Chapter 65

Stella's POV

An hour later, I sprawled across the tangled sheets, watching Adam step out of the bathroom in the suit I'd picked-though,predictably, he'd swapped those fun cufflinks for a boring,conservative pair. *Figures-he's still such a stick-in-the-mud.*

His eyes landed on the little jewelry box I'd left on the nightstand last night. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

My heart skipped-I'd totally forgotten about it.′′Agift from a friend. Haven't opened it yet." *God, I hope it's from James-he's always dropping mysterious stuff like this.*

Adam gave it a quick glance, uninterested, and turned to leave."Adam!" I called as he hit the bedroom door. I propped myself up, wincing at the ache in my body-*damn, he really wore me out this morning.* "Everything go okay in Europe?"

"Yeah," he said, short and sweet.

Just a "yeah." No details, no nothing. A cold pang hit my chest,like someone dumped ice water on me. *That's it? Can't he at least toss me a bone, say something sweet?* I'd wanted to ask about those online rumors-the pics of him with that blonde but I chickened out. *What if he thinks I'm being nosy? Better not poke the bear.* After he left, I grabbed the jewelry box and popped it open.Inside were two gorgeous pearl hairpins. engraved with "SW"

on the inner edge-subtle, elegant, and perfectly crafted.*This has James written all over it-he knows me too well.* I shot him a thank-you text. but after a few unanswered messages,my stomach sank. *Did he block me? What the hell's going on?*

My phone buzzed-Samantha:"Check Twitter trends NOW!"

Curious, I opened the app and spotted two hot topics: #LucyPoliceMidnight and #LucyBirthday. *Oh, this oughta be good.* Digging in, I saw Lucy had bought birthday hype. but it backfired hard.

#LucyPoliceMMidnight was packed with videos and eyewitness posts-Lucy got hauled off by cops from Rouge nightclub after starting a fight. Comments ranged from pity to shade:

@NYPartyScene: Lucy Winston and her boyfriend Brian Lancaster got booted from Rouge and nabbed by police on her birthday! Wild night!

@ManhattanElite: Word is she was plastered and swinging at people. Total nutcase!

@SocialCircleInsider: Anyone know who she scrapped with?

I couldn't help grinning. *Karma's a sneaky bitch--Lucy's finally getting hers.* Logging into Rouge's official accouint.1dropped a quick statement: Rouge Official Statement: Regarding last night's incident, we confirm Ms. Lucy Winston and Mr. Brian Lancaster engaged in a physical altercation with other guests and are now permanently banned. Rouge has zero tolerance for violence.

Right after. Sam texted again: "BTW, the first outlet to break the police story? Mark owns it."

I froze, piecing it together. Mark-Adam's buddy. The timing was too perfect to be random. *Did Adam set this up to stick it to her for me?* My heart warmed, like he'd slipped me a secret sweet.

*If he did, maybe I should kiss him as a thank-you-right on that smug mouth of his.* My face heated up, and I shook off the embarrassing thought fast.

Adam's POV

I sat at the head of the conference table, irritation climbing as the execs stared anywhere but the quarterly report. They swapped looks and whispers when they thought I wouldn't notice-bunch of distracted idiots.

*Bam!*

I slammed my folder down, the crack cutting off the marketing director mid-sentence. Every jittery exec snapped their eyes to me.

"What, got data on my face you're all gawking at?" I asked.voice ice-cold, tapping the table. "Zoning out in my meeting-you begging to get canned?"

Dead silence. Finally, one brave soul cleared his throat.

"Mr. Lancaster, when we called you this morning," he started.cautious as hell,"awoman picked up."

Stella answered when I was still half-asleep. I nodded casually."Problem?"

"No, no problem!" he backpedaled quick.

That little nod confirmed their morning gossip fest. I leaned back, scanning their faces. "Anything else you wanna ask?"

I was in a damn good mood today-normally, I'd have chewed them out for this crap.

"Mr. Lancaster," another piped up, ballsy enough to push it, "can we ask... who she is? The one from last time?"

I dropped my gaze, a smirk tugging at my lips. *Who else could it be but Stella?* I didn't say it out loud-my look said enough. Later in my office. I flipped through papers while Taylor hovered. explaining the execs' weirdness.

"Sir, it's not totally their fault,"' he said. "When Mrs. Lancaster picked up and said you were stil asleep... I mean, you've never had a woman around in all these years. They were floored."

"What'd they say?" I asked, pen tapping a steady beat, mind drifting to Stella's flushed face this morning. *Her voice was all soft and sleepy on the phone like a kitten purring. Damn cute.*

"They kept asking who your wife is. But I swear, I didn't spill a thing!" Taylor rushed to add. "They're dying to know what kind of woman could make you... not bolt to work."

I'm a stickler for schedules-making senior management wait over an hour today was a first. *All her fault-messing around this morning made me wanna stay in bed. Picturing her moaning under me? Screw the meeting.*

"Next time they ask, say she's gorgeous," I said coolly.

"Huh?" Taylor blinked, then caught on.′′Oh,yes,sir!"

I almost laughed. He probably thought I was showing off. *Maybe I am-who wouldn't brag about Stella? She's too damn cute to keep under wraps.*

"Cancel the rest of my day," I added.

"Everything?" Taylor's jaw dropped. "The afternoon meeting.Wall Street dinner-those can slide, but the video call with London tonight..."

"Push it," I said, firm, my mind flicking to that jewelry box on Stella's nightstand. *Did she open it yet? Who sent it-some guy?* My brows pinched. "Get the event planning team in here.11

Taylor looked baffled. The planning crew handles company parties-I barely glance their way normally.

Minutes later, the team lead shuffled in, nervous as hell,probably thinking she'd screwed up to get my attention.

"Ditch whatever you're on," I told her.′′P1lan a birthday party.Three hours."

Her mouth fell open, and I hid a grin. *Let them all guess what-or who-turned me into this guy.* Thinking of Stella's eyes lighting up when she sees a surprise made my chest go soft.