Chapter 2

The remainder of the workday passed in an agonizingly quiet blur for Selina. She had arrived braced for endless demands and high-stakes executive tasks, but Jason remained sequestered behind his closed office doors for hours, and Mark assigned her little beyond reviewing the corporate handbook. Determined to prove her worth, Selina remained at her post, sitting upright and waiting for any assignment to come her way. Nothing ever did.

By the time the clock struck five, the stillness felt almost unbearable. She slowly packed a handbag that was already organized, rearranged her stationery, and caught herself wiping down a marble desktop that was completely spotless.

"Get a grip, Selina," she murmured under her breath.

Shouldering her bag, she rose and walked toward the elevator bank. Just as she reached out to press the call button, Jason's office door swung open. He stepped out with his suit jacket slung casually over one arm, but the instant his eyes locked onto hers, he froze mid-stride and abruptly spun on his heel to head back inside.

"Wait..." Selina called out before she could stop herself. "I can hold the elevator for you, sir!"

Jason paused at his doorway, glancing back with an impassive expression. "It's fine. I forgot my phone. I'll take the next one."

Selina blinked, noticing immediately that his sleek black smartphone was held in plain view in his right hand.

'Does he really find the idea of sharing an elevator with me that repulsive?' she thought, a sharp sting of self-doubt pricking her chest. Forcing a polite smile to mask her embarrassment, she stepped into the arriving car.

Just as the metal doors began to slide shut, a polished leather shoe caught the sensor. The doors retracted, and Jason stepped inside.

Selina looked up in surprise, an involuntary, nervous smile tugging at the corners of her lips before she could school her features.

"What floor, sir?" she asked softly.

Jason didn't immediately reach for the panel. Instead, he turned his dark, searching gaze directly onto her. "Does my presence make you that happy?"

Selina caught her breath, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Pardon?"

"You're smiling, Miss Woods," he said smoothly, finally reaching past her to press the ground floor button.

The thirty-floor descent unfolded in excruciating, suffocating silence. Selina stood rigidly beside him, mortified by her own slip-up and desperately wishing the floor would open up beneath her and swallow her up. Every time she considered offering a professional platitude, her voice seemed to dissolve in her throat, so she clamped her lips shut and fixed her eyes firmly on the illuminated floor numbers.

When the doors chimed open onto the grand lobby, Selina practically bolted out of the car.

Remembering her manners at the last second, she spun around and offered a brisk, formal bow. "Have a good evening, Mr. Williams."

Jason remained standing inside the lift, observing her deference with a subtle tilt of his head. "Not strictly necessary, but I appreciate the respect," he murmured, offering an elegant nod in return.

As the doors glided shut between them, Selina caught him faintly shaking his head.

"Very smooth, Jason," he muttered to himself just before the steel panels sealed him away.

---

When Selina unlocked the door to her modest apartment, her mind was still spinning over every second of that bizarre elevator ride.

"Sooooo?" Tina called out from the kitchen, pouncing the second Selina slipped off her heels.

"Spill every single detail. How did it go?"

"Please, let me get some food in me before you drain what little energy I have left," Selina groaned, slumping onto a barstool at the counter.

"Are you insane? You've kept me waiting all day!" Tina demanded, sliding a plate of warm food toward her. "What did he smell like?"

Selina picked up a fork. "Money."

"Obviously. What else? What was he actually like? Give me the real dirt, Selina, don't make me strangle it out of you!"

"Sometimes I genuinely wonder if you care about me as a friend or if you just see me as your personal spy," Selina said, forcing down a bite.

"Don't be ridiculous...of course I love you," Tina said with a hearty laugh. "Now, seriously. What's the verdict on Jason Williams?"

Selina lowered her fork, the lingering anxiety from the afternoon clouding her eyes. She picked up the television remote, thumbing the power button aimlessly. "Honestly? I think there's something about me that he completely despises. I don't think I'm going to last very long there."

Tina frowned, her teasing demeanor fading into genuine shock. "Wait, what? That's not what I expected. Why on earth wouldn't he like you?"

"It's not just that he doesn't like me... It's like I give him the ick," Selina said, unconsciously touching the bun at the back of her neck as she remembered the piercing scrutiny of his gaze. "Like everything about my presence is wrong."

