The fundraiser did not dissolve quietly.
It loosened.
Champagne levels dropped. Jackets came off. Conversations grew louder. The string quartet packed up, replaced by a softer lounge track humming through the speakers.
Money people relaxed differently. They didn't get messy. They got comfortable.
Jayden had finished his volunteer shift, but he hadn't left.
He stood near the stage platform, one hand tucked casually into his pocket, scanning the room like it was a chessboard.
Roman was across the hall speaking to two board members. Calm. Steady. Untouchable.
Jayden wasn't staring.
He was observing.
A donor with silver hair the same man who'd flirted earlier suddenly stepped onto the low stage with a microphone.
"Before we close the evening," the man announced lightly, "I think we need something entertaining. We've talked numbers all night."
Scattered laughter.
"Any brave students willing to contribute?"
Jayden stiffened slightly.
This wasn't part of the plan.
Several students avoided eye contact.
A few laughed nervously.
The donor's eyes landed on him.
"You," the man said with a grin. "Mr. Ambitious."
Soft laughter rippled across the hall.
Jayden didn't flinch.
He walked forward.
Why not?
He'd never been afraid of a spotlight.
He stepped onto the stage and took the microphone smoothly.
"Careful," he said, voice steady. "You might regret this."
The room chuckled.
Roman's gaze lifted immediately.
Sharp. Focused.
Jayden scanned the audience briefly.
"I don't actually sing," he admitted.
"Neither do half the people on streaming platforms," someone shouted playfully.
More laughter.
Jayden smirked.
"Then I'm qualified."
He glanced toward the back of the hall and spotted Michael frozen near a refreshment table.
Jayden's smile widened.
"Oh no," Michael mouthed.
"Oh yes," Jayden replied silently.
He pointed.
"You. Come here."
The crowd turned.
Michael shook his head violently.
Jayden raised the mic.
"I need backup."
The room cheered lightly.
Peer pressure did the rest.
Michael stumbled toward the stage like a man walking toward public execution.
"You're insane," he whispered as he climbed up.
"Relax," Jayden murmured. "Confidence is everything."
"You said that about the investment simulator and I almost went bankrupt."
Jayden grinned.
The donor stepped forward with the sound technician and cued up a random instrumental track.
Some soft pop melody.
Nothing dramatic.
Jayden leaned into the mic first.
The first note came out
Not terrible.
But not impressive either.
Michael followed.
And that was worse.
He was off-key. Completely.
Someone coughed.
A few quiet snickers started near the back.
Jayden didn't panic.
He adjusted instantly.
Instead of trying to sing properly, he exaggerated it.
Over-dramatic hand gestures.
Fake passion.
Mock seriousness.
Michael caught on halfway through and leaned into the absurdity.
They weren't vocalists.
They were performers.
The room shifted.
Laughter replaced discomfort.
Even the donors started clapping along ironically.
Someone whistled.
Halfway through the second chorus, Michael cracked so badly that he nearly choked on the lyrics.
The crowd burst into open laughter.
Jayden doubled over laughing too, still holding the mic.
"Thank you so much," he said breathlessly, "for witnessing the downfall of two future CEOs."
Applause.
Loud this time.
Real.
Some donors stood briefly just for fun.
A few students at the side were still laughing, but not cruelly.
Jayden handed the microphone back and gave an exaggerated bow.
As he stepped off the stage, he caught Roman's eyes.
Roman wasn't laughing loudly.
But there was something there.
Not disapproval.
Not amusement exactly.
Something unreadable.
Jayden hopped down and bumped shoulders lightly with Michael.
"You tried to kill me," Michael muttered.
"You survived."
"I sounded like a dying instrument."
Jayden smirked. "Confidence."
Michael shook his head, but he was smiling now.
The energy in the hall had shifted completely.
Jayden had turned what could've been humiliation into spectacle.
Roman approached a few minutes later.
Michael stiffened immediately.
Jayden didn't.
Roman stopped in front of them.
"You don't sing," Roman stated flatly.
Jayden tilted his head slightly.
"You noticed."
Roman's gaze shifted briefly to Michael.
"And you definitely don't."
Michael swallowed. "Sir."
Roman looked back at Jayden.
"That was unnecessary."
Jayden shrugged lightly.
"It kept the room awake."
Roman studied him for a moment.
"You enjoy attention."
Jayden didn't deny it.
"Attention opens doors."
Roman's jaw moved slightly, as if holding back something.
Then he said calmly, "Just make sure it doesn't close them."
And he walked away.
Michael let out a breath.
"He scares me."
Jayden watched Roman's back as he returned to a conversation with the university president.
"He shouldn't."
"Easy for you to say."
The party began thinning out.
Donors exiting in sleek cars.
Faculty relaxing their posture.
Music lowering.
Jayden stepped outside into the cool night air once the event officially ended.
Michael joined him.
"You're not normal," Michael said again.
Jayden leaned against the stone pillar near the entrance.
"Normal is predictable."
Michael studied him carefully.
"You weren't embarrassed."
"No."
"Why?"
Jayden shrugged.
"If you control the reaction, you control the moment."
Michael shook his head slowly.
"I don't know if you're brave or reckless."
"Both."
They stood there in silence for a few seconds.
Then Michael checked his phone.
"I'm heading home."
"Go."
"You?"
Jayden glanced back toward the entrance.
Roman was still inside.
"I'll leave in a minute."
Michael narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Don't do anything stupid."
Jayden smirked faintly.
"I never do anything without purpose."
Michael didn't look convinced, but he left.
Jayden stayed.
Not because he expected anything.
But because instinct told him something wasn't finished.
His phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
He already knew who it was.
He let it ring once before answering.
"Yes?"
Roman's voice came through low and controlled.
"Are you free tonight?"
No greeting.
No explanation.
Straight to it.
Jayden's pulse didn't spike.
It steadied.
"Yes," he replied calmly. "I'm free tonight."
A pause on the other end.
Then Roman said, "Good."
The line disconnected.
Jayden lowered the phone slowly.
The city lights reflected faintly on the polished stone around him.
He wasn't smiling widely.
But his eyes were sharper now.
Tonight.
Not tomorrow.
Not in class.
Not in a hallway.
Tonight.
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked once more toward the building doors.
Roman hadn't come out yet.
That was fine.
Jayden didn't chase.
He waited.
Because sometimes
The most powerful move wasn't stepping forward.
It was letting the other person close the distance.
And for the first time
Roman Ashford had done exactly that.