5 : The Heiress in My Office

CHAPTER 5

Reou’s POV

The Rockwell princess was working for me.

I stared at the employee profile on my tablet, then at the woman standing in front of my seat on the plane.

Aurora Annaliese Rockwell.

My junior quality assurance associate.

I checked the name again, just to make sure I hadn’t misread it.

I hadn’t.

“Mr. Moretti?” she asked. “Is there a problem with my report?”

I lifted my gaze.

She stood perfectly composed, a folder tucked beneath one arm. Her dark, wavy hair fell over her shoulders, framing a face that had grown more refined since I last saw her. Her skin looked almost luminous beneath the cabin lights, and her eyes held the same quiet confidence I remembered.

Almost.

The girl I knew had always seemed to be waiting for something from me: a conversation, a smile, perhaps an explanation for why I never wanted her around.

This woman didn’t look as though she was waiting for anything.

“You’re a Rockwell,” I said.

“That is what my birth certificate says.”

I glanced at Mr. Bennett, who suddenly appeared fascinated by the itinerary on his tablet.

“You’re aware that your family owns one of our biggest competitors?

“Yes, sir. I was present at the family dinners where our companies were discussed.”

“And you still applied here?”

“Your company was hiring.”

I looked at her.

She looked back.

“That isn’t an explanation.”

“Neither is asking a question you already know the answer to.”

I slowly closed the tablet.

She had certainly changed.

Or perhaps I had simply never given her enough credit to begin with.

“Does your father know you’re working here?”

“Does yours know you skip breakfast?”

I paused.

Her expression remained innocent.

“That was a rather personal observation, Ms. Annaliese.”

“So was yours, Mr. Moretti.”

Mr. Bennett cleared his throat. “Shall I give you both a moment to review the itinerary?”

“No,” I said

“Yes, please,” Elise answered at the same time.

We looked at each other.

She smiled politely.

I decided the next three days would be unnecessarily long.

⸻

I hadn’t intended to attend the Rockwells’ homecoming celebration.

The invitation had arrived a few weeks earlier, delivered personally by Rylee, who seemed far too pleased with himself.

“Guess who’s coming home?”

“If it’s another one of your friends who wants me to invest in something, the answer is no.”

He dropped the envelope on my desk.

“Aurora.”

My pen stopped.

Rylee’s grin widened.

“She’s back from the States. Graduated and everything. The Rockwells are throwing a private celebration this Saturday.”

I picked up the invitation.

WELCOME HOME, AURORA ANNALIESE!

“You’re going, obviously,” he continued. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Then I suppose one Moretti at the event is sufficient.”

“One Moretti?” He leaned against my desk. “You mean me? You’re not coming?”

“I have work.”

“You always have work.”

“That’s why the company functions.”

He shook his head. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were avoiding her.”

I returned to my documents.

“Then it’s fortunate you know better.”

He laughed, but I didn’t join him.

The truth was simple enough. Our families were competitors, and the celebration would be crowded with business associates. I had no obligation to attend.

Besides, I knew Rylee.

He had always been fond of Aurora. Given the opportunity, he would spend the evening beside her, making jokes and trying to win her attention.

I had no interest in watching that.

Not because I cared who she spent her time with. I simply had better things to do than endure my stepbrother’s flirting.

At least, that was the explanation I settled on.

I left the invitation on my desk and didn’t attend.

I had been staring at the same page for nearly ten minutes.

Not because the report was difficult to understand. It was a perfectly ordinary document, and I had reviewed far more complicated contracts without needing to reread a single paragraph.

My attention was simply elsewhere.

Aurora Annaliese Rockwell was back.

I had received the invitation to her homecoming celebration that morning. Rylee had delivered it personally, spending most of the afternoon talking about how excited he was to see her again.

I had decided not to attend.

It was a reasonable decision. I had work, and there was no point making an appearance if I would only have to spend the evening watching Rylee try to impress her.

At least, that was what I told myself.

I picked up my phone and found her number among my old contacts.

I hadn’t deleted it.

I wasn’t sure why.

For a moment, I considered putting the phone down. It had been years since we’d spoken properly, and I couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse to call her.

