The silence of the elevator had changed over the four hours they had been trapped. It was no longer the silence of two strangers; it was the heavy, rhythmic sound of a shared struggle.

Aria's fever had peaked somewhere around the three-hour mark. In her delirium, she had stopped being afraid of the "Icy Man" next to her. She had tucked her freezing hands into the warmth of his armpits and rested her hot forehead against the cool silk of his tie.

Killian sat like a tombstone, his heart thundering so loudly he was sure she could hear it. Every time she whimpered in her sleep, his inner wolf let out a low, mourning sound. She's fading, the beast snarled. Save her.

"I hate the reports..." Aria mumbled, her voice thick and raspy. "Tell Mr. Blackwood... he can take his spreadsheets... and shove them..."Killian let out a breath that was almost a laugh-a dry, rough sound in the dark. "I'll be sure to tell him, Aria."

"He's a robot," she sighed, snuggling closer to his chest. "I bet he... he runs on batteries. Cold ones."

"He's not a robot," Killian whispered, his hand finally finding the courage to rest on the top of her head. He smoothed her messy hair, his touch infinitely gentle. "He's just... lost. He forgot how to be a person."

Suddenly, a loud clanging sound echoed from above. The car groaned.

"Aria? Aria, someone's here," Killian said, his voice instantly snapping back to a position of authority.

The ceiling of the elevator was pried open, and a beam of blinding white light cut through the darkness like a blade. Killian's wolf-senses recoiled at the sudden brightness.

"Sir! Mr. Blackwood? Are you okay?" It was Jax's voice, sounding frantic.

Killian looked down at Aria. She was blinking, her eyes glazed with fever, staring up at the light. This was it. The bubble was about to burst. If the world saw the King holding a junior manager, her life would never be the same. The Pack Elders would hunt her. The media would ruin her.

He had to protect her.

As the first paramedic lowered himself into the car, Killian gently-but firmly-slid Aria off his lap and moved to the opposite corner of the elevator. By the time the paramedic hit the floor, Killian was standing, his suit jacket straightened, his face once again a mask of frozen granite."The woman," Killian commanded, his voice a whip-crack. "She has a severe fever. Take her first."

"But sir, you're the priority-"

"I said take her," Killian growled, a hint of his Alpha power leaking into his tone. The paramedic flinched and immediately turned to Aria.

Aria looked up, her vision swimming. She saw a man in a dark suit standing far away from her, his back turned, his silhouette sharp against the light. He looked so cold. So distant. Was that the man who had held her? The man who had felt like a furnace in the dark?

No, she thought as the paramedics lifted her onto a stretcher. I must have dreamed the warmth.

The City General Hospital - Two Hours Later

Aria woke up to the sound of someone crying, but it didn't sound like "sad" crying. It sounded like "I'm-annoyed-and-also-hungry" crying.

"If she's dead, I'm going to kill her," a voice sobbed. "Who's going to help me with the audit? And who's going to tell me when my outfit is too much?"

"Maya, shut up, she's not dead. She's just sleeping off a fever and 'Elevator Trauma,'" another voice-Leo-replied. "And your outfit is always too much. You're wearing sequins to a hospital."

Aria cracked one eye open. The room was sterile, bright, and smelled of lemon bleach. Maya was sitting in a chair, holding a bag of Cheetos like a rosary, her eyes puffy. Leo was leaning against the wall, looking at his phone but with his leg tapping nervously."I'm... I'm alive," Aria croaked.

"Aria!" Maya shrieked, dropping the Cheetos. She lunged forward, hugging Aria so hard the heart monitor started beeping. "You absolute idiot! Why would you get in an elevator during a power surge?"

"It wasn't a power surge, it was a mechanical failure," Leo corrected, though he looked visibly relieved. "The whole building is talking about it. Some big-shot executive was stuck in there with you. Do you know who it was?"

Aria rubbed her temples, the memory of the "Icy Man" flicking through her mind. "I don't know. Some guy. He was... really quiet. He barely said two words to me."

"Typical," Leo snorted. "Probably some VIP who was worried your 'commoner' germs would get on his Armani. Listen, we're going to go find the cafeteria, Maya hasn't eaten since the 'tragedy' began, and she's starting to look at my arm like it's a burrito."

"I am not!" Maya protested, though she followed him out. "We'll be back in ten minutes. Don't die!"

The door clicked shut, leaving Aria in silence. She leaned back against the pillows, her mind wandering back to the dark. Why did she feel so empty now? Why did the hospital blankets feel so cold compared to-

The door opened again.

Aria expected to see Maya back for her Cheetos, but the person who walked in was not her friend.

It was him.

He wasn't wearing his suit jacket anymore. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing thick, powerful forearms. He looked dangerous. He looked out of place in a hospital.

