Chapter 20
Tuesday. 6:47 a.m.
The kitchen was quiet. Coffee was hot. I was not.
Alexandra stood by the counter. No suit jacket. Sleeves rolled up. He wasn't drinking his coffee. He was watching me drink mine.
He'd been doing that since I walked in. Since I sat down. Since Maria left.
"Did you sleep?" he asked. His voice was normal. His eyes weren't.
"Yes." I didn't look up. If I looked up, he'd know I hadn't. Not really. Not after last night.
The dress was back in its box. My skin still felt like it was on me.
---
Katrina
I didn't know how to sit in that dress. I didn't know how to stand in it. I didn't know how to breathe in it without feeling like everyone was looking.
Except I did. Because he looked, and it didn't feel like being watched. It felt like being seen.
I wasn't self-conscious. That was the weird part. I should have been. Back exposed. Thigh showing. Every curve accounted for. I've spent my whole life accounting for them. Hiding them. Downplaying them.
I didn't last night. I didn't want to.
His hand on my back wasn't heavy. It was there. Steady. Like he wasn't holding me up, just reminding me he could.
I was comfortable. I was comfortable with Alexandra Vega. The man who speaks in clauses and counts silence like currency.
I didn't know what to do with that. Still don't.
I finished the coffee. Set the mug down. "Are you going to tell me why you're staring or should I start charging rent for the view?"
The corner of his mouth moved. Not a smile. Not yet. "Driver called. He's late."
"Okay."
"So I'll drive. We're going together."
I blinked. "To work?"
"Yes."
"We don't go to work together."
"We do today." He picked up his keys. "Unless you'd rather walk."
I grabbed my bag.
He opened the door. Waited for me to go first. I did.
---
Vega Holdings. 8:04 a.m.
We walked in together. Me. Him. No driver. No Maria. No buffer.
The lobby went quiet for half a second. Then it remembered how to breathe.
Heads turned. Then turned back. Faster than usual. Because it was him. Because it was me. Because we were together.
He walked me to my floor. Didn't say why. Didn't need to.
My team was at their desks. Early. Because I was early. Because I didn't sleep.
"Katrina," someone said. "You're—"
"Alive. Yes. Thanks for noticing."
Laughter. Small. Relieved. They'd seen the feed from Thursday. Everyone had. No one mentioned it. That was the rule.
He was still there. In my doorway. Looking at my team. Looking at me.
"Mrs. Vega," a voice said. New. Male. Level. "Your nine a.m. was pushed to nine-thirty. Legal sent the updated deck."
I turned.
He was tall. Maybe six feet. Dark hair, short. Gray eyes, but not Alexandra gray. Softer. Glasses. Blue button-down, sleeves rolled up just like Alexandra's. No tie. Tablet in his hand.
"Thank you," I said. Then, because Alexandra was still there, "Alexandra, this is Elias Rowe. He transferred from Boston last week. He's on my team now. Strategic ops."
Alexandra looked at Elias. Elias looked at Alexandra. One second. Two.
"Mr. Vega," Elias said. Nodded. Not a bow. Not a flinch. Just a nod.
"Rowe," Alexandra said. His voice gave nothing away. "Boston."
"Correct."
Another second. Then Alexandra looked at me. "I have a board call at eight-thirty."
"Okay."
He left. Didn't look back.
Elias set the tablet on my desk. "Updated deck is flagged. Page seventeen is where they moved the clause."
"Thanks." I sat. My hands were steady. "How was Boston?"
"Cold. Wet. Less interesting." He smiled. Small. Real. "Your calendar's clear until nine-thirty. Coffee?"
"Already had one. But I'll take another if you're offering."
He left. Came back in three minutes with two cups. Black for me. He remembered.
He sat at his desk. Across from mine. Open floor plan. No walls.
At 9:18 my phone buzzed. Alexandra – Mobile.
Stay late tonight?
I stared at it.
Why?
Three dots. Then: Dinner. Not a date. Food.
I looked up. Elias was on a call. Talking low. Smiling. The kind of smile you only give someone who's yours.
I typed back: Okay.
I didn't know what Alexandra felt. He didn't know either.
But I knew what I felt last night. Comfortable. Safe. Not alone.
For now, that was enough.