Sofia McCommer hadn't meant to end up in a club on a Saturday night, least of all playing a
game that sounded more like a bad idea than a thrill. But here she was—standing under dim
lights, heels aching, drink untouched, and nerves buzzing beneath her calm exterior.
Lexi nudged her playfully. "Are you sure about this?"
Sofia glanced at her reflection in the darkened window behind the bar. The woman staring
back looked nothing like the version of herself from six months ago—when her world was
smaller, safer, and far more suffocating.
"Yeah," Sofia said, though her voice wasn't fully committed. "It's harmless."
Lexi grinned. "Ignore the billionaire. He hurt his ego. Walk away. Easy."
Sofia took a breath and shook her head. "This is ridiculous."
But the dare had already been made, and her friends were watching her now—amused,
expectant, and just drunk enough to think any of this was a good idea.
Across the room, Adrian T. Larsen sat in his usual corner of the club's exclusive lounge, a
glass of whiskey in his hand and a steel expression carved into his face. Dressed in a
tailored black suit, he looked like a man who didn't belong anywhere except the top.
Untouchable. Unbothered. Alone.
Sofia had heard the rumors. Everyone had.
Cold-hearted. Emotionless. Dangerous if crossed.
And yet, the challenge was simple. Walk past him. Don't look. Don't acknowledge. Let the
most powerful man in the room taste a moment of invisibility.
Sofia didn't care about games or egos. But she did care about feeling something other than
the pressure of holding her family's failing business together or carrying the weight of a past
she tried not to think about. For once, she wanted control—even if it came in the form of a
petty dare.
So, she walked.
Head high. Shoulders relaxed. No pause in her steps as she passed him—close enough to
feel his presence, to hear the faint clink of ice against the glass—but she didn't look.
She didn't have to.
She felt his eyes follow her back to her table.
Adrian's gaze narrowed, his jaw tightening as he watched the woman walk by without so
much as a flicker of recognition.
He had no interest in the women who usually populated this place. They were predictable.
Smiling too widely. Laughing too loudly. Always wanting something.
But this one? She didn't stop. Didn't smile. Didn't give him the satisfaction of curiosity.
Interesting.
He sipped his drink, the slow burn of whiskey barely registering. There was something in the
way she moved—collected, deliberate. Not arrogance. Control.
Adrian didn't like being ignored. And he didn't enjoy feeling intrigued. That was dangerous.
He set the glass down.
"Aaron," he said quietly to his assistant, who stood nearby, always watching.
"Yes, sir?"
"The woman in the black dress. Find out who she is."
Back at the table, Sofia forced a smile as her friends leaned in, eager for a reaction.
"You did it," Lexi whispered. "You ignored Adrian Larsen."
Sofia let out a quiet laugh. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Oh, honey," her other friend, Mariah, said with a grin. "To his ego? It's war."
Sofia rolled her eyes, but deep down, she felt it—that tight pull in her chest that wasn't quite
nervous but wasn't confident either. A warning, maybe. Or the awareness that something
had shifted, even if she couldn't name it yet.
Then, as she reached for her drink, she felt it.
A stare.
She looked up.
Adrian Larsen hadn't moved. He sat there, watching her with an expression that wasn't
anger... but something colder. Sharper.
Curiosity with a dangerous edge.
Sofia looked away quickly, suddenly uneasy.
The dare was over.
The game was done.
But something told her Adrian Larsen had just decided to play back.
Adrian T. Larsen didn't waste time on distractions.
His world moved in numbers, silence, and control. He built his empire brick by brutal
brick—precision, power, and pressure. There was no room for detours. No interest in anyone
who couldn't match the ice in his veins.
Until tonight.
He stared at the security footage playing back on his tablet. It was grainy, black and white,
but the moment was unmistakable—her, walking past him like he didn't exist. Like his name
didn't carry weight. Like she wasn't even curious.
Most people flinched under his gaze. Some ran. Others tried to impress him.
But she walked past. Calm. Silent. Untouched.
"What did you find?" he asked, eyes still locked on the screen.
Aaron cleared his throat from across the office, a manila folder in hand. Efficient. Always one
step ahead. That's why Adrian kept him close.
"Her name is Sofia McCommer. Twenty-six. She's the daughter of Howard and Elizabeth
McCommer—used to own a chain of boutique hotels before the company collapsed."
Adrian finally looked up. "Used to?"
Aaron nodded. "Financial records show they're hanging by a thread. The business has been
operating at a loss for the past two years. They filed for restructuring six months ago. Sofia's
name only started appearing on official documents recently. Looks like she stepped in when
her father... stepped out."
Adrian's jaw tensed. "Why?"
"She's trying to keep it alive. No investors, no real help. Just grit. I'd call it a suicide mission."
Adrian's mind processed it quietly. A failing family. A girl trying to hold everything together.
No wealth. No angle. No play.
Just... desperation.
And still, she walked past him like a queen in a kingdom made of glass.
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. "And personally?"
Aaron hesitated. "No scandals. No social media nonsense. Clean record. She lives alone.
No boyfriend that I could find. Keep a low profile."
Adrian let the silence stretch. The kind of silence that made lesser men squirm.
But this time, he was thinking. Measuring.
"She's not playing games," he said finally.
Aaron frowned. "Sir?"
"She didn't walk past me to start something. She didn't want my attention." Adrian's voice
lowered slightly, colder now. "That's what makes it interesting."
For a moment, something flickered in his chest. A strange tug—foreign and unwelcome.
He dismissed it.
"Schedule a meeting with a representative from McCommer Holdings," Adrian said. "Make it
look like a business inquiry. She doesn't need to know it's me."
Aaron arched his brow. "You're investing?"
"No." Adrian's tone sharpened. "I'm watching."
He stood, crossing the room to look out at the city skyline. Lights shimmered across glass
towers. Everything below him. Controlled. Contained.
But somehow, she'd slipped through.
Sofia McCommer.
She didn't know it yet—but the moment she looked away, she made herself unforgettable.
Adrian didn't chase women. He never needed to.
But this wasn't about desire. Not yet.
This was about control. And she'd stolen a piece of it—without even trying.
Which meant, one way or another, he'd take it back.
And if the only way to do that was to walk into her fragile world and shatter it?
So be it.