Tired of me, Mr. Taylor?의 모든 챕터: 챕터 11 - 챕터 20

Serena took her seat as though greeting Damian Taylor in a glass conference room at Aella headquarters were no more complicated than recognizing an executive she had met once at a charity dinner.The leather folder she had carried in rested beside her hand, and after placing her phone facedown near the edge of the table, she turned to Elena without looking at Damian again.“Sorry again about the delay.”“You’re fine,” Elena assured her. “We were still working through positioning.”“Good. Then I haven’t missed the part where marketing tries to convince engineering that customers care more about a slogan than whether the car actually behaves.”Daniel glanced up from his notes. “You’ve been here thirty seconds and you’re already insulting people.”“I’m encouraging cooperation.”A small smile passed between them, easy enough to suggest they had already established a comfortable working rhythm during the discussions leading up to Serena’s contract.Damian noticed because Serena had not smi

Theo was leaning against one of the low marble dividers across the lobby when Serena stepped out of the elevator, one hand tucked into his pocket while he looked at his phone. He glanced up almost immediately, and the slow smile that appeared made it clear he’d been watching the elevators more closely than his screen.“There you are. I was beginning to think Street Nation had decided to keep you.”“They couldn’t afford me.”“I know. I’ve seen your contract.”Serena reached him with a raised brow. “Have you?”“No, but that sounded like something you’d say.”A laugh escaped her before she could help it. Theo’s amusement remained, although his gaze lingered on her face for another moment.“Everything all right?”“Perfectly.”“You look pleased with yourself.”That was unfortunately accurate. Serena adjusted the strap of her bag and started toward the doors. “Maybe my meeting went well.”Theo joined her. “That isn’t your meeting-went-well face.”Serena looked sideways at him. “You haven’t

Cecilia had noticed Damian leave the table because she had been watching him long before he stood.It wasn’t unusual for him to become quiet during family dinners. Damian had never been a man who filled silence simply because it existed, and after years of knowing him, Cecilia understood that his attention could disappear into business without warning. Tonight had been different. His phone had vibrated, he’d looked at it, and something in him had gone completely still.Then he’d looked again.Cecilia stepped onto the terrace and closed the door behind her. Damian stood near the stone balustrade, the lights from the garden cutting faintly across his profile.“Damian?”His screen went dark before he turned.“You disappeared.”“I needed some air.”Cecilia almost smiled. “From the guest list or my mother?”“Both are compelling reasons.”Normally she might have laughed. Tonight, her attention remained on the phone in his hand. She had seen enough through the dining-room windows before comi

The next lap was different. Serena stopped chasing speed and let it come to her instead, giving the SN-R room to show her what it was doing. She repeated the same braking points, paid attention to the steering as the tires came fully into temperature and deliberately varied her throttle application through the faster sections. By the time she crossed the line again, she had stopped thinking about the people in the garage entirely.When she brought the car back in, Daniel was already waiting beside the bay. Serena climbed out and pulled off her helmet. “The steering gets lighter after repeated load through the right-hand sequence, but only once the car’s properly warm. It settles again if I back off for a lap.”Nina looked immediately toward the telemetry screens while Evan Shaw stepped closer. “The steering trace looks consistent.”“It won’t if you’re only looking at input,” Serena replied as she joined them at the monitor. There was no irritation in her voice this time. “I’m not sayi

The Taylor estate was quiet when Damian arrived.One of the night staff met him in the entrance hall, offering a polite, “Good evening, Mr. Taylor,” that Damian acknowledged with little more than a nod before continuing deeper into the house. He hadn’t decided to come here. He had simply driven, and apparently some part of him had decided his own apartment was the last place he wanted to be.A piano sounded somewhere beyond the main sitting rooms.Damian slowed. Only one person in the family regularly touched the Steinway in the music room.He followed the music down the corridor and stopped in the open doorway. Sophie sat at the grand piano with her back partially toward him, fingers moving easily across the keys. She played for another few seconds before glancing over her shoulder, and the moment she saw him, her hands stopped.“Okay. What happened?”Damian walked past her without answering. A drinks cabinet stood against the far wall, and he opened it, selected the whiskey and pour