The Contract Omega( MXM Romance) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

Caelen POVThe eleven o'clock meeting was in a glass-walled conference room on the ninth floor. Eight people sat around the table, most of them already there when I walked in. Rachel stood at the front, a presentation pulled up on the screen behind her.I took the empty seat at the far end. No one greeted me. I did not expect them to.Rachel quickly reviewed the agenda. Upcoming product launches, client feedback, and budget updates were familiar topics, meetings I had studied in university and dreamed of attending.Then she paused."Our Q3 campaign for the Harlow account is underperforming," she said. "Engagement is down fourteen percent from target. We need ideas."The room went quiet. People shifted in their seats. Someone cleared their throat.I looked down at my notebook. I had spent the entire morning going through exactly this problem. The data was clear once you stopped looking at the surface numbers and started asking why."The targeting is wrong," I said.Every head turned.R

Caelen POVMonday morning arrived with the weight of Tuesday's presentation pressing against my chest.I had spent the entire weekend preparing. Refining slides, double-checking data, rehearsing my delivery in front of the bathroom mirror while Aldric pretended not to listen from the bedroom. He offered to help twice. I said no both times. This had to be mine.When I stepped onto the ninth floor that morning, the atmosphere felt different. It was tighter, as if everyone knew something I did not.Jennifer was already at her desk when I arrived. She looked up the moment the elevator doors opened, her eyes tracking me across the floor. I nodded politely. She did not nod back.I set my bag down and opened my laptop, trying to ignore the prickling sensation at the back of my neck. The feeling of being watched never went away. I had learned to live with it.Rachel's voice cut through the murmur of the office. "Team meeting in five at the conference room."I grabbed my notebook and followed

Aldric POVThe board meeting dragged on longer than it should have. I sat at the head of the conference table, half-listening to quarterly projections and market forecasts that I had already reviewed twice before this meeting even started. My CFO was presenting with his usual confidence and thoroughness, but my attention kept drifting away from the numbers on the screen.Specifically, it kept drifting nine floors down to where Caelen was working.He had been at his desk all morning working on the new campaign rollout. I knew this because I had checked the security feed twice before the meeting started, not to monitor him but just to see him. To watch the way he focused when he worked, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration, his bottom lip caught between his teeth in that way that drove me crazy.That was three hours ago. Three hours since I last saw him properly. Three hours since I touched him. Three hours since this morning when he kissed me goodbye in the kitchen and headed ou

Caelen POVThe request came on Wednesday afternoon while I was deep into reviewing campaign metrics at my desk. My phone buzzed against the surface, pulling my attention away from the spreadsheet filled with engagement data.A text from Aldric.I need to ask you something. Can you come to my office?Now?When you have a moment.I glanced around the ninth floor. Jennifer was locked in a conference room for what appeared to be an intense meeting, as evidenced by the animated gestures visible through the glass walls. Rachel sat at her desk, completely absorbed in whatever was on her screen. No one was paying attention to me or where I might be going.Give me ten minutes.I finished the paragraph I was reading, made sure everything was saved properly, and headed for the elevator. My stomach fluttered with anticipation the way it always did when Aldric summoned me during work hours. After yesterday's impromptu office encounter, I had no idea what to expect from this particular meeting.But

Caelen POVThe morning after the Tanaka dinner, I walked into Fenmore Group feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Last night proved something big to Aldric, the clients, and mostly to me. I belonged in his world. I was an equal partner who could finally contribute something real and meaningful.I was still replaying Mr. Tanaka's approving smile when someone stepped directly into my path in the lobby.I stopped short, coffee sloshing dangerously close to the rim. "Sorry, I didn't—"Then I looked up, and the apology died in my throat.The man standing in front of me was beautiful in a deliberate way, designed to catch attention and hold it. Platinum blond hair styled with precision. Sharp cheekbones that could have been carved from marble. Eyes the color of glacial ice, studying me with focused intensity.He smiled, slow and knowing. "You must be Caelen."My stomach dropped. He knew my name."I'm sorry," I said carefully. "Do I know you?""Not yet." He extended his hand with practiced gr