Rowan straightened and turned to Damian.
"Continue with the rest. I'll be leaving early today. My wife isn't feeling well."
And just like that, he left, leaving the entire room stunned. The moment the door closed, the room erupted into chatter, all of it landing squarely on Damian's shoulders as a headache.
They bombarded him with questions, asking when their boss had gotten married.
"Alright. Enough," Damian snapped. "We still have work to finish."
…
A gentle, melodic chime drifted through the penthouse.
"Who could that be at this hour?" she murmured with a faint frown.
She walked to the door and peered through the peephole. A woman stood outside.
Pressing the intercom, she asked, "Can I help you?"
The woman frowned faintly before replying, "I'm here for the maid service, as per Mr. Pierce's request."
"Oh." Lyra blinked, hesitated. Did the service maid usually come this late?
Just then, her phone buzzed in her hand, and she glanced at the screen.
"Hello, Lyra," came his deep, familiar voice.
Clearing her throat, she replied, "Hey… perfect timing. Your maid service just showed up."
"Oh, that must be Meredith," Rowan said, then frowned in puzzlement. She usually came by in the morning, not at this hour.
"Just tell her to come back tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Anything you want for dinner?"
"Anything's fine," Lyra murmured.
"I'll be there in about thirty minutes."
After their call ended, Lyra pressed the intercom and told the maid to return the next day. But instead of leaving, the woman stayed behind, unnoticed.
After thirty minutes, Rowan appeared from the elevator. He was shocked to see an unfamiliar woman in front of his house.
"Hello, sir," she said, relieved, finally able to see the man she had been wishing to see.
Rowan frowned, noticing the uniform was the same as Meredith's, but the woman was a stranger.
"Who are you? You're not Meredith," he demanded sharply.
"Hi, I'm Ivy. Um… I replaced Mere," she stammered, trying to explain.
Rowan's gaze hardened, his voice icy. "Who allowed a replacement?!"
She froze, trembling under his piercing stare. Ivy had actually taken Meredith's place once before, back when Rowan wasn't home. But she knew a wealthy man lived there, so she asked Meredith for the job again.
Ivy had come that night with the sole intention of seducing Rowan.
Rowan immediately pressed his phone to alert security.
Suddenly Ivy collapsed to the floor. "No, sir… please, let me stay. I just want to see you," she pleaded.
He thought this woman was crazy enough to act like this. Anger rising, "I don't know you. Get out!" Rowan barked.
The security guard looked startled. "What's happening?"
"Take her out. Now. And don't ever let her in again," Rowan ordered, jabbing a finger toward the elevator.
"No! Sir, please… don't do this to me," Ivy's voice trembled as the guards guided her toward the exit.
Rowan closed the door with a long sigh, shaking his head at how quickly things could have spiraled out of control, aware that Lyra might have been in danger.
He quickly looked for her and found her slumped on the sofa, fast asleep. He went over and checked her from head to toe to make sure she was unharmed.
Lyra stirred, her eyes fluttering open. "Oh," she yawned. "You're back… sorry, I fell asleep."
Seeing her serene face, Rowan finally relaxed and pulled her into his arms. If anything had happened to her, he would never have forgiven himself.
Lyra froze, surprised by his sudden actions.
"Did anything happen?" she asked cautiously, still half in a dream.
Lyra glanced at the clock. It was already late. "I'm hungry," she said, pressing her stomach.