Melissa Hart scoffed in disbelief the moment she heard Jayden's decision, the reaction slipping out before she could restrain it. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but in a room this tense, even the smallest shift carried weight. Realizing her mistake, she quickly straightened her posture and composed herself.
When her eyes flickered toward Sarah, she noticed the younger woman's confusion, and that only made Melissa clear her throat and nod as if nothing had happened. Still, when she looked back at Jayden, she found him already watching her, his sharp gaze fixed on her with unmistakable authority.
"Miss Hart, do you get me?" Jayden repeated, his voice calm but edged with tension, making the air feel heavier than before.
Melissa forced a polite expression onto her face, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She could feel the shift in the room, and judging from the way Sarah subtly observed her, she knew she hadn't hidden her reaction as well as she thought. Even so, she would not let herself falter further.
"Yes, sir," she replied, her tone controlled and professional.
"Prepare her new contract."
"I will. Excuse me."
Without wasting another second, Melissa turned and walked toward the door, her heels clicking against the floor with slightly more force than necessary. She was holding a folder in her hand, but in her haste to leave, she completely forgot the documents she had originally intended to give Jayden. She stepped out of the room without looking back, closing the door behind her with careful restraint, as if even the sound of it shutting had to remain composed.
The moment the door clicked shut, Jayden exhaled deeply, as though he had been holding his breath throughout the entire exchange. He leaned back slightly in his chair, loosening the tension in his shoulders, before letting his gaze return to Sarah. A faint smile touched his lips, though it lacked warmth and instead carried a quiet sense of finality.
"You have to sign the new contract. After that, we can discuss your further work tasks," he said, his tone smoother now, though no less firm.
Sarah stared at him, still trying to process what she had just heard, and the confusion in her expression quickly turned into disbelief. "Sir, what do you mean I'm going to be your personal assistant? I'm a designer," she said, her voice rising slightly despite her effort to remain respectful.
Jayden studied her for a moment before nodding once, as if her reaction was expected but irrelevant. "I changed my mind."
The simplicity of his answer only deepened her frustration. Sarah frowned, her brows pulling together as she struggled to understand the reasoning behind such an abrupt shift. "Why? I don't have any experience in assisting," she continued, her words coming faster now as the weight of the situation began to settle in.
"I demand that you be my assistant," Jayden interrupted, his voice sharpening just enough to cut through her protest. "It's not up to you to decide your career path."
He leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed but deliberate, as though he was completely in control of the situation. His eyes never left hers, and the intensity of his gaze made it clear that this was not a discussion—it was an order.
"If you reject the contract, it means you terminate your previous contract, and you must pay the penalty. It is one million, for your information," he added, his tone dropping into something lower, almost threatening in its quiet certainty.
Sarah felt the words hit her all at once, the number echoing in her mind with suffocating clarity. A million was not just a penalty; it was a barrier, a cage that left her with no real options. A faint shiver ran down her spine as the implication settled in, and her expression slowly lost its earlier confidence, replaced by something heavier and more uncertain.
"Sir, I…" she began, but the words faltered before they could fully form.
She paused, drawing in a slow breath as if trying to steady herself, and when she spoke again, her voice carried a quiet determination despite the fear lingering beneath it.
"I cannot be your assistant."
The refusal lingered in the air between them, fragile yet firm, and for a moment, neither of them moved. Jayden stared at her, his expression unreadable as his eyes searched her face, as though he was trying to understand what made her resist him so strongly.
"You must. You have no choice," he replied, his tone steady but increasingly strained.
"Why?" Sarah pressed, her voice firmer now, unwilling to let the matter rest without an explanation.
Jayden let out a soft scoff and shook his head, a flicker of frustration breaking through his usual composure. He briefly licked his lower lip and bit it, a small, unconscious gesture that revealed his discomfort. He wasn't used to this kind of resistance, especially not from someone in her position, and it unsettled him more than he cared to admit.
