Chapter 2 : Heated Encounter
1206 Words
Sienna hated being put on the spot.
Yet here she was—standing in front of Rowan Carter in the middle of the construction site, with her boss expecting her to explain why a critical shipment was delayed.
Great.
She exhaled slowly, adjusting the rolled-up blueprint under her arm. It was past noon, scorching hot, and the air smelled like steel, sawdust, and sweat. She had been on her feet since six in the morning, double-checking site progress, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.
She still had to deal with this.
“Miss Smith.”
Rowan’s voice cut through the noise of heavy machinery and distant shouting.
Sienna ignored the way her name sounded in his mouth. It was just her surname. The one she had carefully chosen years ago.
A clean break.
A name her mother had no control over.
She tightened her grip on the blueprint. This wasn’t the time to think about that.
“Mr. Carter,” she replied evenly, keeping her tone professional.
His eyes flickered with something unreadable before he nodded toward the unfinished steel framework behind them. “Your boss tells me we’ve hit another delay. Would you care to explain?”
Sienna glanced at Mr. Salazar, who was standing beside them, but he merely gestured for her to handle it.
Of course.
She turned back to Rowan, barely suppressing her irritation. “The materials were scheduled to arrive yesterday, but there was an issue with the supplier. We’re resolving it.”
Rowan raised a brow. “An issue?”
“The steel beams weren’t processed to spec,” she said flatly. “We rejected the batch.”
A brief pause.
Most people wouldn’t have caught the slight shift in Rowan’s expression, but she did.
Approval.
Not the condescending kind, but the kind that acknowledged she had made the right call.
She hated that she noticed.
Rowan crossed his arms, gaze steady. “That’s reasonable. But next time, notify us earlier. We’re operating on tight margins here.”
Sienna bristled. “I would have—if I weren’t busy keeping this entire structure from falling apart because of someone else’s mistake.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Mistakes cost money. If this delay sets us back, the penalties—”
“—will be justified,” she cut in. “Because I’d rather have a safe building than one rushed for the sake of cost efficiency.”
Another pause.
Rowan stared at her, long enough that the heat of the sun felt secondary to the weight of his gaze.
Then, to her absolute frustration, the corners of his mouth quirked up—just slightly.
Not a smile.
More like… amusement.
Sienna’s patience snapped.
“What?” she snapped.
“You’re defensive,” Rowan remarked.
“Because I know how this conversation goes.” She crossed her arms. “Big-time lawyer tells me why I should have handled it differently. I listen, nod, and pretend I care. That about right?”
That should have wiped the look off his face.
But Rowan Carter didn’t get offended easily.
Instead, he gave her a slow, calculated once-over.
And then, with a tone so casually infuriating, he asked—
“Are you always this irritable, or are you on your period?”
The moment the words left his mouth, a stunned silence fell.
Even Mr. Salazar, who had been passively watching, looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
Sienna blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And then, very, very calmly, she spoke.
“Excuse me?”
Rowan didn’t even flinch. “You’re being unnecessarily combative.”
Sienna let out a slow, disbelieving breath. “You just—” She huffed out a humorless laugh. “Did you seriously just ask me that?”
A beat of silence. Then:
“I did.”
She stared at him, half tempted to swing the blueprint at his head.
Instead, she stepped closer—too close, enough that the air between them felt charged.
“If I ever slap you across the face, rest assured,” she said sweetly, “it won’t be because of my cycle. It’ll be because you deserved it.”
Another pause.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Rowan Carter smirked.
Not a polite one. Not a dismissive one.
A full-fledged, genuine smirk, like he was actually enjoying this.
“Duly noted,” he murmured. "Miss Smith," he added.
Sienna inhaled sharply, pushing past him before she did something reckless—like punch her own boss for putting her in this situation.
She heard Rowan chuckle under his breath as she stormed off.
She hated that it sent heat crawling up her spine.
By the time Sienna reached her car, her anger had settled, but something heavier remained.
She gripped the steering wheel, staring at her own reflection in the rearview mirror.
Why did he have to say my name like that?
Smith.
She had picked it for practical reasons—simple, common, untraceable.
But every time someone called her that, it felt like a reminder.
A reminder that she wasn’t Sienna Vasquez anymore.
Her real last name had been a heavy burden for years. It carried a weight she never wanted to bear—one that belonged to a life dictated by someone else’s rules.
A life where she was expected to obey, to be molded into the perfect daughter, the perfect woman.
Her mother had plans for her. Plans that never considered what she wanted.
Sienna had spent twenty years suffocating under that expectation.
So, she changed her name.
She vanished.
And she became someone else.
Someone who built things instead of being controlled by them.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Caller.
Sienna didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
She already knew who it was.
She closed her eyes, breathing in.
She was Sienna Smith now.
And she wasn’t going back.
The next day...
Sienna walked into the office the next morning, hoping—praying—that she wouldn’t have to deal with Rowan Carter again anytime soon.
Unfortunately, the universe hated her.
Because the moment she stepped into the lobby, he was there.
Standing near the reception desk, flipping through some documents.
Their eyes met instantly.
And to her utter disbelief, the man had the audacity to look… amused.
“Miss Smith.”
Sienna gritted her teeth. “Mr. Carter.”
He closed the folder in his hands, gaze still on her. “I take it you’re still irritable?”
She clenched her jaw. “I take it you’re still an ass?”
Rowan let out a low chuckle.
It was a rich sound. Unfairly smooth.
And for some godforsaken reason, it sent a shiver down her spine.
He stepped closer, voice lower, quieter.
“You intrigue me,” he admitted.
Sienna stiffened. “I don’t want to intrigue you.”
His smirk deepened. “That’s what makes it fun.”
She was going to kill him.
Right here.
In front of everyone.
Before she could reply, Mr. Salazar stepped in.
“Sienna, you’ll be working closely with Mr. Carter for the next few weeks.”
Her stomach dropped.
Rowan’s eyes gleamed with something wicked.
“Looking forward to it,” he murmured.
Sienna swore under her breath.
She was in so much trouble!
- Writer
