"This is your office, My Lady."

Sebastian was smiling at her, holding the door to her office open. Warm morning light pooled in through the glass that surrounded the beige room, the monotony broken by the many plants that had been placed all around it. It was all pale wood and glass, with neat stacks of stationery arranged on the large desk, behind which was placed a cushy white chair. The new Beaumont-Price offices hadn't taken too long to get the gears churning, but this was the first time Rose was stepping in. Yet, her mind was far from the building that she was now part owner of.

She had a meeting with Malachi today.

Her heels clicked softly as she entered the room, with Sebastian in tow. 

"Do you like it?" He sounded nervous as he followed her, stopping by the cushioned chairs placed before the table for guests.

"Mhm, it's nice," Rose said distantly as she sat down on her chair, her eyes halfheartedly meeting his. 

Sebastian frowned. "Rose, is everything okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, yes," Rose smiled, lying through her teeth. "I'm great. Just nervous."

Seb's gaze softened, and he reached out, giving her hand a squeeze. "You'll do great, Rose," he assured her, his thumb rubbing slow circles on the back of her hand. "I've seen all you can do, all you have done. This is just a meeting, you'll breeze past it. And if you feel too nervous, my office is right down the hallway. One call, and I'll be here."

As Sebastian talked, another fear slowly reared its head in her; one that she hadn't even thought about with all the other thoughts raging in her mind.

"What if I mess up? What if the hotel looks bad?"

Seb chuckled, lifting her hand up to his lips and pressing a soft kiss against the back of it. "You're so stupid, Rose."

"Excuse me?"

"You worry too much. If you think you aren't more than capable of pulling this off, then you are stupid. Have some faith in yourself." He walked around, stopping before her. "Worst case, you and that architect come up with a dumpster fire of a hotel design, and we tear it all down and build it up again. Our investors can just cry about it."

"God, Seb," she smacked at his arm, only for him to grab it and tug her up, off her chair.

"I mean it, Rose," he murmured, snaking an arm around her waist, a small smile dancing on his lips as he took in the slightly alarmed expression on her face. "You have nothing to worry about. You'll do amazing. You are amazing."

Rose's alarm faded, a pale blush taking its place as she bit back a smile.

But that smile wasn't to last.

"Apologies for the interruption, the lack of locks on these doors truly is man's greatest enemy."

Rose stiffened, the silken notes of his familiar voice snatching the colour off her face. The feeling of Sebastian's arm around her suddenly felt too hot, too prickly. She quickly stepped away, her eyes fighting to keep their gaze off of him. 

"Ah, Mr. Iravani, sorry about that," Sebastian stepped away too, sounding apologetic. Rose could hear his footsteps move away from her, could hear them exchange formalities. But she just stood frozen before her chair, her gaze locked onto a paperweight on her table. She knew she had to look at him eventually, had to talk to him. But not yet. She wasn't ready. She had spent most of the previous night trying to gather up the courage, but it wasn't anywhere near enough. To have to speak to Malachi about business, of all things... it was a cruel, twisted joke that the universe had played on her.

But Sebastian was leaving already, sending an encouraging smile her way, and whether she was ready or not, she had to do this.

"Please, Mr. Iravani," she started, nails digging into her palm as she fought to keep her voice steady. "Take a seat."

Her eyes finally flicked up to meet Malachi's. 

It was strange, truly, how a single gaze could have the power to make Rose forget everything. How to stand, how to speak, how to breathe. All she could do was stare as he walked into her office, the blue of his eyes drowning out the colourless room. There was no one else for him to look at this time, no one else to get into meaningless conversation with. As the sound of the heavy door shutting echoed softly around the room, every other thought left her mind. It was just him, it was just her. 

And this time, his gaze was not breaking away.

"Malachi."

His name was a wish, a secret that had not dared to tread her tongue in four years. As the soft whisper sounded from her lips, something flashed across his eyes. A shooting star, illuminating the dark of an indigo night for mere seconds, gone as fast as it came.

"Morning, Mrs. Price. Marital bliss sure suits you."

No.

No, no, no.

Not this again.

"Stop it," Rose bit out, her nails digging harder into her palm as she watched him ever so casually sit down across her, taking his time to cross his legs and get comfortable. "Stop calling me that."

Malachi looked up, an uncaring half smile balanced on his lips. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Mrs. Price." She spat out the name like it was venom on her tongue. "That is not who I am, I am more than just that. I have a name."

That cruel, cruel smirk was still not leaving his face. "Ah, but how unprofessional it would be of me to refer to you with such..." he mulled over the word, his eyes holding her hostage. "Such familiarity, Mrs. Price."

Rose wasn't sure when her legs had given out, but she could feel the soft leather of her seat start to pull her into itself. 

"What are you doing, Malachi?" She hated how weak, how pathetic, her voice sounded.

"Why, work, of course," he smiled, but his eyes remained those empty, cold chips of ice, not a droplet of feeling in them. "Which I believe we should get started on. I do have other meetings after this, and I am sure you do too."

Rose took a deep breath. Then another. She would not break, would not give him the satisfaction. If this was how he wanted to play it, then so be it.

"Of course," she said slowly, her voice almost as tight as the smile she forced onto her face. "Let's talk about the Rosebud."

For a second, Rose could swear he looked surprised. But as he swiped a pen from her desk, tilting his head with that ever so uncaring smile on his face, she figured she must have imagined it.

"What do you have in mind?"

This, Rose knew. In spite of everything happening, Rose had never once forgotten about the hotel.

"The land we acquired currently houses a very old manor," she started, fingers absently tapping away on her desk. "It dates back to the Edwardian Era. There have been talks about tearing it down, but... I don't think we should. It has good bones." Rose paused for a second, trying to gauge his reaction, but to no avail. But she was confident about this. It was a good idea. "I think," she continued, her voice gaining strength by the second, "we should use the manor as a base, instead. It would bring down construction costs and time by a lot, and while bringing it back to a usable state will take a ton of work, I think it'd be worth it. The grounds surrounding it could be kept as is, and we could offer horse carriage rides, maybe picnics when the weather is nice. We can dig out a small pond, fill it with swans. The staff can be decked out in semi period accurate clothing, and I'm sure my family still has those contacts who can get us vintage furniture. We can... oh, we can throw balls, that would bring in so many couples. It'll be so romantic, I—yeah. Um. That's the rough idea."

Rose stopped to breathe, something she had forgotten to do halfway through her ramble. She cast her eyes at Malachi, who was looking at her with next to no expression, save for the slight quirk of his lips that she caught. A long moment of silence passed, and he just looked at her, not saying a single word.

"Have you seen this place?" He finally asked.

A twinge of embarrassment pricked at Rose as she shook her head. "I've seen pictures," she quickly added.

Malachi nodded, pocketing the pen that he had stolen before getting up from his chair. "Well, then. Let's go."

"What?"

He raised an eyebrow, looking down at her as his smirk snaked back in place. "Why, you weren't planning on taking up this project without making a property visit, were you?"

—🥀—

A/N: So, it looks like we'll be seeing more of Malachi. What're your thoughts on him so far?

In other news, I'm visiting my Grandma! She lives in a beautiful, remote valley surrounded by springs and tea gardens. Its so cold and fresh and wonderful here, I never want to leave. Also, the stray animals here are SO FLUFFY.

Hope you're having a good time too! See you all next Sunday. And do vote if you liked the chapter!

Much Love,
Mimia