Ava’s POV
The invitation was for 8 p.m., but I arrived at 7:52, because showing up “fashionably late” didn’t feel right when your boss also happened to be the man you couldn’t stop fantasizing about.
And when the man in question was Damien Cross… every minute felt like temptation knocking on your door.
The private lounge on the top floor of Cross Enterprises wasn’t what I expected. No sterile walls or conference room lights. Just warm wood panels, a sleek stocked bar, low lighting that hummed with sensual undertones, and soft jazz playing in the background. It felt like a different world up here—intimate, far from boardrooms and business hours.
He was already there, of course. Standing by the bar with a crystal glass in hand, dressed in a navy shirt with the top buttons undone and slee
