The moment Avery shut the office door behind her, her body went rigid.
She leaned her back against the cool wall and stared blankly down the corridor, heart thudding like a war drum. Her lungs wouldn't fill right. Her vision swam. The polished hallway lights seemed to shimmer.
Grayson Reid.
Grayson freaking Reid.
Her boss.
The father of her child.
He hadn't recognized her. Not even a flicker of familiarity in those sharp hazel eyes. And why would he? To him, she had been just another girl in a luxury hotel room. Just one night. A blurred memory from a dark club and a billion-dollar offer.
But to her…
That night had changed everything.
Avery rushed to the bathroom—not because she needed it, but because it was the only place she could break down without anyone seeing. She locked herself in a stall and pressed a trembling hand over her mouth, the other gripping her chest like she could hold her racing heart in place.
Eden.
He has no idea she exists.
---
The next few days were a blur.
Avery buried herself in work. She arrived early, left late, and avoided the executive floor like it was cursed. If she had to deliver a file to Grayson's office, she found a way to pass it off to someone else. If he walked by, she kept her head low. If he said "Good morning," she nodded and said nothing more.
But still—his presence was everywhere. His name on documents. His voice in meetings. His scent—warm cedarwood and crisp citrus—lingering in the elevator long after he'd left.
It was impossible to forget. It was harder not to feel something.
---
On Wednesday, she stayed late organizing the mailroom inventory. Alone, with only the soft hum of the HVAC and the buzz of fluorescent lights above her. It was the kind of quiet that forced her to think.
She kept seeing his face. The way he looked at her like she was nobody.
She should've felt relief that he didn't recognize her.
But it made her feel invisible.
And somehow, that hurt worse.
---
"Okay," Lexi said on the phone later that night, "breathe. Say it again."
Avery sat on the edge of her bed, Eden sleeping peacefully in the bassinet beside her.
"He's my boss," she whispered. "Grayson Reid. I see him every day now. And he doesn't know me."
There was silence on the other end of the call. Then—
"What the actual—Avery. What are the freaking odds?!"
"I don't know," Avery said, voice cracking. "I swear, I didn't plan this. I didn't even know who he was. I just wanted a job. And now… every time I look at him, I see Eden."
Lexi's voice softened. "You need to tell him."
Avery was quiet.
"I know it's hard," Lexi went on. "But Grayson has a right to know he has a daughter. And Eden has a right to know her father."
"I'm not ready."
"You're never going to be ready."
"I mean it," Avery said. "I'm not ready to bring him into her life. What if he wants custody? What if he thinks I used him? What if—what if he ruins everything?"
Lexi sighed. "You're overthinking again."
"I'm surviving, Lex. And right now, survival means staying quiet."
"You're not going to keep this a secret forever, are you?"
"I don't know."
---
The next day, Avery kept her focus sharp. She typed faster. Filed more. Smiled at coworkers. Anything to distract her from the storm brewing inside.
But Grayson made it harder.
Because he started noticing her.
At first, it was subtle. A quick glance in meetings. An unexpected compliment passed down from the supervisor. A lingering pause when she greeted him with a "Good morning, sir."
And then came the moment that made her freeze:
He said her name.
"Ms. Carter," he'd said across the office one afternoon. "Can you bring me the Q3 report from legal?"
It was nothing. Just a task. A name from a badge.
But hearing her name on his lips, so casually spoken… she nearly dropped the folder in her hands.
"Of course, sir," she muttered.
He didn't flinch. Didn't blink. Still didn't know.
She turned and walked to the legal department, her hands shaking the entire time.
---
Later that day, she heard coworkers gossiping by the breakroom.
"He's so hot"
"Our boss is always off limits ."
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be something if he did? Imagine being the one to melt Grayson Reid."
Avery stood just outside the breakroom, hearing every word. She gripped her coffee cup and forced herself not to scream.
Melt him? she wanted to say. I had his arms wrapped around me once. I had his kiss, his voice in my ear, his promises…
But that was before.
Before she became a mother.
Before she became a secret.
Now, she was nothing more than a shadow in his company.
---
That evening, the office emptied out slowly. Avery stayed back, organizing files on the main floor.
Grayson's office door remained closed, the faint sound of typing inside. A few lights remained on above the executive floor, casting soft glows on the marble tiles.
She thought about leaving early.
But something made her pause.
She looked at his door again.
So many times she'd dreamed of storming in, dropping the truth like a grenade. "You have a daughter, Grayson. Her name is Eden."
But the fantasy always unraveled the same way: his face, twisting into disbelief. Anger. Accusation. "How do I know she's mine?" Or worse: "What do you want from me?"
She couldn't do it. Not now.
---
That night, she paced the living room floor, Eden sleeping in the corner.
Lexi sat cross-legged on the couch, arms folded.
"You're avoiding him."
Avery stopped. "I'm protecting myself."
"You're protecting your fear," Lexi replied bluntly. "Avery… this can't last forever. He's not stupid. He'll figure it out."
Avery's shoulders slumped. "I don't know how to say it, Lex. I don't even know who he is anymore. What if he's not the man I met that night?"
"Then at least you'll know."
"What if he doesn't care? What if Eden grows up thinking her father wanted nothing to do with her?"
"Then that's on him. But at least she'll know you did the right thing."
Avery turned to the window. The city lights blurred behind her tears.
"I'm not ready to let him in."
---
Days passed. Weeks.
Avery continued avoiding Grayson. But the space between them narrowed. Sometimes she caught him watching her — not in a romantic way, but like he was trying to figure something out.
It terrified her.
Then came Friday.
She was filing after hours again, her blazer slung over a chair. The office was mostly empty, the hum of silence oddly soothing.
She walked out onto the rooftop for air.
And there he was.
Grayson stood alone, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened, looking out over the city like he was waiting for a storm.
Avery froze in the doorway.
He didn't turn.
And for a moment, she just stood there, watching him — this man who had changed her life without even knowing it. The father of her child. The stranger she knew too well.
She opened her mouth.
But no words came out.
Grayson glanced over his shoulder, just barely. "Didn't realize anyone else was up here."
Avery blinked. "Just needed some air."
He nodded slowly and looked back at the skyline.
She stayed silent.
A minute passed. Then two.
She turned and left.
And said nothing.