CHAPTER FIVE

NORA POV

I turn the phone over in my hand.

It shouldn’t matter. It’s only two words… a professional message, nothing more.

But somehow, it feels like more.

Maybe because I just found out Jayden is a Rowan.

Maybe because Davis Rowan doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who sends unnecessary messages.

Or maybe because everything around me is changing too fast.

With a quiet sigh, I lock my phone and force myself to focus on the documents spread across my desk.

Numbers. Schedules. Project timelines.

Things that feel normal. Things that feel safe. 

I try to lose myself in the work, but every few minutes, my eyes drift back to the Orion assignment file.

To the three names.

Davis Rowan.

Nora Edward.

Jayden Rowan.

The sight of them makes something tighten inside me.

The afternoon crawls by.

Every sound seems sharper than usual, and every conversation feels distant, as though it’s happening around me instead of with me.

Then the atmosphere on the executive floor shifts.

Not dramatically. Just enough.

People sit a little straighter.

Conversations fade.

Several employees glance toward the elevators.

A quiet tension spreads through the office, and I look up just as the elevator doors slide open.

Jayden Rowan walks out.

My stomach drops.

He looks exactly the same.

Maybe a little older. A little sharper.

But he’s still confident, still carrying himself like the world naturally makes room for him.

For one awful second, I pray he won’t look my way.

Instead, his attention sweeps across the floor, like he’s assessing the room.

Then his eyes find mine.

My heartbeat falters. 

Jayden isn’t supposed to be here.

He knows parts of my past.

Not everything.

But enough.

“Nora.”

His voice is warm.

Easy.

Familiar.

Exactly the kind of familiarity I don’t need right now.

I rise slowly from my chair.

“Jayden.”

For a second, he simply stares at me.

Then genuine surprise flashes across his face.

“Wait… you work here?”

A knot forms in my stomach.

“What?”

“At Rowan & Co.” He gestures around us. “You work here?”

I force a small smile.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

The question comes so naturally that I know immediately he had no idea.

My stomach sinks.

So I was right.

When he called yesterday, he really didn’t know.

“I joined recently,” I say carefully.

“Recently?”

He lets out a soft laugh.

“And you didn’t mention that?”

I shrug, even though every extra second of this conversation feels dangerous.

Too many people can see us.

Too many people can hear us.

“We haven’t exactly talked much.”

“Fair point.”

Even so, he continues looking at me with obvious surprise, like he’s trying to fit this new information into the picture he already has of me.

The feeling leaves me uncomfortably exposed, especially here. 

Then his expression softens.

“Oh, and how’s the little troublemaker?”

My heart nearly stops.

Mai.

I instinctively glance around the executive floor.

Too many people.

Too many ears.

“She’s fine,” I answer quickly.

Jayden’s smile fades a little. His gaze moves across the office before returning to me.

“Did I say something wrong?”

I force another small smile.

“No.”

He studies me for a moment, then smiles again.

“Good. I was thinking about her the other day.”

My breathing turns shallow.

“Jayden,” I say quietly.

A warning.

A plea.

Not here. Not now.

Movement catches my eye.

Melissa Walker, another operations coordinator, walks past our desks carrying a file.

She’s dressed as sharply as ever, her expression unreadable.

Her pace never slows, but I catch her glance in our direction.

Just once.

Her eyes linger for the briefest moment when Jayden mentions the little troublemaker.

Then she’s gone.

Maybe she didn’t hear.

Maybe she did.

I don’t know which possibility is worse.

I look back at Jayden, silently willing him to stop talking, hoping he’ll understand without me having to explain.

He notices my expression. 

Confusion flickers across his face.

Before I can say anything else, a voice cuts through the moment.

“Jayden.”

The entire floor seems to straighten.

I don’t have to turn around.

I already know who it is.

Davis.

Jayden looks past me, and his relaxed expression shifts into something more professional. More controlled.

I turn.

Davis Rowan stands several feet away in a dark suit, his expression unreadable. 

The same quiet authority seems to change the atmosphere wherever he goes.

His gaze settles briefly on Jayden.

Then it moves to me.

Only for a second.

Yet somehow, it feels longer.

A strange silence settles between the three of us.

No one else seems to notice it.

But I do.

Every second of it.

Jayden waits.

“Conference room three,” Davis says.

No greeting.

No small talk.

Just an instruction.

“We’re starting in five minutes.”

Jayden nods once.

“Understood.”

Then Davis looks at me.

“Ms. Edward.”

My pulse jumps.

“Sir.”

“You’ll join us.”

The words land like a stone in my stomach.

I blink, wondering if I heard him correctly.

“Join the meeting?”

“Yes.”

His expression doesn’t change.

“Orion coordination requires it.”

His eyes move from Jayden…

…to me.

They rest there for a fraction longer than they should.

Then he turns away.

Nothing else. 

Around us, I can practically feel curiosity spreading through the office.

No one is staring directly.

But they’re listening.

Watching.

Noticing.

Melissa especially.

I can feel her attention from across the room.

A new employee.

An executive meeting.

Directly with Davis Rowan and Jayden Rowan.

Nothing about this looks normal.

“Understood,” I manage.

Davis gives a single nod before turning and walking away.

Just like that.

As if he hasn’t completely turned the rest of my afternoon upside down.

Jayden watches him disappear before looking back at me. A slow smile spreads across his face.

“Looks like things are getting interesting.”

Before I can respond, his phone lights up.

His eyes flick to the screen.

Then back to me.

Something unreadable crosses his face.

“Well…”

A knot twists inside me.

“What?”

Jayden slips the phone back into his pocket.

“Nothing.”

He smiles.

But the smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Now I understand why I was added to this project.”

My pulse stutters.

Before I can ask what he means, he turns and walks away. 

I watch him disappear into the hallway. 

The Orion meeting suddenly feels like more than a project meeting. 

It feels like the moment everything I’ve fought to keep separate is about to collide.