"You," Aria whispered, her heart doing a strange little flip-flop. "The guy from the elevator."

Killian stayed by the door, his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked at her with that same intense stare, but there was something else there now-a flicker of something that looked almost like... guilt?

"How are you feeling?" he asked. His voice was the same deep rumble from the dark.

"Like I got hit by a bus and then shoved into a refrigerator," Aria said, trying to be brave. "But I'll survive. Long enough to sue the life out of this company, anyway."

Killian's eyebrow twitched. "Sue? On what grounds?"

"Negligence! Emotional trauma! Being stuck in a box with a guy who won't even tell me his name!" Aria started to get fired up, her fever-brain taking over. "I'm going to milk the CEO for every billion he has. I heard he's a trillionaire. I'm going to make him buy me a private island just so I never have to take an elevator again."

Killian took a slow step into the room. A strange, small quirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Every billion? That's a very ambitious lawsuit."

"I'll have the best lawyers," Aria bluffed, crossing her arms. "I'll take his car. I'll take his penthouse. I'll make him work in the archives for a week just to see how it feels!"

"And what," Killian asked, his voice dropping an octave as he reached the foot of her bed, "do you think a man like K. Blackwood would do when you come for his billions?"Aria paused, looking at the man's intense blue eyes. "I don't know. He's a robot, right? He'll probably just send a lawyer-bot to pay me off. I'm just exaggerating, anyway. I'd probably settle for like... a hundred thousand. And a dental plan. My wisdom teeth are coming in and the company insurance is garbage."

Killian looked at her for a long, silent moment. The King of the North, a man who controlled the wealth of nations, found himself staring at a girl who just wanted her wisdom teeth fixed.

"A hundred thousand," he repeated quietly. "And a dental plan."

"Yeah," Aria said, suddenly feeling shy under his gaze. "That would be enough. Why? Are you his lawyer? Are you here to talk me down to fifty thousand?"

"No," Killian said, his eyes softening just enough for her to see the gold in them. "I'm not his lawyer."

I'm the man you're going to sue, he thought. And I'd give you every billion I own just to hear you say my name.

The "Blue Moon Lounge" was far too expensive for a junior manager like aria and her friends, but Maya had insisted they went. "You almost died in a tin can, Aria! You deserve a martini that costs more than my rent!" And Leo backed her up with. " Yeah, she right. One expensive spending is not going to make us broke." Even though aria knew it was an excuse for them to visit the club. she still agreed to go, just cause she's bored after being confined in that bed for a long time and maybe for the excitement and asthetic.

Aria was currently on her second drink that Maya ordered and refused to tell her what it was. Thou it was definitely something with too much vodka. The world felt fuzzy and warm, like a soft blanket. The resentment she felt toward the company had bubbled up into a hilarious sense of rebellion.

"I'm telling you," Aria slurped through her straw, leaning toward Leo. "He's probably a vampire. Or a robot. Robots don't need elevators to work; they just plug themselves into the wall."

"Who? the CEO?" Leo laughed. Fully laughed. Like head thrown back and body shaking laugh. "Aria, you've been obsessed with him since you almost died and woke up. Just let it go."

"I can't let it go! He's the reason I was almost crushed into a human popsicle!" Aria stood up, her balance slightly off. She scanned the room casually, her eyes landing on the elevated VIP section.

And then she saw him.

The man from the elevator. He was sitting in a leather chair that looked like a throne. He was surrounded by men who looked like they ate glass for breakfast. Killian looked different tonight-his "icy" mask was back, his face set in a terrifying expression of boredom and power.

"Oh, look," Aria giggled, pointing a finger. "It's the Heater Guy. He's hanging out with the Men in Black."

"Aria, wait-" Maya reached for her, but Aria was already moving.

She navigated the tables with the grace of a dizzy fawn. stumbling slightly as she got closer. Two massive security guards stepped in her way as she reached the VIP stairs, but a single, sharp motion from Killian's hand made them part like the Red Sea. ( you get the reference??)

Aria stumbled into the private booth. The air here was different-it smelled like him. Sandalwood and power.

The men at the table stared at her as if she were a glitch in the universe. One of them, a man with graying hair and a scarred neck, asked curiously, "Killian, who is this human?"

Killian didn't answer the man. His blue eyes-now flashing with a hidden, golden fire-were locked on Aria.

"Aria," he said, his voice a low, warning rumble. "You should be at home." Even though his wolf was already howling with joy in his head.

"Home is boring," Aria said, waving a hand dismissively. She looked at the chair he was sitting in, then at him. Then looked around. There was no room. So, she did the only logical and sensible thing a drunk person would do.

