Catherine
The elevator chimed.
Catherine barely looked up from her laptop as the doors slid open, revealing a group of sharply dressed men in tailored suits — nothing new for the office. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard, but then… the air shifted.
A stillness crept into the room, like the calm before a storm.
And then she saw him.
Jason.
He stepped in with the kind of quiet command that sucked the air out of the room, in his sleek black suit, diamond encrusted watch and black jet hair looking very handsome. He walk in with some men, but his aura was different. Commanding.Unspeakable power and wealth.His dark eyes scanned the office, unreadable, cold like he didn't know a soul in the place.
Like he didn't know her.
Her breath caught, her heart tumbling into a panic she fought to hide. Their eyes met for the briefest second — just enough to set her pulse on fire — and then… nothing.
He looked past her.Not a flicker of recognition. Not even a twitch.
Like that night had never happened. She couldn't believe it.
Catherine sat back in her chair, spine straightening as if she'd just been doused in cold water. Her chest tightened with something sharp and stupid. She pressed her lips together, forcing her gaze back to the screen in front of her.
Fine. If he wanted to pretend she was invisible, she could pretend even harder.
She didn't see the way his jaw tightened as he passed her desk, or the subtle glance he stole just before he disappeared into the conference room.Jason Wilson was ice.But Catherine Smith could be fire when she had to be.
Jason
She was there.
The moment he stepped into the office, he felt her presence before he even saw her. And when he did sitting just a few desks down, that familiar curve of her cheek, the way her eyes flicked up and widened just slightly it nearly knocked the breath out of him.
But he couldn't break. Not now.
So he looked past her. Walked by as if she were just another employee.
Not the woman who had haunted his mind for weeks. Not the woman he bought an entire damn company to find.
It burned.More than he thought it would.
But then she didn't react. No anger. No questions. Not even a smile. Just cold, practiced indifference.She didn't remember.Or worse, she did and he meant nothing to her.
His jaw clenched as he shut the glass conference room door behind him, heart hammering like he was the one who'd been caught.
This wasn't going to be easy.
Rina
Rina leaned across the front desk, whispering to one of the assistants. "So that's the guy?"
The girl nodded, eyes wide. "Yep. New owner. Silent-type. Scary-rich."
Rina hummed. "Silent and scary. Just my type."
"Please don't get fired," Catherine mumbled beside her, barely looking up.
"Relax, I'm just window shopping," Rina whispered back, lips curving mischievously.
Just then, the elevator dinged again.
Out stepped a man in a slate-grey suit with a smirk that could melt office policies. Dark hair, confident walk and talking way too loudly on a Bluetooth earpiece.
"Yeah, yeah, tell him to move the meeting. I've got a marketing department to intimidate—uh, I mean, greet," the man joked as he strolled in.
He stopped right in front of the desk, eyes scanning the room until they landed on Rina. His smirk widened.
"You must be Rina and you Catherine," he said, pulling out one earbud.
Rina blinked. "Do we know you?"
He placed a hand dramatically over his heart. "Zane Carter. Right hand of the scary new boss. "I'm here to keep things under control but mostly, I think they sent me to deal with you, since you're obviously the wild card."."
Her brow lifted. "What?"
"Or keep you from staging a rebellion," he teased. "Depends on how feisty you are."
Rina crossed her arms. "You'll find out."
Zane grinned. "God, I hope so."
Catherine sighed beside her. "And I thought today couldn't get any weirder."
Zane turned to her, flashing an equally disarming grin. "Our elusive designer."
She gave a tight smile, trying to maintain her composure, especially after Jason's cold walk-by. "That's me."
Zane tilted his head, giving her a once-over that was curious but not inappropriate. "No offense, but you don't exactly look thrilled to be here."
"Long and stressful morning," she said curtly, resisting the urge to glance back at the conference room door.
Zane didn't push. "Fair enough. I'm just here to make sure the place doesn't burn down during the transition."
"Then you'll want to keep an eye on her," Catherine said, nodding toward Rina, who beamed innocently.
"Noted," Zane chuckled. "Though I've got a feeling she's the fun kind of chaos."
Rina leaned forward. "You'll need more than charm to handle me, Mr. Carter."
He smirked. "Good thing I brought backup."
Rina watched as he turned and strolled off toward HR, phone already back at his ear. "I like him," she said casually.
Catherine arched a brow. "You like trouble."
"I'm consistent," Rina replied, still watching the elevator doors close behind Zane. "But he seems like the kind that makes it fun."
Catherine tried to smile, but her thoughts were drifting again — back to Jason, to the heat in her cheeks, the silence between them, the weight of being ignored by the only man who'd ever made her feel completely undone.
Had he really forgotten her?
Was she really that forgettable?
She hated how much that thought hurt.
Rina nudged her gently. "Hey. You okay?"
Catherine blinked, forcing a smile. "Yeah. Just… trying to focus."
"On anything other than the new boss who walked by like you didn't exist?"
Catherine looked at her, surprised. "You noticed?"
"Please. I notice everything. And you're not as unreadable as you think."
Catherine hesitated, then shrugged. "It's fine. We've never met."
It was a lie, and it tasted bitter on her tongue.
Rina narrowed her eyes. "If you say so."
Across the office, behind the tinted glass, Jason's eyes flicked toward the desk again.
Only this time, he didn't look away.