Revealing Truths

Dora was in a turbulent mood the morning Adrian's unplanned stay ended. She could not get rid of the memory of their passionate kiss, the way his touch had set a fire inside her she battled to put out. Still, within the muck of her ideas, one question persisted:

Adrian wanted from her what?

Her thoughts racing with unresolved problems and unmet needs, she walked around her flat. The meeting with Adrian had set something inside her—a desire buried far below layers of independence and ambition. Now, though, she was unable to ignore the draw he drew over her given the truth of his being in her life.

Her phone rang with a message, yanking her from her meditations. It was Lily: morning. Coffee!

Dora paused and then said:

Yes. See you in thirty minutes.

Dora was in the cafe telling Lily once more the events of the previous evening, her voice unsure.

"He just showed up at my door," Dora said, her hands shaking somewhat over her coffee cup. "I'm not sure what he wants. And I'm not sure whether I could believe him."

Lily wrinkled her brow with worry. "Did he discuss why he came to see you?"

Dora shook her head, her eyes far off. "He claimed he kept having thoughts about our gala chat. That about me he couldn't fully grasp something."

"Sounds like he's intrigued by you," Lily said, carefully whirling her latte. "But Dora, you shouldn't let your guard down either. You understand more than anybody how these strong, wealthy guys behave.

Dora nodded with a focused look over her face. "I won't allow him to veer me from my objectives. My career is far too essential to me."

Dora found herself buried in work once more later that day, carefully reading strategic assessments and financial data. She concentrated on the current chores with fresh resolve, trying to drive ideas of Adrian Pierce to the rear of her mind.

Nonetheless, fate had other ideas.

That evening Dora was leaving the workplace when she got an unannounced email from Adrian. The basic yet interesting topic line was Dinner?

Her finger hung over the mouse as she paused momentarily. Was she ready to see him once more? To face the unresolved questions that hung between them?

Dora sighed and clicked open the email, reading Adrian's note with a mixture of intrigue and nervousness:

Doras, Though I can't stop thinking about our chat, I know this might sound abrupt. You should see me once again. Tonight's dinner?

Dora considered her choices as her mind ran counterintuitive ideas. She was driven, on one hand, to solve the riddle of Adrian Pierce—that man behind the strong front. She worried, however, about letting him inside her well guarded universe and about the repercussions of getting too near.

Curiosity prevailed in the end.

She answered Adrian's email with a quick confirmation, arranging to see him later that evening at a hip Midtown restaurant. Dora couldn't get rid of the sense that her life was flying toward an unknown future—one molded by the mysterious millionaire who had flipped her world upside down as she got ready for their dinner date.

In his posh condo, Adrian Pierce stood before the mirror carefully changing his tie. One person and one person alone—Dora Collins—occupied his entire mind.

Adrian had been enthralled by her knowledge, ambition, and calm power emanating from every pore the instant he had laid eyes on her at the ball. Their meeting on the patio had just heightened his curiosity and set up feelings he had long thought dormant.

He couldn't ignore the effect she had on him, the way her presence stayed in his mind long after they had separated ways. Adrian had always taken great satisfaction in his capacity to stay detached and to see relationships through a prism of strategic gain.

But Dora was different.

She pushed him in ways he couldn quite understand—a task he found thrilling and unsettling at once. She seemed vulnerable, a weakness that reflected his own, and it both unsettled and fascinated him.

Adrian's head whirled with questions as he headed to the restaurant they had decided upon. Dora sought from him what? More crucially, though, what did he want from her?

Arriving first to the restaurant, Dora was nervous and waiting for Adrian to join her. The mood was close knit, the graceful décor bathed in a warm glow from the candles. She inhaled deeply, getting ready for the forthcoming talk.

All eyes shifted to Adrian as soon as he walked into the restaurant—a monument to his unquestionably charismatic personality. Dora watched him approach; her pulse rate accelerated even as she tried to keep her cool.

"Adrian," she nodded to him, her voice calm but somewhat unsure. Thank you for inviting me.

Adrian grinned, not quite reaching his eyes. "Thanks for consenting to seeing me once more, Dora. Should we"?

Sitting at a private table, the air heavy with unsaid tension, they looked over the menu. Dora was researching Adrian, looking for hints in the contours of his face and the depths of his eyes.

At last unable to control her curiosity any more, she questioned, "Why did you come to see me last night?"

Adrian's demeanor softened and his eyes met hers with a genuineness she was not used to. "I wanted to see you again," he said gently. "Dora, there is something about you. Something I can't quite articulate.

Dora's will wavered as the walls she had erected around her heart began to fall. And from me, Adrian, what do you want?

Reaching across the table, his hand enveloped hers in a move that shocked her to life. "I want to get to know you," he replied simply. "To know the woman hiding behind the aspirational front."

Their lunch arrived before Dora could reply, therefore ending their talk. They ate silently, the strain between them obvious yet somehow thrilling.

Adrian revealed flashes of his own life—his origins, his challenges, his aspirations—as the evening progressed. Drawn to the fragility he exposed under the glossy surface, Dora listened carefully.

Once more from the shadows outside the restaurant, a man watched Adrian and Dora through the glass and their look was incomprehensible. The pair lost sight of them as they were deep in discussion; their voices rose and fell with every insight revealed.