Then I reminded myself that we were family acquaintances. Congratulating her on graduating and welcoming her home was hardly an extraordinary gesture.

That was all this was.

I pressed call.

When the line connected, I heard the faint sound of movement on the other end.

“Hello?”

For a moment, I said nothing.

I had expected her to answer, obviously. Still, hearing her voice after all this time made me hesitate longer than I intended.

I cleared my throat.

“You’re back.”

The words sounded unnecessarily abrupt, even to me.

I could have said something warmer. Asked how she was doing. Asked about her studies in the States.

Instead, I had chosen two words that sounded more like an observation than a welcome.

“Elise?”

She recognized me.

I don’t know why that surprised me. My number might have been unfamiliar, but surely my voice wasn’t.

“Welcome home, Elise.”

There. That was better.

Not particularly warm, but better.

I waited for her response, turning my pen between my fingers. I had no intention of making this an extended conversation. I only wanted to acknowledge her return before the homecoming celebration.

At least, that was the plan.

“Thank you,” she managed. “I was beginning to think you had forgotten I existed.”

I stopped turning the pen.

The remark was light enough to pass as a joke, but something about it made me pause.

Had I really been that absent from her life?

I remembered her from our childhood gatherings. The questions she used to ask, the way she would appear beside me even when I gave her little reason to stay. I remembered telling her to stop looking at me with pity.

After that, she had gradually stopped approaching me.

I had assumed she had simply grown out of following me around.

Apparently, she had noticed my absence, too.

“I’ve been busy.”

It was the easiest answer.

And perhaps the most inadequate one.

“Apparently.”

I glanced at the clock on my desk, then at the unfinished report in front of me.

I should have ended the call there.

Instead, I found myself searching for something else to say.

“I heard you graduated. Congratulations.”

It was a safe subject. Her achievements had been mentioned in a business newsletter, and my mother had spoken about the Rockwell family’s plans for her return.

I had known she was graduating soon.

I simply hadn’t expected to hear her voice again so soon afterward.

“Thank you, Reou.”

She said my name naturally, as though the years between us had made no difference at all.

I looked down at my phone.

There was something unsettling about how familiar it sounded.

I could have asked about her time abroad. I could have asked what she intended to do now that she was home.

Instead, I let the silence stretch between us.

Then she asked the question I hadn’t anticipated.

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

I already knew.

The engagement announcement had been released that morning, just as I had instructed. My parents were satisfied, and Marguerite’s family had been informed. It was a practical arrangement intended to put an end to the endless discussions about my future.

I hadn’t expected the news to reach Elise so quickly.

“Your engagement.”

I leaned back in my chair.

For a moment, I considered explaining the circumstances. That the announcement was meant to satisfy my parents, that Marguerite and I had hardly discussed what marriage would actually mean, that the decision had been made for reasons that had very little to do with romance.

But I didn’t owe anyone an explanation.

Not even her.

Especially not her, I reminded myself.

“Who told you?”

“No one had to tell me. It’s in the news.”

I said nothing.

There was no point denying it. The announcement was public, and the reporters had already begun speculating about the wedding.

Still, I wondered what she thought of it.

The question was unnecessary. Her opinion had no bearing on the decision, and whatever she thought was her own business.

Yet I found myself waiting for her to say something more.

“Reou?”

Her voice was quieter now.

I looked at the engagement announcement on my desk.

I had expected the news to bring relief. Instead, I was sitting in my office, listening to a girl from my childhood ask about a decision she had no reason to question.

I couldn’t tell whether her concern was simple curiosity or something else.

And I had no intention of asking.

“We should talk.”

I heard the words leave my mouth before I had fully considered them.

“About the engagement?”

“No.” I paused, choosing my next words carefully. “About why you’re really back.”

There was a silence on the line.

For the first time that evening, I wondered whether I had made a mistake by calling.

I had intended to welcome her home. Instead, I had asked a question that sounded more like an accusation.

But Aurora Rockwell had never been an easy person to understand, and I had never been particularly good at understanding her.

I waited for her answer.

Whatever she said, I told myself, I would listen.

After all, I was only curious about why she had returned.

Nothing more.