Joint Partnership
1086 Words
Sia's POV
The next week came too fast, but I was ready for it. I barely had the time to breathe cause I was preparing back to back to walk into that damn boardroom at Smith & Co. I walked in, heels clicking sharp against the marble floor, head high, face blank—the way I always walked into business meetings that mattered.
I was representing PulseTech. It wasn’t my first time doing something this big, but it felt different. Something in the air. Maybe it was the nerves. Or maybe it was just knowing that this one meant something personal. I didn’t know how much until I opened the glass doors and saw him.
Dylan sat at the table like he belonged there.
He looked up when I walked in. And I didn’t flinch. I just nodded at the room, adjusted my folder, and took the seat across the table.
The meeting began, all formal greetings and PowerPoint slides. The directors at Smith & Co were stuck, trying to choose between the two companies. Dylan's pitch came with his usual charm, calm and calculated, like he was born for boardrooms. Mine came with facts, figures, and impact—the kind that left people thinking long after the conversation was over.
Still, they were torn.
"Both companies bring in incredible value," one of the directors said, looking down at the sheets in front of him. "It’s honestly not easy to pick one."
Just then, a voice from the hallway echoed in. "The company’s biggest investor is here."
I didn’t look up until I felt it.
That shift, that drop in temperature.
I had no idea who the investor was, but all I prayed for was to be able to impress him.
The doors swung open and my jaw dropped.
Jason Brooks?
He didn’t walk in like most people did. He moved with silence, but the kind that made everyone turn. His presence wasn’t loud, but it filled the room. Eyes followed him without thinking, and the room quieted.
He didn’t glance at me as he took his seat at the head of the table, and I hated how something in me wanted him to.
"I went over both proposals," he said after reviewing our proposals, his voice deep and steady. "I think we’re looking at this the wrong way. Why not partner with both companies?"
The directors exchanged glances, murmuring.
Jason leaned forward slightly. "If you can’t do it that way, then maybe we walk away from both."
Just like that.
Silence stretched and tension grew thick.
My jaw clenched. I knew what that meant. Either we bent and shared the table with Dylan—or we got nothing at all.
After the meeting wrapped up, they gave us a week to consider it. I walked out of the building, heat bubbling beneath my skin, hands shaking as I stuffed my papers into my bag.
And of course, he followed me.
"It’s been six years," Dylan said as he caught up with me at the steps.
I didn’t stop walking.
"Yes," I said, not even looking at him. "Six peaceful years."
He chuckled. "You look... very different."
I finally turned to him, letting my eyes drag over his tailored suit, his smug mouth, that same cologne I once buried my face in.
"I can't say the same," I said. "If you'll excuse me."
I walked away before he could answer, pulling out my phone to call my hired driver. I needed to go back to Rachel's parents place, where I had dropped off Joel, before heading to the hotel. My hand was still tapping the screen when a black car rolled up in front of me and the window came down.
"Get in," he said.
I shook my head, already stepping back. "I'm fine."
"That wasn't a request, Sia."
I scoffed in my head, blinking slow like, who the hell does he think he is?
Still... one blink later, I was inside the car.
The door closed, and he didn't speak. Just started driving.
"Where are you staying?"
"Four Seasons," I mumbled, my voice lower than I intended. "But I'm heading to your parents place first to pick up my son."
The car moved—silence stretched.
I stared out the window, my hands fidgeting with the hem of my skirt. The weight of the meeting, Dylan, everything—it was pressing on my chest, and I could feel the question burning in my throat.
I finally turned to him, voice unsure, eyes searching his face. "Are you doing this intentionally? Did Dylan ask you to?"
He didn’t react. Just kept one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear, eyes fixed ahead.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his tone low but unreadable.
I leaned back, exhaling. "You forced them to include both of us. Knowing our past, you could have picked one of us and let the other off. But no, you didn’t.”
“Did Dylan ask you to do this?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t soft. It was sharp, quiet, like he knew something I didn’t.
"Intentionally? Maybe. But what makes you think I'd ever do what Dylan wants?"
That shut me up for a second. I turned my face toward him fully now, studying him.
"So why then? Why are you doing this?"
The car slowed, red light ahead. We stopped.
Jason turned his face to me then, and for the first time since we met, he let something real cross his eyes. A mix of calm and chaos.
He leaned in just enough for his voice to land directly between us. "Don't you want to make him pay?"
My brows furrowed. "What— what do you mean?"
"It's clear he's not over you yet. His eyes followed you the whole damn time. He couldn’t even mask it. His wife might wear his ring, but you... you still have him locked in your charm."
I blinked, "So this is revenge?" I asked.
He shrugged, eyes back on the road as the light turned green. "You can call it that too."
I didn’t say anything for a while. I stared at him—his clean profile, his calm hands on the wheel, his voice still echoing in my mind.
"And where do you stand in all this, Jason? What are you getting from it?"
His lips twitched, almost into a smile. But it disappeared before it could land.
"We are here—" he announced, completely ignoring my question.
- Writer
