I forced myself to focus.
My notebook was open, pen in hand, the company's letterhead staring back at me like an anchor. My pulse had only just begun to settle, but I kept my breathing even, shoulders squared, expression unreadable.
This was the Meridian Development Initiative. The kind of project that could define a career, the kind of deal that made names permanent on office walls. There was no room for emotion. No time for the kind of thoughts clawing at the edge of my composure.
Not here. Not now.
Still, when I glanced up, my eyes found her again.
Val.
Across the wide mahogany table, where the teams from each firm sat clustered, she looked every bit the professional — immaculate charcoal blazer, hair pinned up, expression calm. Her badge read Celestia V. Moreau — Deputy Project Director / Lead Business Strategist.
The sight of it twisted something inside me.
I wasn't sure which was worse — seeing her there, or realizing how she looked right there.
Like she belonged.
