YOURS, NO MATTER THE COST

Aria’s POV

“I can’t believe it’s here already!” 

The first message chimed in from Rose and I grimaced immediately. 

“Yassss!! I have a slutty red dress staring at me from my closet. I can’t wait to be in it!”

I hit the keypad of my phone. 

“Omg, Aria, you better not be coming up with an excuse to get out of this one. We will be at your place in fifteen minutes to pick you up.”

They were right. I was about to send in an excuse, but Miranda's warning didn't stop me. 

“I’m so sorry girls, but I am going to have to call a rain check on this one. I am still at the office.”

I could already imagine them groaning collectively. 

“I knew it!” The next message came in from Rose. “But come up with something else. The work line is getting old.”

“This is about the company, right? We would find a buyer, Aria, I promise.” 

I sighed and slipped my phone facedown onto the desk.

Tiana was the only one who understood, because she was my personal assistant. It had been five weeks since I found out my company was on the verge of going bankrupt, and I was yet to find a buyer. Another week and I would be forced to shut it down. 

As the CEO of the Vale Firm, it was my sole duty to keep the company afloat, but here I was, failing tremendously at it.

My eyes scanned the masculine-looking clock hanging above the door. Midnight. My boyfriend, Ethan would be worried by now. 

A knock at my door found its way into my thoughts, interrupting them. 

“Come in,” I answered, sitting up automatically. No one was in the building. Not even Tiana.

Mr Cole stuck his head in. “Can I come in, boss?”

I nodded, watching as the doorman dragged his feet, pushing himself closer to my desk. He was a wiry old man who had a stroke last year. Another constant reminder of why my company needed a buyer. 

“This came for you,” he said, sliding a parcel onto the desk. “I thought to leave it out on Miss Tiana’s desk until you were ready to leave, but the delivery agent left strict instructions to hand it to no one else.”

I frowned, giving the parcel a confused look. It was a huge black box, with a black bow on top. Ethan didn’t tell me he was going to send any package to my office, and even if he did, it would still have been weird.

He didn’t do surprises. 

Mr. Cole eyed the bow suspiciously. “Could this have been sent by …” 

He didn’t need to go on. I knew exactly what he was referring to. In fact, the whole of New York probably knew. 

“Urghhh!” Shudders rippled through me and I almost asked the doorman to take the parcel out. I hadn’t gotten a package like that since the last time I crossed paths with a powerful man and torched my own promotion. 

I wasn’t about to make that mistake twice. 

“I don’t think so,” I said, shaking my head. “You know what? This could be important. I’ll just deal with it when I get home.”

Another ding sounded on my phone as I got on my feet and grabbed my purse, along with the box, heading out of my office. I smiled wistfully when I went through the new texts.

The girls decided that they were going ahead with their plan, even if I was no longer tagging along. At twenty-six, I should be out there with them, dancing away the night with my hands swinging in the air.

And maybe with Ethan’s body pressed against mine.

But Ethan would complain that partying out all night wasn’t his thing. We’d been together for three years now, and I still had no clue what his thing was. 

Maybe I shouldn’t be complaining. Most women put their love life first, with their careers coming in second. Ethan made that choice easy for me. Work came first. 

I slid the black box into the back seat before getting behind the wheel. My phone was still blowing up with messages from the group chat. They were talking about the club to visit, moving past my rain check.

And then, I was tagged. 

“You won’t believe what just happened, Aria!”

It was another cheap trick to get me to go along with them. 

I groaned when my phone rang, Tiana’s name flashing along the caller ID.

“You can’t convince me to come partying, Tiana. You of all people know that…”

“You have a buyer, Aria.”

“What?”

“Well, technically, the company has a buyer since according to the law, the company is a juristic being. But then again, it wouldn’t have been your headache in the first place if…”

“Tiana,” I hissed. “Can you please circle back to the point where you said we have a buyer?”

“Oh!” She was silent for a second. “Yeah. A few minutes ago, I got the message. And you won’t believe who bought it!”

“I don’t want to know,” I cut in sharply, then sighed for the umpteenth time. “Tiana, I have just had a really long day, and as much as I wanted to sell the company, I still feel sad that this has to happen. You know how much I hate relinquishing control.”

“Well, this is what we have been waiting for all this time, Aria. Think about it, okay?”

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me, and then ended the call. 

Another ding on my phone and I was ready to scream from sheer frustration. 

I stopped when I saw the email icon. My fingers moved mechanically, hitting the mail open. It was from an unknown sender, with an address that couldn’t be responded to. 

But that wasn’t what knocked the wind out of me. 

It was the message. 

“I think red is your color, but then again, everyone probably already knows that since the only thing you spit is fire. I don’t want to see any other dress on you, other than this.”