Chapter 124

Roman's POV

I let out a small sigh, my gaze flickering between the manager standing nervously at the door and Lauren, who now looked as if she’d rather vanish than be interrupted. The moment between us had just begun to feel natural, balanced even, and now it was being broken by yet another piece of office business.

“Sure,” I said finally, keeping my tone calm but clipped. “She’ll be down in a minute.”

The manager nodded quickly, giving a small, respectful bow before leaving the office. The door clicked shut, leaving behind that faint silence that always followed a distraction, that kind of silence that reminded you something important had just been paused.

I turned my attention back to Lauren, watching the way she straightened her blouse and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She always did that when she felt flustered a small, nervous tell I’d noticed the first week she started working here.

“Since we were interrupted,” I said, l