The office was quieter than usual as Keigh leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the skyline beyond the glass wall. Numbers, schedules, and meeting notes littered the desk in front of him, but his mind wasn't on any of it.
It was on her. Nara Lyn.
He replayed the meeting over in his head, the way she'd carried herself, composed and professional, yet somehow more alive than anyone else in the room. The subtle confidence in her voice, the calm authority that didn't demand attention but somehow commanded it anyway.
He hadn't realized how much he'd been anticipating seeing her again until the moment she walked in. Until the moment their eyes met. That single glance, that quiet recognition, had unsettled him in ways he rarely allowed himself to be unsettled.
Keigh reached for his coffee, hands steady, but the warmth of it did nothing to calm the faint stir in his chest.
"She's capable," he murmured to himself. "Focused, professional… exactly what I need handling this event."
And yet, as much as he admired her skill, it wasn't that.
It was the way she moved through the room, calm but aware, like she had a rhythm the rest of the world couldn't keep up with. He hadn't even realized he'd been counting the days until this meeting, silently hoping she would be the one managing the gala, until now.
He didn't allow himself to think too much, not in a way that would disrupt the controlled image he cultivated. But the thought lingered anyway: What would it be like… if she noticed me the way I notice her?
He leaned back further, letting his gaze drift over the city skyline again. The city hummed below him, full of energy, ambition, and noise. And yet, in the quiet of his office, he found himself thinking about her, the calm in the storm he hadn't known he'd been waiting for.
Keigh Dynamite wasn't the type to dwell. He didn't chase moments. He built them. Controlled them. But this… this was different.
Something about Nara Lyn had slipped past the boundaries he'd set for himself, into a space he didn't know how to contain.
And as he turned his attention back to the event planning notes, there was a quiet anticipation, unspoken and restrained, that made every detail suddenly feel sharper, more urgent.
He didn't know what was coming next. But he knew he wanted to be ready when it did.