Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel)

Clairessa's POV

Adrian ran a hand through his hair, clearly at his limit. "I can't do this. Not with her condescending tone, not with this pressure. I can't keep running the same thing over and over again like a broken goddamn record. Fuck it. I'm out, Clairessa."

"Adrian-"

"You're either coming with me, or you're not."

My chest tightened. "Wait, okay-just calm down. How about we take five? Just a five-minute breather. We can work on another part later, okay?"

"No," he snapped, shaking his head. "You're not hearing me. I'm done working on anything today. I need space. This-" he gestured wildly between all of us, "—is too much."

And with that, he stormed out of the room.

"Adrian!" I called after him, taking a step forward, panic rising in my chest. He can't leave not now, not this close to the pitch.

But just as I reached the door, Nicole moved, blocking my path.

"Nicole," I said, glaring at her. "Why are you standing in my way? Move."

Her eyes glinted with something dark as she leaned in closer, her voice low near my ear. "I just want to know-what kind of hold you have on these men. Both father and son seem to hang on your every word. What is it, Clairessa?"

My lips parted, but she wasn't finished.

"I mean, sure—you're beautiful." She looked me up and down slowly, assessing me like a rival at an auction. "But not more beautiful than I am. And you're smart, I'll give you that—since I've worked with you on a few projects. But you're not smarter than me."

She stepped back.

"So what is it? The sex? Do you play innocent, then go full psycho in bed? Is that it?"

I drew in a deep breath, trying to suppress the fury clawing its way up my throat. I was one second-one-away from slapping her.

Don't. Not here. Not now.

I swallowed it down, barely keeping myself together.

"Nicole," I said through clenched teeth, "if you don't move, I swear I'll make you regret it."

She laughed, bitter and bold. "What? You'll send Mr. Storm after me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said flatly.

"Oh, come on." She rolled her eyes. "There's no one else here. Just you and me. Quit pretending. I know you're screwing both of them. Adrian's still clueless, but Mr. Storm? He knows. And instead of cutting you off, he tried to silence me—with a bullshit NDA. Threatened to fire me if I spoke up. That's low, even for you."

I didn't flinch. "Anything Mr. Storm did, he did by choice. I never asked him for a thing."

"Liar," she spat.

I tilted my head, a slow mockery. "You said you signed an NDA. That you can't talk about Mr. Storm or this whole twisted mess. And yet-here you are, running your mouth. Know what that means?"

I locked eyes with her. "If I walk into his office right now and repeat what you just told me... that's a breach of contract."

Nicole stiffened, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes. Maybe now she'd finally back off.

"If you really believe that nonsense about me controlling both father and son," I warned softly, "then tell me what makes you think I wouldn't use that power to make sure you're held accountable?"

Her mouth opened. "You bitc—"

The word dangled on her tongue, half-formed.

"I dare you to finish that sentence," I taunted, stepping closer. "Go ahead. Say it. Say it to my face."

Her lip trembled as she clenched her fists at her sides, shaking with rage.noveldrama

"I guess you're nothing but a coward. So get the hell out of my way," I hissed.

She stepped aside without a word.

I flashed a triumphant smile. Her glare burned into me, but she didn't move to stop me. I pushed past her and stormed out.

I dashed to the elevator and slammed the button, my heart pounding.

Nicole's words still buzzed in my head, but I shoved them aside. I didn't have the

time or energy to let her voice echo in my thoughts.

Not right now. She could wait. She always tried to get under my skin-and succeeded too often-but this wasn't about her.

This was about Adrian.

I had to find him.

If I knew anything about him—and I did it was that he was probably out there somewhere, spiraling. Replaying every word Nicole said. Doubting himself. Internalizing everything. On the verge of shutting down. If that happened, all the work I'd poured into helping him with this project would be wasted-and we'd surely lose the pitch.

When the elevator finally opened, I practically ran through the lobby and out into the street. My eyes scanned the sidewalk-my heart skipping when I caught sight of him pacing near the edge of the building.

There he was.

Adrian.

His hands were stuffed into his pockets, shoulders tense, head bowed, walking in slow circles aimless, lost in thought.

"Adrian!" I called.

He didn't hear me.

"Adrian!" I tried again, louder this time.

Still no reaction.

I hurried forward and laid a gentle hand on his arm. He stiffened, startled, then turned slowly. Our eyes locked, and for a brief moment, something softened in his gaze. A tired, faint smile pulled at his lips.

“I'm glad I still found you out here,” I said, breathless from the chase and everything else tangled inside me.

"Yeah," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was... stuck. Didn't really know where to go."

"I'm sorry about what just happened," I said, stepping closer. "About Nicole. About her words, the tension... all of it."

He looked at me, eyes gloomy. "None of this is your fault. Nicole's just a mean bitch with a title. My dad's the one who pushed her onto the project-not you. You couldn't have stopped that."

"I know," I admitted, swallowing hard. "But still. You're on my team. I should be protecting you somehow."

He reached for my hand, wrapping both of his around it like he needed something solid-something real-to hold on to.

"Claire... no one can protect me from

someone like Nicole. If anything,

should've been the one protecting you. Ift hadn't been stupid enough to sleep with her, none of this would've exploded the way it did."

"Let's not go there," I interrupted, my voice firm. "That's the past. Done. We need

to focus on what's next-this project, your future in the company."

He snorted. "Work, work, work. That's all it's been with you lately. Always pushing

forward, like that's the only thing that matters."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

He pulled back a little, brows drawing together. "This whole setup-the mentorship' thing. The way you're always making sure shine prepping me, prepping yourself to make me look good... Sometimes it feels like you're trying to prove something. Or make up for something. And I don't even know where I fit in all of it."

My chest tightened because he was right. I was hiding something. And I was still

going to lie to him.

He nodded tightly.

"When your dad placed you under

my wing, I immediately felt responsible-professionally, because I am. That's why I gave it

everything I had. I want you to succeed. Not just because of him,

but because I believe in you

too. I

don't ever want to see you fail."

He looked at me for a long moment, then smiled-small, sad. “This is why you're

different. This is why I should never have lost you."

I looked away. "Can we not go there?"

"Can we go back upstairs?" I asked, trying to reroute the conversation. "We can

regroup. We'll figure out how to handle Nicole_"

"I'm not going back upstairs, Claire."

He said it with such finality, it stopped me cold.

He sighed, voice low. "I just... God, Claire. Can we not talk about work for once? I

need... just an hour. Can you give me that?"

I hesitated. I wanted to tell him no-that it wasn't possible. That there was too

much at stake.

But I didn't.

I saw it in his eyes. He was drowning. And this-this moment-he needed it to

breathe.

If I didn't let him have it, I was going to lose him completely.

So I nodded. "You win... One hour. But that's all you're getting."

He gave me a mock salute, hand to his forehead like some half-serious soldier.

"Yes, ma'am."

A faint smile pulled at my lips. And his-this time-it was real.

"So." I folded my arms. "One hour. What do you want to do?"

He let out a breath, the tension in his shoulders loosening just a little.

"I want to start by apologizing. Again. For Nicole. For cheating. For being such a

goddamn fool. You were good to me, Claire-better than I deserved. I should've seen that.

I wake up every day knowing I lost you... and it eats at me.

All I want now is a way back."

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temple. "Adrian—”

"You don't have to say anything," he said gently, cutting in. "Just... don't tell me to

stop. Don't tell me to move on like it never happened. I need to talk about it."

I stayed quiet. The weight of his words pressed hard against my chest.

"Let's just walk," he murmured. "I'll do all the talking, if you don't mind."

I nodded, slower this time.

"Yeah," I whispered. "We can walk."