She hiked up her skirt slightly and sat directly on his lap, her back and head against his chest. She even got comfortable by moving left and right on his lap slightly with a satisfied hum.

The entire table went silent in shock and disbelief. A glass dropped and shattered. Killian's hands flew up, hovering in the air for a second like he was thinking before they settled firmly on her waist, pulling her back against him firmly. He let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a groan of surrender.

"Out," Killian said. It wasn't loud, but it made the windows rattle.

"But the merger-" the gray-haired man of before started.l again.

"OUT!" Killian roared, his Alpha presence exploding into the room.The men scrambled. They didn't just leave; they practically ran.

Aria, didn't even flinch, she was completely unfazed by the terrifying display of power, she leaned her head back against Killian's shoulder, the alcohol already getting to her. She reached up and poked his cheek in amusement.

"You're loud," she whispered. "Is that how you talk to the Big Boss? Is that how you talk to Mr. Robot-Blackwood?"

Killian looked down at her, his face inches from hers. His wolf was delighted and was purring so loudly he was sure she could feel it. "I am the Big Boss, Aria."

"Liar," she giggled not believing him, her eyes fluttering shut as the warmth of his body began to lull her to sleep. "You're too nice to be him. He's... he's a meanie. I'm gonna sue him. I'm gonna take all his billions and give them to... to the squirrels."Killian's grip on her tightened, his nose brushing against her hair inhaling her soft sent that seems to calm and drive his wolf insane at the same time. He let out a short, soft laugh-the first real laugh he'd had in a decade.

"The squirrels?" he murmured in a barely audible voice. "I think I can arrange that."

"Good," Then she continued to ramble about her work, how the works is taking a toll on her mental health, how her direct supervisor is always yelling at her cause she rejected one of his friends. Then Aria suddenly sighed, her head going limp against his chest. "Baby" she said still in the space of drunkness." please... tell him I hate his spreadsheets."

Killian froze at the word baby. His eyes turned pure gold. He's wolf trying desperately to come out, but with great difficulty, he suppressed him. He didn't care about the merger. He didn't care about the billion-dollar deal he just cancelled or the investors he just angered.

"I'll tell him," Killian whispered, kissing the top of her head. looking at her with gentle softness. "I'll tell him everything." he whispered again gently " just sleep."

The morning sun didn't just peek through Aria's bedroom curtains; it stabbed at her eyes with the vengeful force of a thousand needles.

Aria groaned, burying her face into her pillow. Her head felt like it had been used as a practice drum for a heavy metal band, and her mouth tasted like she'd spent the night licking old pennies. Memories of the "Blue Moon Lounge" came back in jagged, terrifying fragments: Maya's neon-pink sequins, the smell of expensive gin, and...

The Heater Guy.

Aria sat up so fast the world tilted at a forty-five-degree angle. "Oh, no," she whispered, clutching her forehead. "I did it. I actually did it."

She remembered a lap. A very firm, very warm lap. She remembered poking a jawline that felt like carved marble. She remembered calling a man who looked like he could command a private army a "meanie."

"Aria? You awake? Or should I start planning the funeral for your dignity?"

Maya walked in, already dressed for work, holding two cups of coffee and looking suspiciously energetic. Leo was right behind her, leaning against the doorframe with an expression of pure, unadulterated shock.

"How much did I do?" Aria croaked, reaching for the coffee. "On a scale of 'mildly embarrassing' to 'need to move to a different continent'?"

"You passed 'different continent' somewhere around the time you sat on that guy's lap and told him he was loud," Leo said, his voice unusually high-pitched. "Aria, do you have any idea who that was?"

"He's a lawyer? Or a VP? He works for Blackwood," Aria said, waving a hand dismissively. "He's the heater guy from the elevator. He's nice. He's... quiet."

"Quiet?" Maya shrieked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Aria, that wasn't a VP. We Googled him. Well, Leo Googled him while I was trying to make sure the security guards didn't tackle you."

"And?"

Leo walked over and dropped his phone onto her lap. It was a Wikipedia page. At the top was a grainy, high-res photo of the man from the bar. He was wearing a tuxedo, looking cold, lethal, and devastatingly handsome.

KILLIAN BLACKWOOD. CEO OF BLACKWOOD GLOBAL. KING OF THE-

The rest of the text blurred. Aria's heart stopped. Then it did a backflip. Then it stopped again.

"That's him," she whispered, her face turning a ghostly shade of white. "That's the elevator guy. That's the guy who let me drool on him for four hours. That's the guy... I just sat on."

"Bingo," Leo said. "You didn't just insult the CEO, Aria. You treated a trillionaire like a sofa."

"I have to resign," Aria said, throwing the covers off. "I have to move. I have to change my name to Brenda and start a new life as a goat farmer in the mountains."

