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CHAPTER TEN
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2026-08-10 02:18:33NORA POV
The office goes silent for some minutes.
No one moves. No one speaks.
The only sound is the faint ticking of the clock behind Davis Rowan.
His eyes shift to Jayden, then to me.
Very calm, steady, and unreadable.
“I’d like to know which one of you is lying.”
Both of us don’t answer.
There’s another moment of silence before he speaks again.
“I don’t appreciate assumptions,” he says evenly. “I prefer facts.”
My hands stay folded in my lap, but I can feel my heart beating faster with every second.
Davis leans back slightly in his chair.
“I’m only interested in one thing.”
The room goes silent again.
“What happened this morning that made two capable employees suddenly start hiding their familiarity with each other?”
For a second, I forget how to breathe.
That’s not the question I expected.
He isn’t asking if we know each other.
He already thinks we do.
He wants to know why we tried to hide it.
I force myself to keep a straight face.
Beside me, Jayden doesn’t move.
Davis folds his hands on the desk and looks at Jayden.
“I want separate answers.”
His voice stays calm.
“I’m listening.”
Jayden sits up straighter.
There’s a short silence before he answers without hesitation.
“We’ve crossed paths before.”
That’s it.
Davis nods once.
“And?”
Jayden shrugs.
“We’re not friends.”
I keep my eyes on the edge of Davis’s desk.
Everything in me tells me not to look at either of them.
A moment later, Davis turns to me.
“Ms. Edward.”
My throat suddenly feels dry.
I choose my words carefully.
“We’ve met before.”
I can see Jayden glance at me from the corner of my eye.
I don’t look back.
Davis’s expression doesn’t change.
“You’ve met before,” he repeats.
“Yes.”
“And yet both of you seemed more interested in hiding that you knew each other than admitting it.”
Neither of us answers.
He waits.
He doesn’t look impatient. He just waits.
The silence goes on long enough to feel uncomfortable.
I finally speak.
“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
Almost at the same time, Jayden says,
“We barely know each other.”
The words overlap.
Not exactly, but close enough to get Davis’s attention.
He isn’t just listening to what we say. He’s comparing every word, every reaction.
He reaches for the pen beside the file and taps it lightly against the cover.
“Your answers are incomplete.”
Neither of us says anything.
He’s not accusing us.
Somehow, that makes it worse.
Davis studies us for another long moment.
“Jayden says you barely know each other.”
His eyes move to me.
“You say knowing him wasn’t relevant.”
He pauses.
“Those aren’t the same answer.”
My heart skips.
Neither Jayden nor I say a word.
“One tells me how well you know each other.”
His eyes stay on mine.
“The other tells me you made a choice.”
The room goes quiet.
“People don’t usually hide something they’ve already decided doesn’t matter.”
He puts the pen down and waits for a moment before speaking again.
“I’ve managed people long enough to know that facts aren’t usually what concern me.”
His eyes stay on me.
“Patterns do.”
My chest feels tight.
“I noticed two capable employees become unusually distracted the moment they were in the same room.”
His attention shifts to Jayden.
“I noticed the interruptions.”
Then he looks back at me.
“The hesitation.”
His expression doesn’t change.
“I also noticed that both of you spent more time pretending nothing was wrong than focusing on the meeting itself.”
Every word lands exactly where he wants it to.
“I don’t really care whether you’ve met before. What concerns me is whether whatever is going on between you has affected your judgment… or whether it will affect the company’s work.”
Neither of us answers.
Because we can’t.
Not honestly.
Davis opens the file in front of him but doesn’t look down at it.
“I’ve made myself clear.”
His eyes move from Jayden…
…to me.
“If whatever is going on between you stays outside this office, we won’t have a problem.”
Neither of us says anything.
“But if it affects this company…”
He lets the words hang for a moment.
“I won’t ignore it.”
He closes the file.
“You’re dismissed.”
Jayden stands first. I follow a second later.
We reach the door. I grab the handle.
Davis’s voice stops us.
We both turn around.
“Trust is expensive.”
His eyes move between us.
“Don’t make me spend it twice.”
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He Doesn’t Know I Had His Child, And Now He’s My Boss CHAPTER TEN
NORA POVThe office goes silent for some minutes.No one moves. No one speaks.The only sound is the faint ticking of the clock behind Davis Rowan.His eyes shift to Jayden, then to me.Very calm, steady, and unreadable.“I’d like to know which one of you is lying.”Both of us don’t answer.There’s another moment of silence before he speaks again.“I don’t appreciate assumptions,” he says evenly. “I prefer facts.”My hands stay folded in my lap, but I can feel my heart beating faster with every second.Davis leans back slightly in his chair.“I’m only interested in one thing.”The room goes silent again.“What happened this morning that made two capable employees suddenly start hiding their familiarity with each other?”For a second, I forget how to breathe.That’s not the question I expected.He isn’t asking if we know each other.He already thinks we do.He wants to know why we tried to hide it.I force myself to keep a straight face.Beside me, Jayden doesn’t move.Davis folds his
He Doesn’t Know I Had His Child, And Now He’s My Boss CHAPTER NINE
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