The rest of the afternoon passed painfully slowly for Noah. He sat through presentations, signed contracts, approved proposals, and answered endless questions, but his mind never truly left the image of Ava sitting in the park. She had been laughing so effortlessly. He remembered when she used to laugh like that with him, and it made him wonder exactly when that had stopped—and more importantly, why he hadn't even noticed."Mr. Kingston?" One of the board members called his name for the second time, snapping Noah out of his thoughts.He blinked, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry?""The proposal," the board member prompted.Noah looked down at the papers spread out in front of him. For the first time since taking over as CEO, he had absolutely no idea what they had been discussing. "I'll review it after the meeting," he muttered. The directors exchanged confused glances; Noah Kingston was never distracted. Never.Meanwhile, Ava buried herself in her own work to keep her mind busy. She an
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