Chapter 23 - Colliding Paths

Ava's POV

The drive back to the office was cloaked in silence, the kind that crackled with everything left unsaid. Orion's face was stoic, but the tension in his jaw betrayed his irritation. I kept my gaze forward, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of any reaction. He’d dragged me into his personal mess, and if he thought he could control me now, he was dead wrong.

By the time we arrived, I was mentally rehearsing my pitch for the afternoon board meeting. I stepped out of the car, chin held high, striding toward the office doors. Just as I reached for the handle, Orion’s hand closed over mine, his grip firm.

“Ava,” he said, his voice low. “You think I don’t see what you’re doing?”

I pulled my hand free, leveling him with a calm stare. “And you think I don’t see through you? You may think you have some leverage, Orion, but I’m not here to play your games. Not anymore.”