CHAPTER 4

Hazel’s phone buzzed on the glass surface of her desk. She immediately dropped her pen and picked it up, hoping to see Liam’s face pop up for a video call.

Instead, it was just a short text.

Liam: Hey Haze. The board meeting ran three hours late. I'm completely dead. Going straight to sleep so I don't miss the morning site tour. Sorry I missed your call again. Love you.

Hazel stared at the bright screen. She typed back quickly: It's okay. Get some rest. Love you too.

She locked the screen and placed the phone face down on the desk. The fifteen-hour time difference was brutal. She hadn't heard his actual voice in four days.

"Ms. Evans."

Hazel jumped slightly, looking up. Xavier’s executive assistant was standing in the open doorway of her office, holding a sleek tablet.

"Yes?" Hazel asked, sitting up straight.

"Grab your coat and the printed Q4 projection files," the assistant instructed briskly. "Mr. Sterling’s car is waiting in the private loading bay. You are accompanying him to an off-site merger negotiation."

Hazel frowned, her pulse skipping a beat. "Me? But I don't handle client negotiations."

"The client is actively disputing your valuation models," the assistant replied flatly. "Mr. Sterling requires his analyst in the room to defend the math. You have five minutes."

Hazel didn't waste time arguing. She shoved her laptop and the thick budget folders into her leather bag, grabbed her wool coat, and hurried to the VIP elevator.

When the steel doors opened in the underground parking garage, a sleek black Maybach was idling near the concrete pillars. A driver in a dark suit opened the rear door for her.

Hazel took a deep breath and slid into the back seat.

The interior smelled faintly of expensive leather and the distinct, sharp cedar of Xavier’s cologne. Xavier was sitting on the opposite side of the spacious cabin, reading a file on his tablet. He wore a dark, immaculate suit, his long legs stretched out comfortably.

He didn't look up when she got in. "Do you have the raw data for the overhead liquidation, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes, sir," Hazel said, pulling her coat tight around herself as the driver shut her door, sealing them in the quiet, heavily tinted car. "I brought the physical copies."

"Good." Xavier swiped a finger across his screen. "The CEO of the rival firm will attempt to devalue our projections. He will try to intimidate you because you are young. Do not let him."

Hazel swallowed hard, her grip tightening on her leather bag. "I won't, sir."

The drive across the city was suffocatingly silent. Xavier didn't say another word. Hazel sat rigidly against her door, intensely hyper-aware of the broad-shouldered billionaire sitting less than two feet away from her. The cold, heavy energy radiating off him filled the confined space.

Twenty minutes later, the Maybach pulled up to a towering glass building.

Xavier stepped out first, buttoning his suit jacket with a sharp, fluid motion. Hazel followed, keeping her head down as she walked half a step behind him through the lobby and up to the top-floor conference room.

The moment Xavier walked into the rival boardroom, the atmosphere shifted. The six executives sitting around the table immediately stopped talking, sitting up straighter. Xavier didn't smile. He didn't offer any handshakes. He walked directly to the head of the table and sat down, radiating an absolute, freezing authority.

Hazel took the empty seat directly to his right, placing her folders on the glass table.

The rival CEO, a man in his fifties with a condescending smirk, cleared his throat. "Mr. Sterling. We appreciate you coming down. However, my financial team has reviewed the Q4 projections Vanguard sent over, and frankly, the numbers are inflated. Your analyst has grossly overestimated the liquidation value."

Xavier didn't even look at the man. He simply leaned back in his leather chair and shifted his sharp blue eyes to Hazel.

It was a silent command. Handle it.

Hazel opened her black folder, pulled out a stack of spreadsheets, and slid them directly across the glass table toward the rival CEO.

"The numbers are accurate," Hazel stated, her voice remarkably steady. "If you look at page four, we factored in a twelve percent depreciation rate for your overseas warehouses. You’re attempting to value them at a twenty percent premium, which violates current market standards."

The rival CEO frowned, picking up the paper. He looked at Hazel, his smirk faltering into irritation. "Listen here, sweetheart. I’ve been running these types of acquisitions for twenty years. A junior number-cruncher isn't going to tell me my real estate is depreciating."

The air in the room instantly plummeted to sub-zero.

