Aria’s POV
I stared at the dead phone in my hand for a solid thirty seconds.
What just happened?
Soone had called. Said sothing about inspecting the company tomorrow. Then hung up like I was so kind of answering machine.
Rude. Extrely rude.
I set the receiver down. Tried to make sense of it.
The voice had been deep. Authoritative. The kind of voice that expected to be obeyed without question.
It reminded of soone.
No. Don’t go there.
I shook my head. Pushed the thought away.
This was probably just so important client with terrible phone manners. Rich people were like that sotis. They forgot that basic courtesy existed.
I should tell soone about this.
Director Black’s office light was still on. I could see it from my desk. A warm glow against the darkening windows.
I gathered my courage. Walked over. Knocked.
"Enter."
She was still at her desk. Papers spread out in front of her. Reading glasses perched on her nose. She looked up when I ca in.
"Ms. Moon. You’re still here?"
"Yes, ma’am. I wanted to finish organizing the filing system before tomorrow."
A brief nod. Approval, maybe.
"What do you need?"
"I received a strange phone call just now." I clasped my hands in front of . "Soone said they would be inspecting the company tomorrow. Then they hung up before I could ask any questions."
Director Black’s eyebrows rose slightly.
"Did they give a na?"
"No, ma’am. They didn’t give a chance to ask."
"What did the voice sound like?"
I thought about it. Tried to describe it without letting my imagination run wild.
"Male. Deep. Very... commanding." I paused.
Director Black was quiet for a mont. Her fingers tapped against the desk.
"It could be one of our long-standing clients," she said finally. "So of them have... particular habits when it cos to communication."
"Do you know who it might be?"
"Hard to say without more information." She removed her glasses. Rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Several of our major partners have been known to drop by unannounced. It’s annoying, but it happens."
Great. So I had a mystery visitor coming tomorrow. With no idea who they were or what they wanted.
"What should I do?"
"Prepare to receive them properly." Director Black’s voice was matter-of-fact. "Review our current client relationships. Familiarize yourself with the major partnerships. If soone important shows up tomorrow, I expect you to handle them professionally."
"Yes, ma’am."
"And Ms. Moon?"
I paused at the door.
"Whoever this person is, they clearly expect a certain level of service. Don’t disappoint them."
No pressure. None at all.
---
I went back to my desk. Pulled up the company database. Started searching.
Blood Crown Industries had a lot of partnerships. A LOT.
Manufacturing contracts. Distribution agreents. Investnt deals. Joint ventures with companies across multiple territories.
My eyes started to blur after the first hour.
I made a list of the major clients. The ones who had direct lines to the executive floor. The ones whose accounts were flagged as "VIP" in the system.
Thornwood Industries. Silverpine Holdings. Nightfall Trading.
Wait. Not Nightfall. That one had been terminated two years ago. Sothing about the owners going to prison.
I crossed it off the list.
There were fifteen companies that fit the profile. Fifteen potential mystery callers.
Fifteen sets of files to review.
I grabbed a notepad. Started taking notes.
Thornwood Industries: Manufacturing partnership since 2022. Primary contact: Victoria Thornwood. Prefers email communication. Unlikely to call without warning.
Silverpine Holdings: Investnt firm. Major stakeholder. Contact: Jas Silverpine. Known for formal etings only. Definitely not the type to make cryptic phone calls.
I worked through the list one by one. Cross-referencing. Eliminating. Trying to narrow down the possibilities.
By 8 PM, I’d ruled out ten of them.
Five remained.
Ironwood Capital. Stormcrest Enterprises. Blackwater Group. Moonrise Investnts. And sothing called "Crown Holdings LLC."
My stomach growled.
I looked at the clock. 6:47 PM.
When was the last ti I ate? Lunch? That granola bar that barely counted as food?
I should go ho. Lina needed . Cassius was probably wondering where I was.
But the files weren’t finished. And if soone important showed up tomorrow and I wasn’t prepared...
I picked up my phone. Found Cassius’s number.
He answered on the second ring.
"Aria? Is everything okay?"
"Yes. No. I don’t know." I leaned back in my chair. Pressed my free hand against my forehead. "I’m still at work. Sothing ca up."
"Sothing bad?"
"Just... complicated." I sighed. "A client is coming tomorrow. Maybe. I got a weird phone call with no details, and now I have to prepare for every possible scenario."
Silence on the other end.
Then: "You need to pick up Lina?"
"Would you mind?" The words ca out smaller than I intended. "I know it’s a lot to ask. You’ve already done so much"
"Aria." His voice was warm. Patient. "It’s not a lot to ask. Lina loves spending ti with . And you’re working hard to build a future for her. There’s nothing wrong with that."
My eyes burned. I blinked rapidly.
"Thank you, Cassius. Really."
"Don’t ntion it." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I’ll pick her up. Feed her dinner. Make sure she gets to bed on ti. You just focus on what you need to do."
"You’re too good to ."
"I know." A soft laugh. "Now stop thanking and get back to work. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can co ho."
"I’ll try not to be too late."
The line went dead.
I set the phone down. Stared at it for a mont.
Then I turned back to my computer. Back to the files. Back to the mountain of work that still needed to be done.
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