Chapter 2

Monday came faster than I expected.

Then again, I moved in on a Sunday, so that was probably on me.

I stared at the ceiling for a moment before it all came back to me.

New apartment. New start. Right.

I sat up slowly. To be honest it was the first time in a while I’d slept that peacefully. No tension sitting on my chest before I even opened my eyes, no feeling like I had to brace for something.

Just quiet.

And somehow that felt stranger than anything else.

My gaze drifted toward the door without permission.

And without meaning to I found myself replaying him.

The way he stood there like the space rearranged itself around him. The way he looked at me like he was already figuring something out. The way his presence had settled under my skin like it had decided to stay without asking.

I exhaled sharply.

“Yeah. No,” I muttered, pushing the covers back. “Absolutely not.”

It hadn’t even been twenty four hours.

I got up, stretched, and walked straight to my boxes.

My first mistake was opening all of them at once.

I stood there staring at the mess I’d created, hands on my hips.

Eventually, I found it.

The red blazer.

I pulled it out slowly, smoothing the fabric between my fingers. Paired with a fitted skirt that stopped just below the knee. Simple. Sharp. Intentional.

By the time I was done I stopped in front of the mirror.

And just looked.

The blazer sat against my brown skin like it was made for it. The red rich and warm, pulling out something in my complexion that felt deliberate. It nipped perfectly at my waist, the kind of tiny waist that made the flare of my hips feel almost unfair. The skirt followed their curve obediently, fitted enough to say something without saying too much.

I was five foot four on a good day.

But right now I felt taller.

I packed my hair into a sleek bun. Concealer, contour, mascara nothing excessive, just enough to look polished. Then I reached for my lipstick.

Red. Bold. The kind of color that didn’t ask for attention, but just took it.

I applied it slowly, watching the way it pulled everything together.

There she is.

I reached for my bag. The Chanel one. My fingers paused on the handle for just a second because it was a gift. From a time I wasn’t particularly interested in thinking about right now.

I picked it up anyway.

Some things you keep not because of who gave them to you but because they’re yours now.

“Okay,” I said softly. “First day. Don’t embarrass yourself.”

I said as I reached for the door.

It wasn’t quite easy locating the company considering i wasn’t used to the neighborhood.

After a forty five minutes bus ride, I found it.

Vanta PR Group sat on the street with a quiet kind of authority. All clean glass and sharp edges, the kind of place that didn’t need to announce itself because it already knew what it was.

I looked up at it for a second.

Then down at myself, feeling a little nervous, but I walked in anyway.

The lobby hit me immediately. Cool air, marble floors, the low hum of conversations happening too fast for anyone to be fully listening. Everyone moved with that particular kind of purpose that made slowing down feel like a personal failing.

“You look new.”

I turned.

A girl stood beside me, smiling. Easy. Unbothered.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked.

“Little bit. I’m Maya.”

“Isabel.”

“Come on,” she said, already moving, “I’ll show you around before the building swallows you whole.”

She talked as we walked, pointing out departments, dropping casual warnings about who to avoid, telling me which printer jammed every single time without fail. By the time she stopped at a clean desk near the window I’d relaxed slightly.

Just a little.

“This is yours,” she said.

I looked at it.

This is real.

“Before you even sit down,” she added, dropping her voice, “there’s a meeting in a few minutes. You’re joining.”

I blinked. “Already?”

She smiled. “Welcome to Vanta.”

As we passed a glass office she nodded subtly. “That’s Ethan. Your direct boss.”

I glanced over.

Tall. Sharp. The kind of man who commanded a room without raising his voice. You could tell just from the way he stood. He was looking down at a document, one hand braced against the desk.

As if he felt it, his head lifted.

His eyes found mine immediately. Direct. Unhurried. Holding a beat longer than necessary.

Then, “Isabel, Meeting. Conference room. Now.”

“I’m on it,” I said.

I turned to leave.

And caught it, just barely. The faintest shift of his gaze. Not to my face.

Lower.

Gone before I could be sure I’d seen it at all.

I kept walking.

First day, I reminded myself. Focus.

The conference room was already full by the time I arrived.

Voices overlapping. Laptops open. Documents spread across the table like controlled chaos.

I stepped in quietly, scanning for an empty seat —

And then everything slowed.

Not the room. Not the voices.

Just me.

Because I felt it before I saw it.

That specific stillness. That particular presence that didn’t announce itself it simply was.

My eyes lifted.

And there he was.

Nate.

Seated at the far end of the table like he’d always belonged there. One arm resting along the back of his chair. Relaxed. Unbothered. Like a man who had never once wondered whether he was supposed to be somewhere.

Then his eyes lifted.

Found mine across the table.

And stayed.

Not surprised. Not confused.

Just aware. Like he’d already known. Like I was the only one still catching up.

My chest did something I was going to pretend didn’t happen.

Of course, I thought. Of course it had to be him.

I found an empty seat and sat down.

Calm. Composed.

Like I hadn’t just temporarily forgotten how to function.

Like I wasn’t suddenly very aware of the exact number of seats between us.

Not enough. That was the answer.

“This is one of our priority clients,” Ethan said from the head of the table. “Mr. Carter”

Something about hearing it like that formal, clipped, professional did something strange. Last night he was just Nate. A man standing in my doorway like boundaries were optional.

Now he was Mr. Carter.

Somehow that made it worse.

The meeting continued around me and I tried, genuinely tried to follow it. Rumors circulating. Media picking things up. Controlled statements and managed appearances.

But every few minutes I felt it.

His gaze.

Not constant. Not obvious.

Just there. Like a hand resting somewhere it technically shouldn’t be.

Warm. Patient. Completely unbothered about the fact that we were sitting in a room full of people.

I kept my eyes forward.

Took careful notes.

Crossed my legs under the table.

You are at work, I told myself firmly. This is your first day. Get it together.

My body offered absolutely no response to that.

The meeting wrapped up and the room began emptying. I gathered my things quickly already composing the story I was going to tell Olivia

“Isabel.”

Low. Unhurried.

I stilled.

Slowly turned.

He was standing now. Closer than the table had allowed. Close enough that I became immediately aware of how tall he actually was from this angle how much space he occupied without trying to.

My fingers tightened around my folder.

“You work here,” he said.

Not a question.

“You live in my building,” I replied.

Silence stretched for exactly one beat.

Something moved through his eyes too fast, too controlled to name.

Then,

“Be careful,” he said quietly.

I frowned slightly. “About what?”

He held my gaze for a moment.

One long, steady, unreadable moment.

“Everything.”

And then he walked past me.

Close enough that I caught it that same clean warmth from the night before. Understated. Unhurried.

Gone before I could do anything stupid with it.

I stood there staring at the empty doorway.

Then exhaled slowly.

Looked down at my folder.

Back up at the space he’d just left.

This, I thought, is going to be a problem.

Not the job. Not the new city. Not even the fresh start I’d promised myself.

Him.

Nate, Mr. Carter, who owned the building I slept in and apparently also the company I worked for and seemingly had no intention of making any of this easy.

I straightened my blazer.

Picked up my folder.

And walked back to my desk like my pulse wasn’t doing something completely unprofessional.

One day at a time, I reminded myself.

But even that wasn’t sounding as simple as it used to.