14- Mr. Vance

Elena wasn’t avoiding Kaysen that morning, but she wasn’t treating him the way she used to, either.

Ever since she’d begun noticing his growing interference in the details of her life, his presence had stirred something in her that she could no longer ignore. She no longer knew when he was speaking to her as her employer and when he was behaving as though he had the right to know every step she took.

So she’d decided to draw a clear line.

She was standing near his office, reviewing some documents before the meeting, when Kaysen entered and closed the door behind him.

He looked up at her.

“Have you finished reviewing the contract?”

“Yes, Mr. Vance. I left the revised copy on your desk.”

His hand, which had been reaching for the folder, stopped.

He looked at her for a moment before picking up the documents without comment.

“Mr. Vance?”

“Isn’t that the appropriate title at work?”

He set the folder aside and leaned against the edge of his desk.

“Since when has my name become inappropriate?”

She gathered her papers.

“Since I started feeling that whatever exists between us is no longer clear.”

“Explain.”

She raised her eyes to his.

“I thought our relationship was defined by a clear agreement. My work, the debt, and the obligations we both accepted. But you’ve started interfering with my appointments, asking about the people I meet, and deciding where I should be. I no longer know whether you’re speaking to me as my employer or for some other reason.”

His expression didn’t change, but his gaze became more intent.

“Does my concern bother you?”

“This isn’t concern, Mr. Vance. I don’t know what you’d call it, but I’m not comfortable with it.”

He approached slowly, until she had to lift her chin slightly to meet his eyes.

“So you’ve decided to punish me with formal titles?”

“I didn’t realize addressing you by your first name was a privilege I could lose.”

He watched her for a moment. Then he reached for the folder she was holding and placed it on the desk behind her.

She had to turn slightly, finding herself closer to him than she’d expected.

He didn’t touch her, but for a moment, he stood in her way.

“Look at me, Elena.”

She did, although she disliked the way he’d made his request sound like an order.

“I am looking at you.”

“Don’t act as though you don’t know me.”

She answered quietly.

“Perhaps that’s why I’m trying to remember that I don’t know you as well as I should.”

A heavy silence settled between them.

He could have answered. He could have imposed his opinion as he usually did. Instead, he simply studied her face before stepping aside and leaving her a clear path.

She picked up her folder.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Vance?”

His jaw tightened slightly.

“No.”

“Then I’ll get back to work.”

She walked out and closed the door quietly behind her.

Kaysen remained where he was, his eyes fixed on the door.

She hadn’t raised her voice or challenged him the way she usually did. She hadn’t demanded another explanation or waited for an apology.

All she’d done was take away the name he’d grown accustomed to hearing in her voice.

And, in a way he thoroughly disliked, that irritated him more than an entire argument would have.

He opened the folder, but didn’t read a single line.

⸻

Outside, Elena returned to her desk and tried to concentrate on her work. But no sooner had she opened her laptop than a notification appeared announcing a change to her schedule for the following day.

She opened the calendar and stopped at a new appointment added at the end of the day.

Private meeting with Kaysen Vance.

There was no meeting title, no additional information, and no clear reason for its inclusion.

She clicked the notification to check who had sent it.

His executive assistant’s name appeared.

Before she could close the window, a short internal message arrived.

Mr. Vance requests your personal attendance. The appointment cannot be postponed.

She stared at the screen for several moments.

Then she raised her eyes toward his glass office.

Kaysen was seated behind his desk, reading the papers in front of him. As though he’d sensed her gaze, he lifted his head.

Their eyes met through the glass.

He didn’t smile or gesture toward her, but he didn’t look away, either.

Elena closed the notification, reopened her calendar, and changed the appointment status to Unconfirmed.

Inside his office, Kaysen saw what she’d done in the reflection of the screen in front of her.

The movement of the pen between his fingers stopped.

A moment later, he pressed the intercom button.

“Inform her that the appointment will remain as scheduled.”

He ended the call and leaned back in his chair.

He had let her walk out of his office, but he had no intention of letting her decide the distance between them so easily.

As for Elena, she didn’t yet realize that refusing this appointment would be the first decision she made in direct opposition to him.

Not the last.