"The 'ick'? Bro, that's heavy," Tina said, wide-eyed.

"Are you sure you're not just overanalyzing things?"

"Tina, I'm completely serious. The man looked at me like I was a problem to be solved. Hell, he practically ran away to avoid getting into the same elevator as me. The second he saw me waiting, he turned right back around and claimed he forgot his phone...while holding it right in his hand."

Tina paused, processing the visual before bursting into laughter. "Stop! Are you telling me the almighty Jason Williams saw you and bolted?"

"I'm so glad my humiliation brings you such immense joy," Selina muttered dryly, standing up to serve herself more food.

"Anytime, babe. I'm always here to support," Tina grinned. "So what happened next?"

Selina rolled her eyes, fighting off a faint smile. "He ended up getting into the elevator anyway, pressed the button, called me out for smiling, and then spent the entire ride staring straight ahead in dead silence. There's just something really strange about him, Tina. His eye contact is either terrifyingly intense or completely nonexistent."

Tina walked over, draping a warm arm around Selina's shoulder. "Look, that sounds stressful as hell, but you've got this. You are smart, resilient, and gorgeous. If anyone can handle a moody corporate heir, it's you. Nobody's badder."

"Except you," Selina countered with a soft chuckle.

"Learned from the best," Tina said, winking as she glanced at her watch. "Speaking of which, I'm off to the club with Levin."

"Have fun," Selina called after her as Tina headed toward the door. "And turn your location sharing on! I really don't like the news lately, and I don't want to worry."

"Yes, Mother," Tina laughed, blowing a kiss before slipping out into the hallway.

With the apartment suddenly quiet, Selina finished her dinner to the distant wail of city sirens outside.

She knew better than to wait up for Tina. Letting the background hum of the television wash over her, she curled up on the sofa and allowed exhaustion to drag her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

---

The next morning, Jason woke with a dull ache radiating through his limbs, as though his body hadn't rested at all. The shock of Selina's sudden reappearance still weighed heavily on his chest. Unable to stand the hollow silence of his penthouse, he summoned Mark early.

Within half an hour, Mark was navigating the sleek black Rolls-Royce through the brisk morning traffic.

Glancing into the rearview mirror, Mark noted the dark shadows under his employer's eyes. "You're looking rather drained, sir. Didn't sleep well?"

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice low and gravelly. "Mark, did I ever tell you how much I enjoy hearing your voice this early in the morning?"

"Not particularly, sir," Mark replied smoothly, keeping both hands on the wheel. "Though I can't say I relish yours either, especially when it's the last thing that keeps me awake at midnight and the first thing that wakes me at dawn."

Jason leveled a glare at the mirror. "Are you complaining, Mark? Because that certainly sounds like a complaint."

"Perish the thought, sir. I'm merely providing perspective on the situation," Mark replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

"Just focus on the road and get me to the office in one piece," Jason muttered, leaning his head back against the leather seat.

Yet the closer they drew to the corporate headquarters, the faster his pulse raced. The anticipation of walking onto the executive floor and seeing Selina sitting at that desk stirred a turbulent mix of dread and electric longing in his veins.

"I just hope today goes smoothly," Jason murmured under his breath.

Mark's teasing expression softened, replaced by a rare tone of quiet gravity. "You overthink everything, sir. The young mistress truly doesn't remember you. Frankly, I'm not even sure she remembers anything from her past."

"Right," Jason said bitterly, his jaw clenching tight.

"And I suppose that's supposed to make this easier."

He reached into his tailored coat, pulled out his smartphone, and navigated past encrypted security screens to a hidden gallery archive. He tapped on a saved video file.

On the screen, a younger Selina appeared—radiant, laughing, her golden hair falling in soft, untamed waves as she spun under sparkling chandeliers.

Surrounding voices cheered, clapping and singing in joyous celebration: "Happy birthday, Selina Aurelius!"

Staring at her luminous, untroubled smile on the glowing display, a suffocating wave of memory and unresolved fury tightened around Jason's throat.

With a sharp, violent snap of his fingers, he clicked the screen shut and stared out into the gray morning rain.