(Alex POV)
I notice when things are out of place.
It's a habit. One that built Hale Industries from the ground up. Numbers don't lie, schedules don't drift, and people don't disappear without a reason.
Elara Moore didn't show up at nine.
That didn't happen.
By nine-oh-five, her desk was still empty.
I told myself she was running late.
At nine-thirty, her chair was still empty. No bag. No notebook. No quiet tapping of keys.
At ten, I stopped pretending I hadn't noticed.
"Where's Ms. Moore?" I asked the nearest assistant.
She looked up, startled. "She… she left early yesterday, sir. Personal matter."
I nodded once and walked back into my office.
Personal matter.
The phrase explained nothing.
I opened the first report of the day.
It took me three attempts to read the same paragraph.
That irritated me.
At ten-thirty, I canceled a non-essential meeting.
At eleven, I postponed a call I'd been preparing for all week.
Efficiency demanded focus.
I wasn't focused.
At eleven-fifteen, my phone buzzed.
Ms. Moore
She never called unless it mattered.
"Yes," I answered.
"I'm on my way," she said quickly. "I'll be there early."
"You don't need to," I replied. "Take the day."
There was a pause.
"I can work," she said. Too fast.
"I know," I said. "You won't today."
"Yes, sir," she replied softly.
The call ended.
I stared at my phone longer than necessary.
I didn't ask why she left.
I didn't ask where she was.
People who disappeared suddenly were usually carrying something heavier than work.
I stood and walked to the window, watching the city move below.
I ordered food.
Not for myself.
I left it with security downstairs. No note. Just instructions.
When I returned to my office, Vivienne was already there.
"You've been distracted," she said lightly.
"No," I replied.
She smiled like she didn't believe me. "Elara isn't here."
"I'm aware."
"She's important to you," Vivienne said, watching my face carefully.
I looked at her then.
"She's an employee," I said calmly. "Nothing more."
Vivienne studied me for a moment before nodding. "Of course."
After she left, I sat back down and reopened the report.
It was clean. Precise.
And wrong.
I corrected the mistake automatically.
It was the kind Elara would have caught.
That irritated me more than it should have.
I don't rely on people.
I rely on systems.
And yet, as the day dragged on, I found myself looking toward the empty desk outside my office more than once.
That wasn't concern.
It was disruption.
And I don't tolerate disruption for long.