The press hall buzzed with life. Cameras clicked, voices echoed, and the soft hum of anticipation filled the room as reporters began to take their seats. Every detail had been triple-checked.... lighting, banners, refreshments. Nara made sure of it.
She moved with practiced precision, adjusting last-minute arrangements while trying to ignore the steady thrum in her chest. He was there.
Keigh Dynamite sat at the head of the long table, his team surrounding him like constellations orbiting a star. He looked entirely in control, confident, articulate, and utterly untouchable. Every time he spoke, the room seemed to lean in.
She kept her distance, focusing on her clipboard, her notes, the stage layout, anything that wasn't him.
When the conference began, flashes from cameras illuminated the room as reporters fired their questions. Keigh handled each one with effortless calm, his voice steady and assured. The man knew how to command a room.
Nara couldn't help but admire that, even as she tried to convince herself it was purely professional.
During a pause, she looked up and his gaze was already on her.
For a brief moment, the noise around them dulled. His eyes were unreadable, steady, almost searching. It wasn't the kind of look that demanded attention. It was quieter. Intentional. The same one from the birthday party, only now sharper, clearer, impossible to dismiss.
She looked away quickly, pretending to check the guest list, but her pulse betrayed her again.What was she doing?
This was work. And he was a client. A powerful one. Someone whose name appeared in magazines and market reports, not in daydreams.
When the press conference ended, applause rippled through the room. Keigh rose, shaking hands with journalists and guiding his team through closing remarks. Nara exhaled quietly, gathering her notes before anyone could notice her slipping out.
Mrs. Hellen called after her, "Nara, great work today, stay for the brief wrap-up?"
She hesitated, then forced a polite smile. "I'll email the post-event notes. I just remembered I have a call scheduled."
Before anyone could protest, she was already halfway down the hall.
The cool air of the lobby felt like relief. She pressed a hand against her chest, trying to steady herself.
It wasn't supposed to feel like this, this quiet, restless awareness of someone she barely knew.
As she walked out of the building, she told herself it was better this way. She didn't belong anywhere near someone like him.
Inside the conference hall, Keigh's team was still mingling when his assistant leaned closer. "Sir, everything went perfectly. Shall we escort the guests to the exit?"
He nodded absently, his attention lingering on the doorway where Nara had stood minutes ago.
For a man known for his precision, Keigh Dynamite couldn't quite explain why the world had started to feel slightly off-balance since she walked into it.