CHAPTER 8
1035 Words
“Come on, tell her.” Rowan continued insisting with a smug smile.
“No.” Kaiden looked ready to throw Rowan through a wall.
Unfortunately for him, the rest of the table had already joined Rowan’s side.
“Come on. It’s funny.” Talia leaned forward.
“It wasn’t funny.” Kaiden said with no emotion whatsoever in his tone.
“It was a little funny." Talia continued with a grin.
I looked between them.
“What exactly happened?” I asked curious as to what exactly could be so funny.
Kaiden closed his eyes.
The universal expression of a man regretting every life choice that had led him here.
Rowan grinned.
Three seconds later, I knew I was going to hear the story regardless.
“When Kaiden first joined the team,” Rowan began, “he hated every single one of us.”
“Still do.” Kaiden said even before the sentence was over.
“See?” Rowan pointed at him. “Like that.”
A few people laughed.
“He showed up, refused to talk to anyone, refused to eat with us, refused to train with us—”
“I trained.” Kaiden corrected.
“By yourself.” Rowan protested.
“I preferred it.”
“You glared at people who said good morning.” Rowan said, looking personally victimized by the memory.
“They knew what they were doing.” Kaiden replied without a hint of remorse.
Talia snorted into her drink.
I glanced at Kaiden and to my surprise, he actually looked embarrassed.
“He spent three months insisting he wasn’t staying,” Rowan continued.
“Three months?” I asked, genuinely caught off guard by that number.
“Three months.” Rowan replied with great amusement written all over his face.
“It wasn’t three months.” Kaiden protested “It was two.”
“It was three.” Finn said barely looking up from his plate.
Kaiden pointed at him.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Again... I like accuracy.” Finn shrugged.
The table erupted into laughter and I found myself genuinely relaxing in their company.
Just a little.
Enough to enjoy watching Kaiden suffer. Which felt surprisingly natural.
Then the front door opened and the room quieted immediately.
Everyone looked up as a man stepped inside. He was older than the rest of us. Handsome in a way that felt overshadowed by something else. Like the years had left marks on him no one could see. He was wearing a tailored black coat that probably cost more than my monthly rent.
But none of that was what drew attention.
It was the way the room reacted to him. He had the kind of presence that made people pay attention without asking for it.
The man glanced around the room. His gaze landed on me and stayed there for a moment that felt like eternity.
He was assessing me. The same way Kaiden had assessed me earlier, only somehow worse.
“Who's our guest?” he asked, his tone casual enough to suggest the question meant very little.
His eyes suggested otherwise.
Kaiden stood.
“This is Caelyn.” he said like my name was enough of an answer.
The man’s attention never left me.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Apparently I was today’s entertainment.
“Caelyn,” he repeated. His voice was calm. “Welcome.”
Everyone seemed to shift slightly around him as the man stepped farther into the room.
He was clearly the one in charge.
"So..." I shifted slightly because of the tension that suddenly filled the room. "You're the boss I assume."
"Elias Ashford." He finally introduced himself. "Pleasure to meet you."
So this was the man who funded the team. The man who had built this place.
His gaze moved to the empty chair at the head of the table. Then to the mission reports scattered nearby. Then back to the group.
“How bad was the attack?” he asked almost unbothered.
“Three creatures,” Finn answered.
“Four,” Kaiden corrected.
“Four?” Finn frowned disappointed by the fact his accuracy might be flawed.
“There was one outside.” Kaiden explained.
“Of course there was.” Finn stared at the report for a second longer before reluctantly accepting that the report was wrong and Kaiden wasn't
Elias sighed.
Then rubbed the bridge of his nose. Like someone who was very tired of monsters. And possibly people. A feeling I understood completely.
“Any injuries?” Elias asked with obvious concern.
“No.” Kaiden answered without hesitation. He personally had made sure there weren't any.
“Good.”
For a moment nobody spoke. Then naturally, Rowan ruined it.
“So, boss...” Rowan started with a smirk that never led to anything productive
Elias immediately looked annoyed.
“Why do you sound like that?” he asked with whatever patience he had left.
“Just curious-”
“That’s never true.” Elias cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
“Have you considered that maybe you’re judging me unfairly?” Rowan asked with a mocking grin.
“Not really.” Elias replied ready to end this conversation faster.
The table laughed.
Rowan looked offended... again.
“We were just telling Caelyn about Kaiden.” His grin widened.
Elias froze, just slightly. Not enough for most people to notice, but enough for me.
His gaze jumped between me and Kaiden. And as it finally landed on him, something passed between them.
“Should I be worried?” Elias raised a brow not really sure if he's ready for whatever came next.
“Absolutely.” Rowan grinned.
“Then I don’t want to hear it.” Elias concluded with no interest to ruin his mood further.
A collective groan echoed around the room, which made Elias smile. And suddenly I understood something. This wasn’t just a team and it wasn’t just a job.
These people belonged to each other. In all the messy, irritating, complicated ways that mattered.
And for reasons I couldn’t quite explain...
That realization made me want to stay a little longer.
- Writer
