The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and Bella stepped out, adjusting her blazer as though it could somehow hold together the storm swirling in her chest.
Lunch hour had arrived, but she didn't feel hungry in the least. The nerves Jake had tangled her in that morning were still crawling under her skin.
Still, she had promised Chloe. And truthfully, she needed her friend's presence more than food. Chloe always had a way of grounding her, reminding her she wasn't entirely alone in this city or in this company that already felt like a trap.
Bella turned down the corridor that led to the fashion design wing of StoneTech Solutions. The atmosphere there was so different—colorful swatches pinned to boards, sketches taped to glass walls, mannequins clothed in half-draped fabrics. Even the scent was different here: less of ink and steel, more of creativity and fabric dye.
