CHAPTER 8 — RUMORS & GOSSIP
The morning sun filtered through the tall glass windows of Velasco Empire Holdings, but it brought little warmth to Aria Sarmiento's heart. The office felt unusually small today, suffocating even, as whispers followed her wherever she went. Every step toward her desk made her aware of the subtle glances, the quiet chuckles, and the knowing smirks of her colleagues.
She tried to focus on the Henderson files, but her hands shook slightly as she typed. She had barely had a chance to breathe before a whisper reached her ears.
"Did you see the way she looked at Lucien yesterday?"
Aria froze mid-sentence, her fingers hovering over the keyboard.
"I think the new secretary has caught his attention," another voice added, low enough that it was meant to feel secretive, but loud enough for her to hear.
Her cheeks burned crimson. She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to concentrate on the reports. Ignore them, she told herself. It's nothing. Just rumors. People gossip about everything.
But every whisper, every glance, made her pulse spike, and it wasn't just embarrassment it was fear and thrill tangled together. She had thought she could maintain professionalism, but now she realized how dangerously close she had come to losing control.
The day passed in a haze. Every time she walked down the hall, she felt eyes following her, whispering voices like invisible threads pulling at her nerves. She tried to keep her interactions polite, minimal, and professional. But the reality was simple: she couldn't stop thinking about Lucien.
And it was clear she wasn't the only one noticing.
By mid-afternoon, she was summoned to Lucien's office. The walk there felt longer than usual, her heartbeat thundering with each step. She told herself it was just nerves. That's all. But when she opened the door and saw him standing by the large window, hands behind his back, eyes sharp and gray, the rational part of her brain faltered.
"You seem… distracted," he said, his voice low, deliberate, and dangerous.
"I… I'm finishing the Henderson files, sir," she replied, trying to sound calm, professional. Her voice sounded too loud in the quiet office, betraying her tension.
Lucien's gaze was relentless, scanning her as though he could read her every thought. The way he looked at her the slightest tilt of his head, the narrowing of his eyes made her pulse race in a way that had nothing to do with work.
"You've been distracted lately," he continued, stepping closer so that the air between them grew charged. "Focus is required if you want to survive here. If you want to keep your place."
Aria swallowed hard. "Yes, sir," she whispered, trying to steady her racing heart.
He leaned just a fraction closer, close enough that the scent of him smoky, masculine, intoxicating filled her senses. Her stomach fluttered, but she forced herself to look away, desperate to appear professional.
"Careful," he murmured, his voice almost too soft to hear, yet his gray eyes burned into hers. "Rumors can be dangerous. Especially when they involve you."
Aria's heart skipped. Rumors? Her stomach twisted. He wasn't just warning her about professional consequences he was… concerned. Protective. Something about the way he said it made her blood heat and her pulse thrum in a dangerous rhythm.
He straightened, adjusting his cufflinks, and with a tilt of his head, left the room without another word. Aria remained seated, trying to calm herself, but the heat in her chest refused to fade. She realized with a jolt that Lucien's concern his subtle, almost imperceptible attention was far more intoxicating than she wanted to admit.
Back at her desk, the whispers continued. Colleagues glanced in her direction, some discreetly, some not. The rumors were spreading fast. Aria felt a pang of fear this was more than just office gossip now; her career, her reputation, everything she had worked for, could be in jeopardy if someone misunderstood her intentions or exaggerated the truth.
Yet, there was another side to it, one she refused to admit even to herself. Every rumor, every gaze, every whisper reminded her of Lucien the way he watched her, the way he controlled the space around them. There was a thrill in being noticed by him, in feeling the dangerous pull of his presence.
Her thoughts wandered to last night, to the way he had leaned so close while reviewing documents, the brush of his hand against hers. She could feel it even now, the phantom touch sending shivers through her. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to banish the memory, but it lingered, persistent and maddening.
The day stretched on, and with each passing hour, Aria felt herself caught in a web she couldn't escape. She was trapped between fear and desire, professionalism and temptation. Every glance from Lucien reminded her that he held the power to protect or destroy her. Every word he spoke hinted at something more beneath the surface, something she couldn't define but couldn't ignore.
By the time the clock struck six, Aria was exhausted not from work, but from the constant, silent battle raging inside her. She packed her things slowly, aware that Lucien was still watching from his office, his figure silhouetted against the city skyline.
As she left the office, she whispered to herself, a mixture of fear and longing in her voice:
He's forbidden. He's dangerous. And yet… I can't stop thinking about him.
The whispers outside the office faded behind her, but they didn't matter. Nothing did. Not the gossip, not the rumors, not the judgmental glances. All that mattered was the storm she felt every time she was near Lucien Velasco.
A storm she was powerless to resist.
And she knew, deep down, that resisting him was a battle she might already have lost.