Con

CHAPTER 65

Sophia’s POV

+15 CONUS

The morning light filtered through the curtains, illuminating the hotel room with a gentle warmth. I took a deep breath, savoring the freshness of the new day, a stark contrast to the storm that had confined us indoors the last few days. The memory of those days–and nights–lingered vividly in my mind, making my heart jump.

A knock on the door made me sit up in bed. Elijah and I exchanged glances, realizing that we were wearing only our undergarments.

“Elijah? Sophia?” I heard Trevis’s voice through the door.

Elijah Quickly got dressed and went to open the door, while I rushed to the bathroom to shower.

“Hey, come on in…” I heard Elijah say. Then I heard footsteps coming in, and they all began chatting about the storm finally relenting.

“Where’s Sophia?” Trevis asked.

“I think she, uh, woke up early and took a shower,” Elijah fibbed.

I turned on the water and couldn’t hear them anymore. After taking a quick shower and changing into a fresh set of clothes, I came out and greeted them.

“Hey, Sophia, good to see you,” Trevis said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “How have the last few days been for you two?”

I felt the blood rush to my face, my cheeks growing warm. My mind raced, replaying snippets of moments Elijah and I had shared–moments that were anything but ordinary. Or wholesome.

I could feel Elijah stiffen beside me, his tone suddenly awkward as he replied, “Uh, yeah, it’s been…. interesting.”

Trevis’s smile widened ever so slightly, and I caught a glint of amusement in his eyes. I shifted uncomfortably, wishing I could disappear.

Connor cleared his throat, breaking the tension. “Uh, Mr. Sinclair, did you see the paperwork I sent to your email last night? It was from our head engineer

Elijah’s eyes widened slightly, his demeanor becoming even more flustered. “Oh, right, the paperwork,” he said. “I saw it, but I fell asleep early.”

Connor looked surprised, but didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, we’ll be meeting the team today, right? Are they good?”

“Yes, I’ve spoken to them earlier,” Connor informed him.

I glanced at Trevis, who was doing a remarkable job of keeping a straight face.

“That storm was something else, huh?” Trevis suddenly quipped.

+15 BONUS

“Yeah, it was,” Elijah agreed, glancing toward me.

Needing a moment to collect myself, I excused myself. “I need to use the bathroom,” I said quickly, heading for the sanctuary of the bathroom. Once inside, I closed the door and leaned against it, taking a few deep breaths to steady my racing heart.

In an hour’s time, I found myself stepping out of the car to be greeted by the crisp mountain air and the sprawling construction site of the luxury resort. “This is beautiful,” I whispered, momentarily forgetting about my issues with Elijah.

This is where my design will come to life. Very exciting indeed.

Elijah stepped out beside me, his presence commanding as always. Connor followed close behind, carrying a leather portfolio and a tablet.

Trevis emerged as well, looking very optimistic. “Now this is what I’m talking about. Your stepmom was right to push this.” He patted Elijah’s shoulder.

Elijah nodded. “I guess I’ll have to agree. And with Sophia’s design, this will surely be the talk of the city.”

We made our way toward the group of professionals waiting near the makeshift office, a series of trailers set up to serve as the hub for the project. The head architect, a tall woman named Maya, greeted us with a warm smile. Beside her stood the head engineer, Mark, his expression serious as he held a rolled–up blueprint under one arm.

“Good morning, everyone,” Elijah began, his voice steady and clear. “Thank you for being here so early We have a lot to cover today, and I want to ensure that we’re all on the same page before we proceed.”

As we gathered around a large table set up with various plans and documents, I watched Elijah with curiosity and surprise. It was my first time to be closely involved with him in something like this because he’d always kept me out of business matters in the past.

He really loves what he does, I thought. He was focused, attentive, and undeniably professional.

Elijah started the meeting by going over the timeline and key milestones, addressing each point with precision. He listened carefully to Maya and Mark, considering their input before making decisions.. “Sophia,” he said, turning his attention to me. “Can you walk us through your vision–again?”

“Of course,” I replied, spreading out my design sketches and concept boards. I spoke with confidence and passion.

Maya and Mark were quite impressed, to my delight. We all eagerly jumped in to share more ideas on how to move forward. After an hour or so, the meeting at the project site finally wrapped up, leaving us all exhausted.

As we headed back to the car, I immediately angled for the passenger seat, hoping to avoid any -awkward interactions with Elijah at the back. Connor didn’t look too good, though–pale and massaging his temples. My heart sank when I saw Elijah moving toward the driver’s side.

“Connor’s not feeling well,” Elijah explained, his voice clipped. “I’ll drive.”

+15 BONUS

I nodded, feeling the tension knot tighter in my shoulders. Great, just great.

Trevis and Connor took the back seat, and almost as soon as the car started moving, they were out cold, their light snores filling the silence. I stared out the window, the passing scenery blurring into a mosaic of greens and grays.

“You should get some rest, too,” Elijah said softly, breaking the silence. I felt his hand reach out to touch mine. Reflexively, I pulled my hand away, my heart pounding hard.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, keeping my gaze fixed outside. The truth was, I was anything but fine. I couldn’t get our intimate moments out of my head, but I knew that it was time to forget and move on now, just as we had agreed.

Reluctantly, I closed my eyes, hoping to find some respite in sleep. And when I opened them again, I was surprised to find that it was just Elijah and me in the car. “Where’d they go?” I murmured as I sat up straight.

“We already dropped them off at their houses,” Elijah explained.

“Oh!” I didn’t realize I’d slept that long. When I checked the road, I saw that we were already nearing my home.

Upon parking in front, Elijah got out and opened the door for me. I was taken aback. “I’m okay, thanks, I can manage.”

“I can help bring your stuff upstairs,” he said.

“No, it’s fine,” I insisted, taking my backpack and moving to the door. “Thanks, Elijah. See you.”

Elijah nodded. But before I could turn around, he said, “Sophia, you’ve had a rough couple of nights. Why don’t you take a break tomorrow? Trevis told me to tell you that you don’t have to go to work tomorrow.”

At the mention of the nights that had passed, I couldn’t help blushing. More like wild instead of rough nights, I suppose.