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The plan was simple:intercept Adrien on his way out of the office and convince him to give Alba her job back. I was going to be polite and ask him nicely and everything.
It seemed foolproof until I got to the underground garage and realized I had no idea what car he drove. And I couldn’t just linger around the swanky sports cars like a weirdo, hoping I’d run into him. Not with that one pesky security guard doing constant rounds down here. Thus began Mission Sneak Into The Building And Up to Adrien’s Office Without Getting Caught.
My other option was to find out where he lived and wait for him there, but that was stalker-type behavior and he’d already made it clear he wasn’t into that, so trespassing it was.
I recognized that this was one of the stupidest ideas I’d ever had, but it was also brilliant and… surprisingly easy.
The majority of the office workers had already cleared out by the time I made it into the lobby, and the guys at the concierge desk were too busy discussing their weekend plans to notice me slipping past them. And then I just used Alba’s all-access pass to scan my way up to the twentieth floor, because no one had bothered to take it back (or deactivate it, apparently).
All in all, I usually had a harder time getting my Sims to stop playing computer games when their surroundings were on literal fire. The security here waslax.If I actually wasa stalker, Adrien wouldn’t have stood a chance.
I made a mental note to tell him that.
The elevator doors opened with adingthat immediately jumpstarted my nerves. I wiped my palms against my jeans before stepping out, trying to convince myself that everything was going to be okay. I could do this.
There was a good chance Adrien was going to call security (or the cops) before I could make my argument, but that was okay. I just needed to squeeze my main points in before I was cuffed and dragged out of his office.
It was almost 7 p.m. on a Friday, so the floor was empty except for one room.
I sucked in a deep, somewhat unsteady breath, and started to make my way to Adrien’s office. The door was halfway open, and he was sitting at his desk, concentrated gaze glued to his monitor. I chewed the inside of my cheek as I began to internally rehearse my speech again. I only had one real shot at this before being dragged out of the building kicking and screaming, so—
“Are you just going to stand there and stare, or are you going to come in?”
I started, taking a full step back like I hadn’t already been caught.
“Um, I wasn’t staring,” I lied, feeling a tinge of heat creep up to my nose and cheeks. He hadn’t so much as glanced away from his computer, and probably didn’t actually know it was me. It explained why he wasn’t already yelling or calling the cops.
I took a few tentative steps inside, rubbing my palms against my jeans again. “Do you maybe have a few minutes? To talk.”
Adrien finally turned in his chair, dark gaze pinning me to a halt midstep. And then he… smiled? He wassmilingat me.
It was a cold, harsh thing that didn’t touch his eyes, but it was there.
“It’s… Ria Sanchez,” I reminded him awkwardly, just in case he didn’t recognize me without the glitter or something.
He gestured to one of the chairs facing his desk. “Sit down, Miss Sanchez.”
A feeling of unease spider-crawled up my spine as I slowly lowered myself onto the leather seat. If Adrien was at all surprised by my impromptu visit, he didn’t show it. Instead, he studied me for a few moments with a mixture of amusement and distaste, then held out a broad hand. “You can give the pass back to me now.”
That’s when the penny dropped. This was a setup. The card had been left active and in my possession on purpose. He’d been expecting me to show up.
I fished the card out of my pocket and placed it in his open palm, trying not to show how much more nervous I suddenly was.
Adrien tossed the pass into his drawer and leaned back in his chair, his head tilting slightly to one side. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t ask why I was here or what I wanted. He just sat there and watched me with those vicious green eyes, waiting expectantly.
Run.
That was what the voice in the back of my head was saying. It was telling me to bolt the fuck out of his office and never, ever look back.
I stupidly didn’t listen.
“I’m here to ask you to give Alba her job back,” I said. “Please.”
He didn’t even pretend to think about it. “No.”
I shifted in my chair, my fingers fiddling on my lap. “She didn’t know about the pass. I took it out of her purse without telling her.”
“She already confessed to it.”
