Late afternoon sunlight glinted against the glass walls of Kane Luxe Tower, turning the entire building into a mirror of gold and sky.
Dominic Vale sat in the back seat of his car across the street, one arm resting lazily along the leather armrest while the city moved around him. Traffic rolled by in slow waves. Pedestrians crossed the street in hurried clusters.
But Dominic wasn't watching any of that.
His attention was fixed on the entrance of the tower.
The headquarters of Kane Luxe Group stood tall and elegant, exactly what he would expect from a company run by a woman like Alessia Kane.
Sophisticated.
Precise.
Imposing without being loud.
Julian Cross sat beside him, scrolling through something on his tablet before glancing up.
"You know," Julian said casually, "most people who want to see someone simply ask them out."
Dominic didn't look away from the building.
"I'm not most people."
Julian smirked slightly. "That's exactly my point."
Dominic remained silent, his dark eyes studying the steady rhythm of people entering and leaving the tower. Executives in tailored suits. Assistants carrying tablets. Security guards standing firmly by the doors.
The building ran like a well-oiled machine.
Just like its CEO.
Alessia Kane.
Dominic leaned slightly forward.
"Have you noticed something?" he said calmly.
Julian followed his gaze. "That you've been staring at the same building for fifteen minutes?"
Dominic ignored the sarcasm.
"The security."
Julian raised an eyebrow.
"They're disciplined," Dominic continued. "Alert. Organized. Whoever runs this place understands control."
Julian chuckled.
"That would be Alessia Kane. The woman you can't stop thinking about."
Dominic didn't respond immediately.
Because Julian wasn't entirely wrong.
Dominic had met thousands of people throughout his career—celebrities, politicians, billionaires, royalty.
Very few ever left an impression.
Alessia Kane had.
Not because of her wealth.
Not because of her position.
But because of the way she carried herself.
The quiet authority.
The confidence that didn't beg for attention.
And those sharp, intelligent eyes that seemed to notice everything.
Dominic rarely found himself curious about anyone.
Yet here he was.
Watching her world from across the street.
Studying it.
Understanding it.
Because that was how Dominic Vale approached everything.
Observation first.
Action later.
Julian leaned back against the seat.
"You're planning something."
Dominic finally looked at him.
"Am I?"
Julian laughed.
"Don't pretend. I've known you for ten years. That look on your face means you're calculating."
Dominic turned his gaze back to the tower.
"I'm learning."
"About her?"
"About everything."
Julian shook his head in amusement.
"You know you could just meet her again."
Dominic's expression remained calm.
"Eventually."
Julian studied him carefully.
"You're not rushing."
Dominic's lips curved slightly.
"No."
And he meant it.
Dominic Vale never rushed into anything important.
Especially not something that intrigued him this much.
Just as Julian opened his mouth to speak again, movement near the entrance caught Dominic's attention.
A man was arguing with one of the security guards.
Dominic's eyes narrowed slightly.
The man looked disheveled compared to the sharply dressed professionals around him.
Wrinkled shirt.
Unsteady posture.
Frustrated gestures.
Dominic leaned forward slightly.
"What's happening?"
Julian glanced toward the entrance.
"Oh," he said after a moment. "That's him."
Dominic's gaze sharpened.
"Him?"
"Ethan Blake."
Dominic watched closely as the man pointed angrily toward the building.
"I need to see Alessia!" Ethan shouted loudly enough for people nearby to turn their heads.
The security guard remained calm.
"Sir, you need to leave the premises."
"I told you she knows me!" Ethan snapped. "Call her!"
Julian sighed.
"Looks like he tried again."
Dominic said nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on the scene.
Ethan stepped closer to the guard, his frustration boiling over.
"You think you can just block me out?" he shouted toward the glass doors as if Alessia might hear him. "Tell her Ethan Blake is here!"
People walking past slowed down, curiosity flickering across their faces.
The guard spoke into his radio.
Seconds later, another security officer stepped outside.
"Sir," the second guard said firmly. "You need to leave."
"I'm not leaving until she talks to me!"
Dominic watched every movement carefully.
Ethan's anger.
The guards' restraint.
The subtle way the reception desk inside seemed completely undisturbed.
Efficient.
Controlled.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Julian crossed his arms.
"You know the story already," he said quietly.
Dominic didn't look away from the entrance.
"Yes."
Alessia's ex.
The man who had lost everything the moment she walked away.
Ethan tried to push past the guards.
That was the moment their patience ended.
One guard stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
"Sir, you are trespassing."
Ethan struggled.
"You can't do this!"
"Yes, we can."
Within seconds, the guards escorted him down the steps.
Ethan's angry voice faded as they pushed him toward the street.
Dominic leaned back slowly in his seat.
Silent.
Thoughtful.
Julian glanced at him.
"Still curious?"
Dominic's expression was calm.
But his eyes had grown colder.
"Yes."
Julian tilted his head.
"That man just embarrassed himself trying to see her."
Dominic's gaze returned to the towering glass building.
"She refused to meet him."
"Of course she did."
Dominic nodded slowly.
That told him something important.
Alessia Kane didn't tolerate weakness.
Or manipulation.
She had cut Ethan Blake out of her life with surgical precision.
No hesitation.
No second chances.
Dominic respected that.
Very few people had the strength to remove someone completely once emotions were involved.
But Alessia clearly did.
Julian studied him.
"You're analyzing her like a business deal."
Dominic smiled faintly.
"I analyze everything."
Julian sighed.
"You're impossible."
Dominic didn't disagree.
His eyes returned to the entrance of Kane Luxe Tower.
Somewhere above those floors, Alessia Kane was working.
Running her company.
Completely unaware that across the street sat a man who had become unexpectedly interested in her life.
Dominic wasn't chasing her.
Not yet.
But curiosity was a powerful thing.
And once Dominic Vale became curious about something…
He rarely stopped until he understood it completely.
Julian closed his tablet.
"So what now?"
Dominic glanced once more at the towering glass building before speaking calmly.
"Now?"
His voice was quiet.
Patient.
"Now we wait."
Julian shook his head, half amused.
"Only you would call watching someone from across the street a strategy."
Dominic's faint smile returned.
"It's not strategy."
"Then what is it?"
Dominic looked back at Kane Luxe Tower one last time.
"Interest."
And Dominic Vale had just realized something.
His interest in Alessia Kane wasn't fading.
It was growing.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Dangerously.
Will Alessia notice the man who notices everything?