The next morning, Annie woke up with a strange calmness sitting in her chest. She stretched both hands tiredly and yawned effortlessly.
Today, there were no weird messages. Her phone screen had stayed silent all night. No anonymous number. No cryptic words. No warnings. Everything felt calm, like the universe has finally succumbed to her wishes.
She told herself she preferred it that way. Still… the silence felt unnatural.
She got up and pushed the thought aside. She decided to focus on something she could control...how she looked.
If she was going to survive at A&R, she had to look like she belonged, nothing less.
She stood in front of the mirror, took her time and picked a fitted cream blouse that hugged her waist without being too loud. She paired it with a high-waisted charcoal trousers tailored just enough to give her structure, then a slim black belt to make it fit properly. She opened her drawer and picked a minimal gold jewelry, not overly flashy, just elegant. Her hair was sleek, parted neatly by the side, and falling straight down her back. She moved to her shoe rack at the far end of her room and went for a nude heels. It screamed class! She then applied soft makeup and glossed her lips. She saw the figure in front of her mirror and smiled softly.
When she stepped out of her apartment, she didn't feel like the girl who had once rehearsed lies in a mirror. She felt composed. Dangerous in her own quiet way. By the time she stepped into the A&R building, she noticed it immediately.
Eyes! Staring so deep. But not the same kind from before.
Yesterday the stares had been curious. Appraising.
But today? It was that of admiration.
Two women near the reception desk whispered and smiled. A man by the elevator held the door longer than necessary. Someone complimented her perfume in passing. Annie smiled and immediately kept her expression neutral. Though Inside, her confidence straightened its back.
She walked toward her office, heels clicking softly against the polished marble floor. Adrian still hadn't shown up. The thought came uninvited. She didn't know why she was noticing but she couldn't help it.
Why should it matter? Still… she noticed.
She unlocked her office door and stepped inside gently.
The air felt normal, undisturbed and sparkling clean. She noticed something on her desk. It was a small folded note. Her pulse shifted slightly.
She closed the door behind her cautiously before walking over. The way she handled the door seemed like it was too fragile. She feared to break the handle and being asked to replace it. "It will definitely cost a fortune." She thought. The note wasn't in an envelope. Just a plain white folded paper.
She unfolded it. Two simple words stared back at her.
"Keep being pretty."
Annie blinked. Her fingers tightened around the paper. There was No signature, and no explanation.
Her first thought was irritation. Her second was curiosity. Her third...Heat crept up her neck.
Mr. Leighton. It had to be him! She thought. He had been overly confident yesterday. Smiling too long. Letting his gaze linger just a second beyond professional. He didn't seem like the type to hide compliments.
Still… the handwriting looked deliberate. Masculine. Sharp strokes.
She folded the paper again, slower this time.
Why did it make her blush? She exhaled sharply and slipped the note into her drawer.
"Focus!" She said under her breath.
Work came quickly. Emails. Introductions. A rundown of ongoing interior projects. She was assigned to assist on a luxury penthouse redesign overlooking Lake Michigan. Mood boards. Fabric samples. Budget sheets. Client preferences.She immersed herself in it.
This... this was the part she didn't fake. It was real as her ideas flowed easily. Clean lines. Warm textures. Balanced lighting. She lost herself in drafting suggestions for a modern, minimalist aesthetic softened with layered neutrals.
For a few hours, she forgot about her lies, forgot about notes and weird messages, forgot about Adrian.
Around midday, her phone buzzed. It was Sasha on the line.
Annie smiled instantly before answering. At least something to make her cool off
"Well?" Sasha's voice burst through. "How does it feel to be corporate elite?"
Annie laughed softly but cautiously, spinning slightly in her chair. "It feels… surreal, strange."
"Strange good or strange bad?" Sasha asked with a touch inquisitiveness in her voice.
"Both." Annie replied as she heaved.
She told her about the stares. The work. The office energy, but she didn't mention Adrian's absence right away.
Sasha gasped dramatically when Annie casually mentioned the note.
"He left you a WHAT?"
"It's not a big deal."she said.
"It's absolutely a big deal. Keep being pretty? That's bold. I like him already."
"You don't even know him." Annie snapped
"I know confidence when I hear it."
Annie rolled her eyes, but her lips curved. Sasha's energy always felt grounding. Chaotic. Honest.
"You deserve attention," Sasha added more softly. "Just don't forget why you're there."
The reminder settled deeper than Annie expected.
After the call ended, she stared at her desk drawer for a moment. Why hadn't Adrian come in? Was he avoiding her?
Or had she imagined the tension between them? The thought alone irritated her more than it should have.
By late afternoon, the office began to empty gradually. Conversations reduced, lights dimmed in certain sections. Annie wrapped up her notes and double-checked tomorrow's schedule.
Still no Adrian. She told herself she didn't care.
By 5pm, she finally left the building, the Chicago air felt colder than the morning. The city lights blinked alive one by one as she drove home.
Her apartment greeted her with a weird silence.
She locked the door behind her out of habit. Everything looked normal. She began to change slowly, unaware that across the street, partially hidden behind a tree and the dark stretch of shadow beside a parked vehicle, someone stood watching.
He wore a black hoodie, a pair of dark shade with the hood covering his head. He was still, waiting to press forward.
Inside, Annie loosened her blouse, unaware of the pair of eyes fixed on her window. The strange man had already stood close to her window watching her undress. The streetlight outside flickered faintly.
She reached up to unclasp her necklace.
And then... She heard her window creak.
She turned.
And froze. Outside her window.
A silhouette.
Dark. Still. Too close. For one suspended second, her mind refused to process it.
Then the shape moved slightly.
A human outline. A man to be specific, he was watching.
Annie screamed. The sound ripped out of her before she could control it.
She immediately picked a clothe to cover her almost naked body.
The silhouette jerked backward instantly. Before she knew it he was gone.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs as she stumbled back, nearly knocking into her dresser. She grabbed her phone with shaking fingers.
Breathe.
It was a person.
Not a ghost.
A person.
Her chest tightened with a recognition she didn't want to name.
That build.
That stillness.
No, it sure wasn't him.
She dialed Sasha.
"Sash," her voice trembled. "I need you to come over."
"What happened?"
"There was someone outside my window."
Silence creeped in.
"What do you mean someone?"
"I don't know...I think...I don't know."
But deep down, she did.
That familiar suffocating feeling.
The kind she had escaped months ago.
The kind that had once disguised itself as love.
Her ex.
The one who never handled endings well.
The one who had said, If I can't have you, nobody will.
Her breath became shallow.
"I'm coming," Sasha said immediately. Annie rushed to lock every window. Every door. She checked the hallway. The balcony. The kitchen. The bathroom.
There was nothing. But the fear didn't leave. She stood by her door, listening and every sound felt amplified. Every passing car felt like a return.
Her phone screen remained dark. They were no messages, no unknown numbers, just silence. But this silence felt different from the morning.
She swallowed hard and whispered to herself:
"It's nothing." But her body didn't believe it. Outside, across the street, hidden deeper in shadow now...The hooded figure hadn't gone far.
He watched the apartment light flicker as she moved inside.
He watched her pace.
He watched her fear and a slow, satisfied smile touched his lips beneath the hood.
He wasn't done.
Not even close...