Chapter Five
1059 Words
Work started the next morning like nothing had changed.
That was the strange thing about life in New York. It didn’t pause for you. It didn’t slow down because your world had tilted overnight. It just kept moving, expecting you to catch up.
Isabella adjusted the tie on her disguise in the mirror before leaving her apartment.
Leo.
That name still didn’t feel real in her mouth.
She stared at herself for a moment longer than usual. The oversized suit, the flattened hair, the careful way she held her shoulders.
No one could know.
No one could suspect.
She left before she could think too much.
Albertson Holdings towered above everything around it.
Glass, steel, and silence that felt expensive.
Every time Isabella walked into the building, she felt like she was stepping into a version of the world that didn’t belong to her.
Today felt worse.
Because she knew who was inside it.
Dylan Albertson.
And worse than that, he knew her.
Or at least, part of her.
She tightened her grip on her work folder and stepped into the elevator.
The office was already awake when she arrived.
Phones ringing. Typing. Movement. Order disguised as chaos.
“Morning, Leo,” one of the assistants greeted her casually.
Isabella nodded slightly, lowering her voice the way she always did. “Morning.”
She walked to her desk.
But she didn’t sit immediately.
Because she felt it.
The shift.
That invisible awareness when someone important entered a room.
The air changes before the person even speaks.
She didn’t need to look up to know.
Dylan was here.
Still, she did.
And the moment she did, their eyes met.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
He didn’t stop walking.
He didn’t react in any obvious way.
But his gaze lingered a fraction longer than it should have.
Then he looked away and continued toward his office.
Isabella sat down slowly.
Her fingers tightened slightly around her pen.
Nothing about his expression had changed.
Nothing about his behaviour said he remembered anything from last night.
And yet, something about the way he looked at her felt different now.
Like he was paying attention in a way he wasn’t before.
She lowered her head and started working quickly.
Too quickly.
By midday, she had almost convinced herself she was imagining things.
Almost.
Until her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She froze slightly before answering.
“Come to my office,” Dylan’s voice said.
No greeting.
No explanation.
Just that.
She swallowed once. “Right now?”
“Yes.”
The line ended.
Isabella stared at the phone for a second longer than necessary.
Then she stood up.
His office was at the top floor.
Of course it was.
She knocked once before entering.
Dylan was standing by the window, hands in his pockets, looking out over the city like he owned the horizon.
He didn’t turn immediately.
“Close the door,” he said.
She did.
The sound felt louder than it should have.
When she turned back, he was still facing the window.
“You’re efficient,” he said.
Isabella frowned slightly. “That’s why I was hired.”
A pause.
Then he turned.
His eyes settled on her.
Not the kind of look that rushed.
The kind that stayed.
“I don’t usually miss things,” he said.
Her stomach tightened slightly.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied carefully.
Dylan stepped closer to his desk, resting one hand on it.
“Leo Reyes,” he said slowly. “That’s your name.”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
Then, “You’re good at your job.”
She blinked. That wasn’t where she thought this was going.
“Thank you,” she said cautiously.
But his expression didn’t soften.
It sharpened.
“But you’re careful in a way most people aren’t,” he added.
Isabella held her breath slightly. “Is that a problem?”
“No.”
He said it too quickly.
Too cleanly.
Which somehow made it worse.
Silence stretched between them.
She could hear the faint hum of the city through the glass.
Then Dylan spoke again.
“Where were you two nights ago?”
Her heart dropped slightly, but her face didn’t move.
“At home,” she said.
A lie.
Simple. Practised.
His gaze didn’t shift.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then he nodded slightly.
“Interesting.”
That word made her chest tighten.
Because nothing about his tone suggested he believed her.
But nothing about it confirmed he didn’t either.
He turned away slightly, picking up a file from his desk.
“You can go,” he said.
Isabella didn’t move immediately.
“Was that all?” she asked quietly.
“For now.”
She hesitated.
Then turned and left.
But her hands were shaking slightly by the time she reached the elevator.
That night, she couldn’t sleep again.
It wasn’t fear exactly.
It was awareness.
The feeling of being seen too closely without being fully understood.
Dylan’s eyes kept replaying in her mind.
Not angry.
Not suspicious in an obvious way.
Just observant.
Like he was slowly collecting pieces of something.
And she didn’t know how many he already had.
Her phone buzzed again at midnight.
Sonia.
“You’re not going to like this,” Sonia said immediately.
Isabella sat up. “What now?”
“There’s talk again at the club,” Sonia said. “About that man.”
Isabella closed her eyes briefly.
“What man?”
“The one I told you about yesterday. He came back asking questions again.”
Her stomach tightened.
“About who?” she asked, even though she already knew she shouldn’t.
Sonia hesitated.
“About a girl who looks like you,” she said quietly.
Silence.
Isabella didn’t speak for a moment.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said finally.
But her voice didn’t sound convinced.
Sonia sighed. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I am careful.”
“Isabella…”
“I am,” she repeated.
But after the call ended, she didn’t move.
She just sat there in the dark, staring at nothing.
Because somewhere deep down, she knew something she didn’t want to admit yet.
Her life wasn’t the only thing that had changed that night.
And neither was his.
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