Xavier leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. He didn't raise his voice, but the terrifying, dark timber of it completely froze the entire room.

"You will address her as Ms. Evans," Xavier said softly.

The older CEO physically flinched, his face draining of color as Xavier’s piercing blue eyes locked onto him.

"Ms. Evans built the exact models that are currently burying your firm in debt," Xavier continued, his voice laced with absolute, chilling venom. "She is my Senior Analyst. If you ever speak to her with that tone again, I will not only walk away from this merger, but I will personally ensure your stock drops another fifteen points by tomorrow morning."

Absolute, terrifying silence descended on the boardroom. Hazel’s breath hitched. She stared at Xavier’s rigid jaw profile, completely stunned. He wasn't just backing up her math; he was actively threatening a rival CEO for disrespecting her.

"I... I apologize, Mr. Sterling," the older man stammered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He looked at Hazel, his pride entirely shattered. "My apologies, Ms. Evans. Let's look at page four."

For the next hour, Hazel systematically dismantled their counter-arguments. She used raw data, pointing out every single flaw in their financial structure.

And the entire time, Xavier sat silently beside her.

He didn't interrupt her. But every time Hazel glanced to her left, she caught Xavier watching her. His cold blue eyes were heavy, completely tracking her face. It made her skin flush violently under the collar of her blouse.

By the time the meeting ended, the rival firm had completely caved, agreeing to Vanguard’s exact numbers.

Hazel packed her bags with shaking hands as they walked out of the building and back to the waiting Maybach. The sun had set, and a freezing, heavy rain was beginning to fall across the city streets.

Hazel slid into the back seat, letting out a shaky exhale as the heavy doors sealed them inside. She had actually held her ground.

"Take us to the Vanguard garage," Xavier instructed the driver. Then, he tapped a message on his phone before speaking again without looking up. "Actually. Ms. Evans, what is your home address?"

Hazel blinked, startled. "Oh, no, sir, you don't have to do that. I can catch a cab from the office."

"It is pouring rain," Xavier said, his voice flat, leaving absolutely no room for argument. "Address."

Hazel swallowed hard and quietly gave the driver her apartment address.

The car merged smoothly into the slick, rain-soaked traffic. The silence in the back seat was thick. Hazel looked down at her lap, her thumb instinctively brushing over the silver engagement ring on her left hand. She thought about Liam's text. He was sleeping right now.

"A problem, Ms. Evans?" Xavier’s deep voice suddenly cut through the quiet car.

Hazel turned her head. Xavier had put his tablet away. He was sitting completely still, his striking blue eyes locked intensely on her face. He had noticed her staring at the ring.

"No, sir," Hazel said quickly, sitting up straighter. "Just the time difference. My fiancé is currently working in Singapore. Communication is difficult."

Xavier’s gaze slowly dropped to her left hand. He stared at the silver engagement ring for a long, heavy second. His jaw tightened just a fraction.

"Singapore," Xavier repeated quietly.

"He was promoted to build a new branch," Hazel explained, her spine stiffening defensively. "He’s building a future for us."

Xavier finally looked back up to her eyes. His expression was completely unreadable, a flawless, terrifying mask of stone.

"I see," Xavier said softly. His deep voice carried a dark, mocking edge. "A man who leaves his fiancé entirely alone in a city like this to chase a paycheck. Fascinating priority."

Hazel’s breath caught in her throat. "We are a team, sir."

Xavier didn't argue. He didn't apologize for crossing the line. He simply held her gaze, his blue eyes dark, heavy, and completely unapologetic. The suffocating tension in the small space of the car spiked violently.

The Maybach finally pulled up to the curb outside her apartment building. The driver quickly got out, opening his umbrella to shield the door.

Hazel grabbed her bag, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Sterling. Have a good night."

"Good night, Hazel," Xavier said.

It was the first time he had used her first name since her very first day. The sudden, dark intimacy of it sent a shiver straight down her spine.

She stepped out into the freezing rain, hurrying up the steps to her building. When she pushed the heavy lobby door open, she couldn't stop herself from glancing over her shoulder.

Through the rain and the tinted glass of the Maybach, she could still feel the heavy, burning weight of Xavier’s blue eyes tracking her until the lobby doors swung completely shut behind her.