"Wait!" Maya grabbed her arm. "Check your phone. You got a notification a few minutes ago. I think your bank is glitching."Aria fumbled for her phone on the nightstand. Her screen flickered to life. A notification from her banking app was sitting there, mocking her.

[New Transaction: +$1,000,000,000.00]

Aria stared. She blinked. She rubbed her eyes and stared again. "It... it says I have a billion dollars."

"It's not a glitch," Leo whispered, pointing at the transaction details. "Read the note."

Aria's thumb trembled as she tapped the screen.

Sender: Blackwood Private Trust Message: Settlement for 'emotional trauma' and 'elevator negligence.' Keep the dental plan. Please stop calling me a robot. - K.B.

The silence in the room was deafening. Aria looked at the screen, then at her friends, then back at the screen. A billion dollars. One followed by nine zeros."He... he paid me," Aria whispered. "I told him I'd milk him for billions, and he just... he just gave it to me?"

"Aria," Maya said, her voice trembling with excitement. "You aren't a manager anymore. You're... you're a billionaire."

"No," Aria said, a sudden spark of her usual fire returning through the hangover. "I'm a target. He thinks he can just throw money at me so I'll stop insulting him? He thinks he can buy my silence after he let me think he was just some guy?"

"Uh, for a billion dollars? Yes?" Leo said. "I would let him throw a brick at my head for a billion dollars."

Aria stood up, her jaw set. "No. This is 'fuck you' money. He thinks he's winning. He thinks he's in control."

...........

Aria's bravado lasted exactly until the elevator doors opened on the 50th floor.

The air up here didn't just smell like money; it felt heavy, vibrating with a power she couldn't explain. The walls were dark obsidian, the floors a polished white marble that reflected her nervous face. By the time she reached the massive, double oak doors with the gold 'B' engraved on them, her knees felt like jelly.

You have a billion dollars, Aria. You're practically his peer now. Don't faint, she told herself.

She knocked. It was a small, pathetic sound.

"Come in," a voice rumbled from inside. It wasn't a question; it was a command that seemed to pull her forward.

Aria pushed the door open. Killian was standing by a floor-to-ceiling window, his back to her. The city looked like a toy set beneath his feet. He didn't turn around immediately, and the silence stretched until Aria felt like she was going to scream.

"Mr. Blackwood," she started, her voice sounding far more high-pitched than she wanted.

He turned. Slow. Deliberate. He looked even more imposing than he had in the bar. "Miss Vance. I expected you thirty minutes ago."

Aria fumbled with her bag, pulling out her phone. "The money. The billion dollars. You... you can't do that."

Killian tilted his head, his blue eyes tracking the way she was trembling. "The transaction was successful. The funds are yours."

"It's too much!" Aria took a brave step forward, though she felt like a rabbit walking into a wolf's den.

"Last year, a machine fell on a floor manager's leg and nearly broke it in three places. The company gave him five hundred thousand dollars. I got stuck in a lift and had a sniffle. Why am I worth a billion?"

Killian moved then. He didn't walk; he glided, closing the distance between them until he was looming over her, a wall of sandalwood and expensive wool.

"Because," he whispered, his voice dropping into that dangerous, honey-thick register. "His leg was just a leg. You... you called me a 'robot.' You told me I run on cold batteries."

Aria's face went up in flames. "I was... I was delirious. The fever-""And in the lounge?" Killian stepped closer, forcing her to take a step back until her heels hit his mahogany desk. He leaned down, his face inches from hers, a predatory smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You sat on my lap in front of my board of directors. You told me I was 'loud.' You told me I should be the boss because the actual CEO is a 'meanie.'"

"I was JUSTICE-ATED!" Aria squeaked, trying to duck under his arm.

Killian blocked her path, his hand slamming onto the desk beside her head. He didn't touch her, but the heat radiating off him was overwhelming. He was cornering her, his eyes flashing with that strange, golden light again.

"You said you were going to milk me for billions, Aria," he murmured, his breath hot against her ear. "I'm simply making the process easier for you. I don't like to be kept waiting.

"Aria's heart was drumming against her ribs. She looked at his lips, then back at his eyes, and panicked. "I-I have to go. I have... filing. In the archives. Very important filing!"

She dove under his other arm, her heart in her throat. Killian didn't chase her; he just turned and watched her scramble toward the door, his hands slipping casually into his pockets.

"The archives are on the twentieth floor, Aria!" he called out, his voice full of dark amusement. "Don't get stuck in the elevator on your way down!"

Aria didn't look back. She sprinted out of the office, past a grinning Jax, and didn't stop until she was back in the safety of her cubicle, her face so red she looked like a tomato.