Chapter 28 Twenty Eight
The morning air was cool as she walked briskly toward the bus stop, her mind ticking through logistics. Office first. Pharmacy next. She rehearsed it in her head, repeating it like a mantra so she wouldn’t forget.
By the time she reached the office building, her nerves were stretched thin. The familiar glass doors slid open, and she stepped inside, the hum of corporate life washing over her. People moved briskly, voices low and serious. The atmosphere was tense—clearly, the “emergency” part of the meeting wasn’t exaggerated.
She spotted Sarah near the elevators.
“There you are,” Sarah said, relief flickering across her face. “I was about to call you.”
“I got your message,” Antonia replied, forcing calm into her voice. “What’s going on?”
Sarah shook her head. “No idea. All I know is Kennedy called this meeting himself. First thing this morning.”
Antonia’s stomach clenched.
Kennedy.
“Is he… okay?” she asked before she could stop herself.
Sarah gave her a curious look. “He looked… serious. More than usual.”
Of course he did.
They joined the others filing into the conference room. Antonia took a seat near the middle, hands folded tightly in her lap, eyes fixed on the polished table in front of her. She could feel her heartbeat everywhere—her chest, her throat, her temples.
The door opened.
Kennedy Walton walked in.
The room stilled instantly.
He was immaculate as always—dark suit, crisp shirt, composed expression—but Antonia saw what no one else could. The faint shadows beneath his eyes. The tension in his shoulders. The way his gaze swept the room with practiced neutrality.
And then—just for a fraction of a second—his eyes met hers.
The impact was immediate.
Her breath hitched. His jaw tightened.
Nothing else passed between them. No greeting. No acknowledgment. Just that brief, charged look before he turned his attention to the room.
“Good morning,” Kennedy said, his voice steady, professional. “Thank you all for coming in on such short notice.”
Antonia forced herself to listen as he spoke—about restructuring, deadlines, a critical client issue—but the words floated past her, barely registering. All she could think about was the space between them. The memory of his hands. The feel of his breath against her skin.
And the ring.
Did he hate her for leaving?
Or was he relieved?
When the meeting ended, chairs scraped softly against the floor as people stood. Antonia gathered her things quickly, intent on escaping before she had to face him again.
“Ms. Adams”
Her name stopped her cold.
She turned slowly.
Kennedy stood near the head of the table, his expression unreadable. “May I see you in my office? Briefly.”
Every eye in the room flicked between them.
Sarah's gaze was suspicious.
“Of course,” Antonia said, her voice steady despite the way her heart slammed against her ribs.
She followed him down the corridor in silence, the sound of her heels echoing too loudly. When they reached his office, he opened the door and gestured for her to enter.
The door closed behind them with a soft click.
The air shifted instantly.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Kennedy moved behind his desk, placing his hands on its surface as if grounding himself. Antonia stood opposite him, fingers interlaced, eyes fixed somewhere over his shoulder.
“I won’t keep you long,” he said finally. His tone was controlled—carefully so.
She nodded.
“I wanted to apologize,” he continued. “For last night.”
Her breath caught.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” he said quietly. “It was a huge mistake.”
The words hurt more than she expected.
A huge mistake?
So he regretted it.
While it had been all she could think about.
“I couldn't agree more,” she said before she could stop herself.
His eyes snapped to hers.
The silence stretched again, heavy and charged.
Kennedy exhaled slowly. “I also saw the ring,” he said. “Thanks for your cooperation throughout our arrangement. But we need to focus on the reality of our situation. I am your boss.”
She swallowed. “I know.”
“We have to be careful,” he said. “Professional. Discreet.”
Her chest tightened.
Is that all this was to him now? Something to manage?
The question taunted her.
Their gazes locked, the tension between them sharp and undeniable.
"Our arrangement is over." he continued, "All focus should be on work, nothing more."
Antonia nodded. "I'll take my leave now, sir."
She said, and Kennedy flinched at the sound of her calling him Sir.
This was a woman he had in his arms and made love to just hours ago.
He knew his words had hurt her. He could see it in her eyes while she spoke.
But there was no denying it was the right thing to do.
Outside, life went on as usual. Phones rang. Voices murmured. But inside that office, everything felt suspended—balanced precariously on a line neither of them knew how to walk.
And somewhere deep inside Antonia, fear stirred again—not just about consequences, but about how deeply she was already falling for a man who wasn't ready to meet her halfway.
She left his office moments later, composed on the outside, unraveling on the inside.
As she returned to her desk, one thought echoed relentlessly in her mind.
She still hadn’t taken the pill.
And time was slipping away.
After closing hours, Antonia quickly hurried to the pharmacy as planned. But fate, it seemed, had other plans.
The pharmacy doors were half-shuttered when she arrived. A handwritten sign hung crookedly on the glass.
Closed — Power Outage. Reopening when power is restored.
Antonia stared at it, disbelief washing over her.
“No… no, no,” she whispered.
She checked her watch again. Time was slipping through her fingers now.
It was almost twenty-four hours since she was intimate with her boss who had just called their night together a mistake.
Her throat tightened.
She stood there for a long moment, torn between dread and responsibility.
Later, she told herself desperately. I’ll come back later.
Finally, with a shaky breath, she turned away and headed home.