He Sent Me Away, His Brother Noticed Me

Chapter 3: Who's the Boss Now?

The Vance Agency headquarters and the adjoining Titans’ training facility were a monument to modern sports extravagance. Floor-to-ceiling glass, brushed steel, and the imposing blue and silver logo of the Titans plastered across every visible surface.

From the back of the Rolls-Royce, I watched the massive glass doors of the facility draw closer. Two years ago, I had sneaked into this very building through the loading dock, wearing a baseball cap pulled low over my face, just to bring Liam the lunch he had forgotten. He had scolded me for twenty minutes about the "risk" I had taken.

Today, I wasn't using the loading dock.

"We have arrived, Miss Sterling," Arthur announced from the driver's seat as the vehicle glided to a halt perfectly aligned with the VIP red carpet that had clearly just been unrolled.

Through the tinted windows, I could see the welcoming committee. Liam Vance stood front and center, flanked by his senior partners, PR team, and the Titans' head coach. Liam looked predictably flawless in a navy blue bespoke suit, his posture exuding an arrogant mix of respect and command. He was ready to charm the new billionaire in town.

Just behind Liam, leaning carelessly against a concrete pillar with his arms crossed, was Jace.

Even in casual athletic wear—a tight gray t-shirt that clung to his broad chest and black sweatpants—Jace managed to pull focus from everyone else in the room. He looked bored, chewing on a piece of gum, his unruly dark hair falling slightly over his piercing blue eyes. Unlike his brother, Jace wasn’t here to kiss the ring. He was just doing what he was told.

"Are you ready, Miss?" Evelyn asked, sitting beside me with her tablet poised.

"More than ready," I replied, adjusting the cuffs of my crimson Alexander McQueen blazer.

Arthur stepped out and opened the rear door. A hush fell over the welcoming committee as a pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos touched the red carpet.

I stepped out of the Rolls-Royce into the blinding mid-morning sun.

For a split second, the world seemed to freeze. I didn't look at the PR team, or the coach, or the cameras that the agency's internal media team had set up to document the historic visit.

I looked directly at Liam.

The confident, predatory smile he had prepared slowly melted off his face, replaced by a look of profound, paralyzing confusion. His gray eyes darted from my face, to my tailored suit, to the imposing Rolls-Royce, and finally to Evelyn and Arthur flanking me like a royal guard.

"Harper?" Liam's voice cracked. The single word barely made it past his lips, devoid of its usual authority. He took a half-step forward, his brain clearly misfiring. "What... what are you doing here? Did you follow me?"

He still couldn't compute it. Even standing here, surrounded by my security detail, his ego was desperately trying to fit me back into the tiny box he had built for me. She's just a college girl. She's throwing a tantrum. She followed me to beg for forgiveness.

Before I could answer, Chloe, his frantic PR director, stepped forward with a wide, professional smile, completely oblivious to Liam's crisis.

"Welcome to the Vance Agency and the Titans' facility, Miss Sterling!" Chloe beamed, extending a hand. "We are so incredibly honored to have you here."

Liam froze. He turned his head so fast I thought his neck might snap, staring at his PR director as if she had just spoken in tongues.

"Miss... Sterling?" Liam echoed, his voice hollow, as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs.

"Yes, Mr. Vance," I said smoothly, stepping past him and shaking Chloe's hand. I didn't even glance at Liam as I spoke, letting my voice ring out clear and authoritative across the courtyard. "I am Harper Sterling. The new CEO of Sterling Athletics."

A collective gasp rippled through the senior partners. They had been expecting an old, seasoned corporate shark, not a twenty-one-year-old woman radiating absolute power.

But their shock was nothing compared to Liam's.

I finally turned to look at him. His face was completely ashen. His jaw hung slightly open, his normally sharp eyes wide and unblinking. The realization was hitting him like a freight train. The "sweet, normal college girl" he had locked in his penthouse, the girl he had refused to claim in public because she wasn't good enough for his brand... was the heir to a multi-billion dollar empire.

She was his biggest sponsor. She was his boss.

"Shall we go inside, Mr. Vance?" I asked, my tone impeccably polite, laced with an icy detachment that made him flinch. "I understand you have a facility to show me. And we have some frozen contracts to discuss."

"Harper, I—" Liam started, reaching out a hand toward my arm.

Before his fingers could even brush my sleeve, a large, calloused hand clamped down hard on Liam's shoulder, physically stopping him.

I blinked in surprise as Jace stepped smoothly out from behind the concrete pillar, inserting his massive frame directly between his brother and me.

"Back off, Liam. She's working," Jace said, his voice a low, rough rumble.

Liam glared at his younger brother, his shock instantly warring with his temper. "Jace, what the hell are you doing? Step aside."

"I don't think I will," Jace replied lazily. He didn't even look at Liam. His piercing blue eyes were locked entirely on me.

Up close, Jace was even more overwhelming. The sheer size of him, the raw, athletic power humming just beneath the surface of his skin, was intoxicating. But it was the look in his eyes that caught me off guard. There was no shock. No confusion. Just a deep, burning amusement and something else—something dark, predatory, and entirely focused.

He looked me up and down, taking in the crimson suit, the sharp ponytail, the Louboutins. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face, revealing a dimple I hadn't noticed from across the VIP lounge last night.

"Well, well," Jace murmured, his voice dropping an octave, meant only for me. "You definitely don't look like a girl who needs to be snuck out the back door."

My breath hitched. He had seen. He had watched Liam send me out like trash last night, and he remembered.

"I don't," I said, holding his gaze, refusing to be intimidated by the star quarterback. "I prefer the front entrance."

Jace’s grin widened, a spark of genuine admiration flashing in his eyes. "I can see that, boss." He stepped back and offered a sweeping, exaggerated bow toward the glass doors. "After you. Welcome to my house."

"It's my house, Jace," Liam snapped, finally finding his voice. He shoved past his brother, his face a tight mask of panicked desperation. He looked at me, his eyes silently pleading for a private conversation, for a chance to rewind the clock twenty-four hours. "Harper, please. We need to talk. Alone."

"We will talk, Mr. Vance. In the boardroom. With my legal team present," I replied coldly. I turned my attention back to Jace, a genuine, albeit small, smile touching my lips. "Lead the way, quarterback."

Jace chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that did strange things to my stomach. He turned and walked through the glass doors, the crowd parting for him instantly.

I followed him inside, my heels clicking sharply against the polished concrete floors. Behind me, I could hear the frantic whispers of the PR team and the heavy, uneven footsteps of a man whose entire world had just collapsed.

Liam Vance's jaw was practically on the floor. He thought he was the king of the sports world, but he was finally realizing the brutal truth: I owned the turf he walked on.