My fingers tingled as if the words might burn me.
I scrolled up.
Scrolled down.
No reply.
No “Seen.”
No teasing response.
No summons to his office.
Just… silence.
My lungs finally released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
I hadn’t ruined my life.
I hadn’t slept with my boss.
I wasn’t pregnant.
There was no corporate war. No betrayal. No hospitals or handcuffs or burning wreckage.
Just me.
A stupid message.
And a very real attraction I’d been trying not to name.
“Lila?”
I flinched so hard my phone slipped from my fingers and clattered onto the desk.
Mia stood at the edge of my cubicle, concern written all over her face.
“You scared me,” she said. “You fell asleep. I tried to wake you like three times.”
I swallowed, my throat dry. “I… I did?”
She nodded. “You were out cold. Head on your keyboard. I was about to go get security.”
I glanced at the clock on my monitor.
6:42 p.m.
I’d lost nearly two hours.
“I must’ve been more tired than I thought,” I said weakly.
Mia tilted her head. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I almost laughed.
If only she knew.
“Yeah,” I said. “Just… a bad dream.”
She eyed me for a moment longer, then shrugged. “Well, welcome back to the land of the living. Most people are gone. You heading out?”
“In a minute,” I said. “I just need to… finish something.”
She smiled. “Don’t work too hard. And hey—” her lips twitched. “Try not to dream about spreadsheets again.”
I forced a smile as she walked away.
The moment she disappeared, my body sagged.
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, images crashing through my mind without permission.
Adrian’s voice low, controlled.
His hand at the small of my back.
The way he’d looked at me like I was both a threat and a weakness.
It hadn’t been real.
But the emotions had been.
That terrified me more than the dream itself.
I straightened, resolute, and unlocked my phone again.
I stared at the message.
Then, before I could overthink it, I deleted it.
Gone.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
Should I block his number?
No.
That would be suspicious.
I locked the phone and slid it into my bag, my heart still racing.
“Get it together,” I muttered.
I powered down my computer, grabbed my things, and stood.
That’s when the office door opened.
I froze.
Mr. Adrian Cole stepped inside.
The office suddenly felt too small.
He’d loosened his tie, suit jacket draped over his arm, dark hair slightly mussed like he’d been running his hands through it all day. He looked tired but sharp. Controlled. Untouchable.
Exactly as he always did.
My dream version of him dissolved instantly, leaving only the real man behind.
And somehow, that was worse.
He paused when he saw me.
“Miss James,” he said, voice even. “You’re still here.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied quickly. Too quickly. “I was just leaving.”
His gaze flicked briefly to my desk. Then to my face.
Something unreadable passed through his eyes.
“Good,” he said. “Get some rest. You look exhausted.”
My stomach twisted.
“You noticed?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He studied me for half a second longer than necessary.
“I notice details,” he said calmly. “It’s part of my job.”
The words sent a chill down my spine.
In the dream, those details had destroyed everything.
In reality, they felt like a warning.
“Yes, sir,” I said again, this time steadier.
I moved to walk past him, but as I did, he spoke.
“And Miss James?”
I stopped.
“Yes?”
He hesitated.
Just slightly.
“If you ever feel overwhelmed,” he said, tone professional but quieter now, “speak to HR. Or take a day off. Mistakes happen when people push themselves too far.”
My pulse thundered.
“Thank you,” I said. “I will.”
His gaze held mine for a brief moment long enough to make my skin prickle.
Then he stepped aside, letting me pass.
I walked out of the office with my head high and my heart in my throat.
In the elevator, my reflection stared back at me pale, shaken, but awake.
The dream hadn’t been a prophecy.
It had been a warning.
A glimpse of what could happen if I let attraction blur boundaries… if I confused longing for safety… if I reached for comfort in the wrong place.
As the elevator doors closed, I made myself a promise.
I would not cross that line.
Not with him.
Not with anyone.
But deep down, in a place I didn’t want to acknowledge, I knew something else too.
Some dreams don’t come from nowhere.
And some feelings don’t disappear just because you wake up.