"Because…" he started, but the words trailed off as he glanced to the side, searching for something that would justify his decision without revealing too much.
Nothing came. He exhaled and straightened, the hesitation disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
"You must obey the rules of my company. I'm the one who recruited you, so I know which position you should take. Now, you'd better leave and go back to your room before I call you to sign the contract. Do you understand?"
The finality in his tone left no space for further argument, and the look in his eyes made it clear that the conversation was over. He had already decided, and nothing she said would change that.
Sarah clenched her jaw, the disappointment evident in her expression as she held his gaze for a moment longer. There were countless things she wanted to say, but none of them felt worth the outcome. In the end, she remained silent. Without another word, she stood up and walked out of the office, her steps measured but heavy with frustration.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Jayden let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair as his composed exterior slipped just slightly. He leaned back in his chair, staring ahead with a look of disbelief, as though he couldn't quite process what had just happened.
He had never experienced something like this before. Every woman he had dealt with in the past had been reasonable, composed, and willing to meet him halfway. Conversations had always been calm, controlled, and ultimately aligned with his decisions.
But Sarah was different. She challenged him, questioned him, and refused to accept what was given to her, and for reasons he couldn't fully explain, which unsettled him.
He turned his chair toward the glass wall of his office, his gaze drifting to the city beyond. The view of New York stretched endlessly before him, filled with light and motion, but he found no comfort in it. His mind was elsewhere, caught in thoughts he wasn't ready to confront.
Meanwhile, Sarah sank into her chair at her desk, the tension she had been holding finally slipping through as a quiet groan escaped her. Everything felt overwhelming, as though the ground beneath her had shifted without warning. Just moments ago, she had been preparing herself for her role as an executive designer, going over plans and imagining the opportunities ahead. Now all of that had been taken from her in an instant.
She pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head, trying to clear the frustration that kept building.
"No, I don't want to be an assistant. Why would he even do that?" she muttered, her voice low but strained.
Her hands moved to her hair, gripping it lightly as if that might help her think, but the more she considered the situation, the worse it felt. If she accepted this, it would mean letting go of everything she had worked toward, including her chance to be part of the tower project she had dreamed of joining.
"God, help me," she whispered, leaning back as though the simple act might ease the weight pressing down on her.
Across the office, Melissa sat rigidly at her desk, her attention fixed on the blank document glowing on her screen. The cursor blinked steadily, waiting, but her fingers refused to move. She held a pencil in her hand, her grip tightening unconsciously until the wood creaked under the pressure.
Her jaw was set, her expression carefully controlled, but the frustration simmering beneath the surface was impossible to ignore. A personal assistant was not something she ever thought of.
She understood exactly what that meant. It wasn't just a position; it was access, a constant, undeniable access to Jayden. Meetings, schedules, private discussions, late nights at the office, all of it would now involve Sarah.
Melissa inhaled slowly, trying to steady herself, but the thought only made her chest tighten further. For years, she had been the one closest to him in a professional sense. She had built that position through effort, precision, and unwavering loyalty, and now, in a single decision, it felt as if it were being handed over to someone else.
Someone new, inexperienced, who had done nothing to earn it. Her grip tightened again, and before she could stop herself, the pencil snapped cleanly in half. The sound was small, but it seemed to echo in the silence around her.
"I can't believe this," she muttered under her breath, her voice trembling with restrained anger.
Her gaze drifted briefly toward Jayden's office, her expression darkening as the reality of the situation settled in. This wasn't just about a contract. It was about proximity, about trust, about a position she had once believed was secure.
Slowly, she turned back to her screen, her fingers finally moving toward the keyboard, though each motion felt heavier than it should have. Every word she typed felt like a quiet betrayal of her own place, a confirmation that things were changing in a way she could neither control nor accept.
And yet, she had no choice. Because in the end, just like Sarah, she was bound by Jayden's decision.