Chapter 1: What?

AMELIA

Standing in the office, in front of my desk like they had every right to be there were the last two people I wanted to see in my workplace.

My sister, well my half sister and my father.

My brows pulled together into a frown. "What are you doing here?"

My father sighed like I had personally disappointed him.

"That," he began calmly, "is no way to greet your father."

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. My annoyance didn’t even try to hide.

Beside him, Raven lifted her hand in a small, cheerful wave with a smug look her face.

"Hi big sister," she said lightly."Won’t you at least offer us seats?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. Was she trying to be annoying or was this just her natural state of being? Either way, I wasn’t just in the mood.

I ignored her as my gaze returned to my father. "I’ll ask again. What are the both of you doing in my workplace?"

"We just finished a meeting with an investor nearby," he said. "I decided to stop by and check on you."

Of course he did. My expression didn’t soften. I rolled my eyes.

"And," he continued smoothly, like we were having a perfectly normal father-daughter conversation, "to remind you that my offer still stands. There is always a place for you in my company."

There it was. I let out a quiet scoff, shaking my head.

"Not happening."

Raven’s smile twitched, like she was enjoying every second of this. I didn’t even look at her twice.

"I’ve told you countless times," I continued annoyed, meeting his eyes. "I’m not working for you."

His sighed but his tone stayed even. "You’re wasting your potential here."

That almost made me laugh. I gestured lightly to my laptop. "I’m perfectly fine where I am and I'm infact very busy right now."

A brief silence stretched between us.

Then I added, more pointed this time, "So if you’re done… I’d appreciate it if you’d let me get back to work and you leave."

Raven shifted, clearly entertained.

He studied me for a long second, like he was trying to figure out when exactly I had become this version of myself.

Finally, he sighed.

"One of these days," he said, "you will have to learn to be a little nicer to me, Amelia."

I didn’t respond or look away from my screen. I didn’t give him the reaction he was probably waiting for. Before, I would have yelled or screamed at him.

After a moment, he shook his head once and turned.

"Come on, Raven. Let's go."

They started walking toward the exit. Right before they reached the door, Raven glanced back over her shoulder.

"It was nice seeing you too."

That earned her a flat, unimpressed glare from me. She only smiled wider before following my father out.

The moment they disappeared, the stiffness in my shoulders finally loosened. I exhaled slowly and rubbed my temple.

Because apparently the universe had decided today was "stress Amelia out" day. Perfect.

I had barely reopened the document on my screen when familiar voices approached. That should be my colleagues, they had gone out earlier to get lunch.

Casey stopped mid-sentence when she spotted my face.

"Oh," she said carefully. "You look like you just fought someone."

"Emotionally," I muttered.

She winced in sympathy and placed a takeaway bag on my desk. "Peace offering."

I peeked inside and immediately relaxed.

"You got my usual?"

"Obviously," she said, flipping her hair.

I gave her a small smile. "I appreciate you."

She and Megan settled down into their seats.

"What did we miss?" Megan asked, eyeing me curiously.

"An unwanted family visit."

"Here?" Megan asked.

"Unfortunately."

Casey made a face. "Oh that explains it."

I snorted despite myself.

After a while I received a message from my boss to head over to the boardroom. Casey got the message too.

We both grabbed our tablets and notes and walked to the boardroom.

We were already settled in the boardroom when Adrian Langford walked in. Everyone was so hyped that he hired our firm for a project.

I sat straight in my chair, my fingers lightly resting on the table and my expression the same way it was when I faced every high profile client.

Around me, the room atmosphere subtly shifted, that quiet corporate reaction that happened when someone important entered.

So this was him. The 'Adrian Langford.'

I wasn’t staring. Absolutely not. But… the tabloids really didn’t do his looks justice.

He was tall and looked composed. His eyes swept across the room. Beside him was a man who looked very much like a personal assistant.

"Mr. Langford," my boss, Mr. Hillary, said quickly, already on his feet while stretching his hand. "Thanks for making the time."

"Mr. Hillary," Adrian acknowledged accepting the handshake.

Then Mr. Hillary turned slightly to me. "This is Amelia Harper, our senior marketing strategist, the brilliant mind behind the rebrand. She’ll be walking you through the proposal."

Right on cue, Adrian’s gaze flicked to me before looking away.

"Go ahead, Amelia," Mr. Hillary prompted.

I rose smoothly to my feet. I had worked on this proposal for nearly two weeks, long nights, early mornings and lots of coffee.

Mr. Hillary had made one thing very clear, Adrian Langford wasn’t just any client, he was the client.

The projector lit up behind me as I stepped forward.

"My team and I focused on repositioning the hotel’s brand identity while preserving its legacy appeal," I began, my voice was steady and clear.

"The goal is to attract a luxury market without losing your current loyal clients."

I moved through the slides calmly and walked them through the strategy. The market analysis, brand refresh direction, digital campaign rollout and basically just all of it.

I knew my work quite well and it showed. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Casey giving me a subtle thumbs-up. Mr. Hillary looked pleased. Good.

When I finished, I turned back toward the table. Silence followed.

Mr. Hillary smiled politely. "Mr. Langford, what are your thoughts?"

Adrian Langford leaned back slightly in his chair. For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he spoke.

"It’s polished," he began.

My shoulders stayed relaxed. But something in his tone kind of made my stomach tighten.

He tilted his head a bit. "But I don’t like it."

What?