Everything about Evans Enterprises felt designed to reject her.
The lobby of Evans Enterprises was not only lavish, it was felt so unwelcoming.The cold slippery granite floor Nadia's sensible flats were walking on was as cold as a frozen river, the recessed lights above were so bright as if to perform surgery
Where her fingers had been clutching it, her single page resume, printed at the campus library, was already damp and could tear if she continued.
The far wall was taken up by a security desk. The guard behind it didn't lift his head from the screen he was looking at. "Name and purpose, " he said.
"Nadia Adams . I have a four-thirty appointment with… uh, with Mr. Harrington's office? For the assistant position."
His eyes briefly glanced at her but then returned to his computer. He tapped the keyboard. "Not on my list. Harrington's team left for the day."
"That...that must be some mistake. I got a call this afternoon." She sounded so low, as if the huge place had eaten her voice. Nadia pulled her phone against her chest, anchoring herself to the only familiar thing with her.
"See? A Kieran Harrington called. He said to come to the executive floor."
"Harrington's the CFO. His assistant schedules his appointments. You don't have one. You need to leave."
"Please, just call up? Maybe there's a mistake."
He sighed, a long-suffering sound then she watched him picked up a phone, muttering a few words. Listened. Hung up. "No mistake. You need to leave."
Nadia's face burned. This was a joke. A cruel, expensive joke. It has to be. But then Olivia's voice echoed in her head: 'They're billionaires, Care. They don't think like us. You're a bug on their windshield.' She turned the humiliation, a hot tide in her chest.
The elevator door made a sound and a lady in a very short navy dress came rushing out, her high heels making a lot of noise against the granite floor. She didn't look at anyone, her face flushed crimson and her eyes wet with fury. She was clutching a cardboard box to her chest, one framed picture as well, and her other hand full of protein bars.
She didn't see Nadia.
Nadia tried to dodge. The woman tried to swerve. The corner of the box caught Nadia squarely in the shoulder.
The contents flew. And the fern with her exploded in a making a dirty mess around. The photo glass shattered. Protein bars skittered across the perfect floor.
"Oh, my god. I am so sorry!" That moment the woman's rage turned to sudden despair, she fell down on her knees and with shaking hands, she was frantically gathering her belongings.
"No, it is really okay, " Nadia said as she got down and was helping her. Her own resume was now dusted with potting soil. She gathered the broken photo. It showed the woman, beaming, with an older couple at a graduation. "Here."
"Don't cut yourself." The woman's voice hitched. "Just… just leave it. It's all garbage now anyway."
"Penny? What the hell happened?" A new voice. Male. Sharp. Not loud, but it sliced through the lobby's silence.
Nadia looked up. A man stood by the elevators. And he certainly wasn't the guard. The dark gray suit fit him perfectly, like the color itself belonged to him. No tie. His hair was a mess, as if he'd been running his hands through it. His eyes were the coldest blue she'd ever seen.
He took in the scene slowly… the crying woman, the dirty floor, the shattered glass and of course, Nadia who was on her knees.
Penny, the woman in the navy dress, froze.
"Mr. Evans. It was an accident. I was just leaving. This… visitor startled me."
'Evans.' The name hit Nadia like a physical thing. This was him. The devil from the gossip blogs. The chaotic billionaire. He didn't look chaotic. He looked utterly, terrifyingly still.
His gaze landed on Nadia. It didn't feel like being looked at. It felt like being inventoried. "Who are you?"
She stood up, too fast. A wave of dizziness. She clutched the dirty resume. "Nadia Adams . I had an appointment. For the assistant job. They said it wasn't on the list."
"Kieran's doing," he said, more to himself than to her. His eyes flicked back to Penny. "You're fired for dropping a plant?"
Penny let out a wet sob. "Mr. Harrington said my discretion was… lacking. After the Lena situation this morning. He said I failed the gatekeeper test."
Owen Evans's jaw tightened. A muscle jumped. He stepped forward, his shoes avoiding the dirt. He crouched, right there in his perfect suit, and picked up the broken photograph. He carefully slid the cracked image from the frame, avoiding the glass, and handed it to Penny. "Harrington overreacts. Go home. You'll get six months' severance and a recommendation. HR will call you tomorrow."
Penny stared at him stunned. "Thank you, sir. I…"
"Go." It wasn't harsh. It was final.
She nodded, gathering her photo frame and what was left of her dignity. She didn't look at Nadia again. The security guard watched, silent, his earlier authority completely vanished.
Evans stood. He brushed invisible dust from his knees. Then he turned that blue gaze back on Nadia. "Adams. You're a student?"
"Yes. State University. Business and communications."
"Do you panic easily?"
"What?"
"You heard me, Adams. When things fall apart around you, do you freeze… or do you step in and clean up the mess?"
Nadia's gaze dropped to the dirt on the floor. She tightened her grip on her résumé.
She thought of the phone call from Kieran Harrington, the confusing instructions, the guard's dismissal. This whole place was a mess. "I try to clean it up."
He studied her for a long moment. The silence between them was thick and charged. She could see the exhaustion under his sharp features, a shadow in those cold eyes. He was close enough now that she caught a scent not cologne but Coffee. And Clean sweat. Something like winter air.
"Follow me," he calmly said.
He didn't wait for her response and only turned and headed back toward the elevator as if it was only natural for her to obey him.
Nadia went after him.
Her heels made a noise that was too loud, too fast compared to the slow, quiet rhythm of his own steps.
She was holding her portfolio so tight that the corner of her wrinkled resume was digging into her palm.
The guard leaned back on his desk. And Owen Evans didn't look back either.
He stopped at a bank of elevators she hadn't noticed, set into a shadowed alcove of dark wood. He pressed a single button. Not up or down. A keycard slot glowed green beneath it. He didn't reach for a keycard. He simply waited with his hands deep in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the brushed steel doors as if they'd open on command.
Nadia's mouth opened wide agape. This was something she has never seen before. A man so commanding with this much aura.
The elevator chimed softly as it came. The doors opened to show a charcoal gray carpet and mirrored walls interior. No one was inside.
He stepped inside. He turned at last, finally looking at her, his frame blocking the sensor. His face gave no clue to his feelings.
She crossed the threshold. The doors sealed behind her with a definitive sigh. The world outside vanished, replaced by infinite reflections: her own wide eyes, her wrinkled blazer, and him, Nick Evans , leaning against the back wall, watching her in the glass.
It was silent. No music. Just the faint, almost imperceptible hum of ascent.
"Look at me," he said. His voice was low, meant for the close space.
She turned from her reflection to the man himself. He was closer than she'd realized. The elevator was large, but he filled it.
"You got a call from Kieran Harrington." He spoke but it didn't sound like a question.
"Yes."
"What did he tell you?"
"To come to the fiftieth floor. That I was expected." She kept her voice low even though her heart was hammering against her ribs. "The guard said there was no appointment."