Chapter 14

Jonathan’s POV

I stood at the head of the conference table, walking the investors through the final projections, but my mind kept drifting back to the suite. I couldn’t stop thinking about that annoying trouble maker, Elena.

Was she okay? Had the painkillers worked? Was she still sleeping, or had she woken up in pain again?

I forced myself to focus on the presentation, and the three investors watching me with varying degrees of interest.

“As you can see,” I said, gesturing to the revenue projections, “the ROI on this project is substantial. Within eighteen months, you’ll see returns that exceed industry standards by at least thirty percent.”

Mr. Eddie, the lead investor, leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. “Impressive numbers, Mr. Hart. But what about the timeline? How soon can this be implemented?”

“We can begin preliminary work within the month,” I said. “Full implementation within six weeks.”

The moment I stopped talking, I reached for my phone.

I pulled it out under the table, quickly typing out a message to Elena.

How are you feeling? Did you take the painkillers?

I set the phone face-down on my lap and tried to refocus on the meeting.

Mr. Eddie was conferring with his partners in rapid Mandarin, their voices were low. I waited, my fingers tapping against my thigh, I really didn’t want to be here.

My phone stayed silent, there was still no response from her.

I checked it again, just to make sure I hadn’t missed a notification.

Nothing.

Was she still asleep? Was the pain worse? Should I have stayed at the suite instead of coming to this meeting?

I shook my head slightly, annoyed with myself. She was a grown woman. She could handle a few cramps without me hovering over her like some overprotective…

“Mr. Hart?”

I looked up to find all three investors staring at me.

“My apologies,” I said smoothly. “You were saying?”

Mr. Eddie smiled. “We’ve discussed it, and we’re ready to move forward. However, there is one condition.”

“And that is?”

“We need the project to begin immediately. Not next month, not in six weeks. Now.”

I kept my face calm even as I forced my mind to come back and properly think this through. “Immediately?”

“Yes. We have a narrow window due to regulatory changes coming in the next quarter. If we don’t move now, we’ll lose our competitive advantage.”

I nodded slowly. “And what does ‘immediately’ mean, specifically?”

“We’d like to finalize the contracts today and begin implementation by the end of this week. Which means you and your team would need to remain in Singapore for two weeks to oversee the initial phase.”

Two weeks.

Two weeks in Singapore, alone with Elena sounded really good. Normally he didn’t like being controlled but the happiness that came with sharing a bed with her for longer was nice.

“That’s doable,” I heard myself say.

Mr. Eddie extended his hand across the table. “Then we have a deal, Mr. Hart.”

I shook his hand, smiled, exchanged pleasantries, and somehow managed to get through the rest of the meeting without checking my phone every thirty seconds.

But the moment I stepped out of the building, I pulled it out again.

Still no response.

I climbed into the car and told the driver to take me back to the hotel, my jaw tight with an anxiety I haven’t felt in a long time.

I burst through the door of the suite with more force than I planned on usinv, my eyes immediately scanning the room.

Elena was sitting on the couch, her laptop open in front of her, wearing my shirt and a pair of leggings she must have packed. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and she looked up when I entered, her expression surprised.

“You’re back early,” she said.

“Why didn’t you respond to my message?” I said angrily. Feeling my face slipping into a frown.

She frowned and picked up her phone from the coffee table. “Oh. Sorry, I had it on silent. I didn’t see…” She stopped, reading the message, then looked back up at me. “I’m fine. The painkillers worked.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Good.”

“How did the meeting go?” she asked, closing her laptop and giving me her full attention. “Did they agree to the terms?”

“They did.”

Her face lit up. “That’s amazing! Jonathan, this is huge. The commission alone on this deal…”

“We have to stay for two weeks,” I said, cutting her off.

She blinked. “What?”

“They want the project to begin immediately. Which means we’re staying in Singapore for the next two weeks to oversee the initial implementation.”

I watched her process this, waiting for her to realize what it meant…two weeks away from home, and with me

But instead of looking concerned, she smiled.

“That’s great,” she said. “I mean, it’s a lot of work, but if we’re here anyway, we can make sure everything goes smoothly from the start. This is exactly the kind of hands-on involvement that sets Hart Global apart from…”

“Elena.”

She stopped, looking at me with those sharp eyes that always saw too much.

“You’re in pain,” I said quietly. “You were barely able to stand last night. And now we’re supposed to spend two weeks working around the clock in a foreign country?”

“I’m fine,” she said, and there was an edge to her voice now. “It’s just period pain, Jonathan. It happens every month. I’m not going to fall apart.”

“I didn’t say you would…”

“Then why are you acting like I’m made of glass?” She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. “I can handle this. In three days, I’ll be completely fine. And even if I’m not, I’ve worked through worse.”

I wanted to argue. I felt bad seeing her in pain. But she was as stubborn as a mule.

“Alright,” I said finally. “But if you need anything…”

“I’ll let you know,” she said, her expression softening slightly. “I promise.”

We stood there for a moment, the tension in the room shifting into something else.

“Why do you care so much?” she asked suddenly.

The question caught me off guard. “What?”

“You’ve been hovering since last night. Checking on me, making sure I’m okay, looking at me like I might collapse at any second.” She tilted her head, studying me. “Why?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

Why did I care so much?

She was my employee. My Personal Manager. Yes, I needed her to be functional and healthy so she could do her job effectively, but this felt like more than that.

The way I’d driven through a storm to get her supplies. The way I’d carried her up to the suite. The way I’d barely been able to concentrate in the meeting because I was too busy worrying about whether she was okay.

That wasn't a normal concern for an employee.

“I’m just looking out for my team,” I said finally, the words feeling hollow even as I said them. “You’re valuable to me, Elena. To the company. I can’t afford to have you burned out or in pain.”

She looked at me for a long moment, and I couldn’t tell if she believed me.

Hell, I wasn’t sure I believed me.

“Okay,” she said eventually. “Just… try to remember that I’m not fragile. I didn’t come this far by being someone who breaks easily.”

“I know,” I said quietly.

And I did know. I’d seen her strength, her resilience, the way she refused to back down even when every instinct told her she should.

It was one of the things I admired most about her.

It was also one of the things that scared me.

Because the more time I spent with Elena Rivers, the harder it became to convince myself that this was just about business or a game.