Page 2 of Her Desire

As the sun sets in the distance, I allow a genuine smile to spread across my face. Hope stirs, and all I can do is hope that Lydia is right.

Chapter 2

Sam

The cheers of the crowd and the clink of glasses were muffled as if I was submerged in a tank of crystal-clear water, watching the world from a distance. I stood tall in the center of the ballroom, my black hair falling straight like ink, matched the tailored lines of my suit. The sharp cut accentuated my fit frame—an armor of silk and wool that made me feel powerful but caged.

"Ms. Samuels, congratulations on your success!" A man in a pinstripe suit extended his hand, his smile as polished as the words he'd rehearsed. I returned the gesture, gripping firmly.

"Thank you, Mr. Davenport. Your support has been invaluable," I replied, my voice carrying the smooth confidence expected of me as CEO. Yet, beneath that polished surface, I felt a familiar hollowness that applause could never fill.

I excused myself from the conversation, weaving through clusters of investors and journalists, all clamoring for a piece ofthe action. My company's latest achievement, splashed across headlines and trending on every social media platform, was just another notch in the public's belt of fascination.

"Sam, you're a star tonight." Mary, my right-hand woman at these events, flashed a grin, her eyes glinting with pride. She was more like a mother figure to me than a secretary, but she was always ready to support me.

"Seems so," I said, taking a sip of champagne, its bubbles failing to lift the weight within me. "But stars are just distant balls of gas, aren't they? Impressive from afar but ultimately alone in the vastness."

Mary laughed it off, mistaking my introspection for dry humor. But as she turned to greet another eager associate, my gaze drifted over the sea of faces. Each one was a mask of interest and ambition, but none held a spark that reached beyond the glitter of superficial intrigue.

"Another deal sealed, another partnership formed," I murmured under my breath, feeling the redundancy of it all. "And yet, here I am, craving something... real."

A deeper connection, genuine love—concepts that seemed mythical in the high-stakes game of corporate chess I played daily. Past relationships flickered in my memory like faded photographs, each one a testament to a lack of understanding, a misalignment of souls. They sought the image of me, the idea of the successful executive, rather than the person who longed for quiet moments and raw honesty.

Is it too much to ask for someone to see me?I wondered silently, staring into the liquid gold in my glass. It wasn't wealth or prestige that I yearned for when the lights dimmed and the crowds dispersed. It was the warmth of a hand that knew every curve of my own, eyes that saw through the façade, and a heart that beat in sync with mine even when the music stopped.

"Sam?" Mary’s voice pulled me back to the present, her brows knitted in concern. "You okay?"

"Never better," I lied, flashing her a practiced smile. In the grand scheme of things, my personal dissatisfaction was a minor chord in the symphony of success.

But as the evening wore on and the event reached its crescendo, I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere beyond this room someone was waiting—someone capable of loving not just the CEO but the woman behind the title. And I was determined to find her.

My fingers danced across the glass surface of my phone, a mechanical waltz of habit as I scrolled through my phone on the drive home. My driver, Teddy, drove silently as he always did. He respected my privacy, and in return, I kept him well-paid. Texts from my recent one-night stand filled my phone. It would be easy to respond and get lost in the body of a woman tonight, but I was fed up with superficial romances. These women didn’t want me for me; all they were interested in was my money. When we reached my home, I said goodnight to Teddy and then ventured up to my penthouse.

Glancing around the empty space, I felt that nagging sadness wash over me again. It was crazy. I had more money than I knew what to do with, sexy women chasing after me, and a job I fucking loved. But still, I needed more. I needed someone by my side who cared about me as a person.

After everything had settled down, I sat alone in my dark, high-rise apartment, finding comfort in the never-ending stream of faces and stories on social media. I flicked past the usual clutter on my feed—gym selfies, sunsets, some meme about cats ruling the world—when suddenly, I froze. There it was—a photo nestled between the banal and the bland that caught my breath in my chest. Lydia, my cousin and only family member who still spoke to me after I came out, always shining so brightly on mynewsfeed. Lydia was feisty and loved life. Lydia was laughing, her blonde hair catching the light just so, but it wasn't her that had my eyes rooted to the screen. No, it was the woman next to her, arm slung over Lydia's shoulder with an ease that spoke of deep familiarity. I couldn’t take my eyes off this girl. She was a petite woman whose smile could light up the entire world.

Her name hovered beneath the picture, a simple tag transforming pixels into a person: Ava.

The way she smiled... God, it was like she knew secrets about the universe that no one else did, her brown hair cascading in waves down her back, her laughter carrying on the air, even through the silent language of the image. My heart didn't just skip a beat; it felt like it somersaulted, tripped over itself in its haste to react to her. Ava's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief and warmth that seared straight through me.

"Who are you?" I whispered to myself. The rest of the world dimmed like someone had turned down the saturation on everything that wasn't Ava. Even seated, I could tell she was petite, almost fragile looking next to Lydia's taller frame, but there was nothing delicate about the strength in her gaze.

She radiated a sweetness that was palpable, an aura that slipped through the confines of social media to tug at something deep within me. The smart part of my brain—the part that should have been skeptical or cautious—seemed to be on hiatus, replaced by a determination that felt both unfamiliar and inevitable.

Curiosity piqued, I tapped the screen to zoom in, feeling an immediate pull—a magnetic attraction that tugged at the corners of my heart. Who was she?

I needed to know more.

With a deep breath, I pressed Lydia's contact, holding the phone to my ear as it trilled through the silence. She answered with her usual chipper tone, "Hey, Sam, what's up?"

"Lyds," I blurted out as soon as she answered, not bothering with the pleasantries we usually exchanged. "That picture you posted, who is she?"

“Wow, great way to start out a conversation,” Lydia laughed.

There was a pause on the other end, a shuffling sound as if Lydia was moving away from somewhere—or someone—to speak freely. "You mean Ava?" Her voice held a note of amusement that made me aware of how breathless I sounded. "She's my friend, my old college roommate. She's staying with me for a bit."

I chuckled to myself. I should have taken a few minutes to catch up before asking about Ava, but I just couldn’t help myself.

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