The knock came too soon.
Jay straightened instinctively.
Keifer's eyes lifted from the screen.
"Come in."
The door opened just enough for his assistant to step inside with a tablet pressed to her chest.
"Sir, the board call has been moved up. Ten minutes."
"Alright."
Nothing more.
The door closed again.
Silence returned.
But it felt different now.
Ten minutes.
Jay uncapped her pen and pretended to write something.
Pretended very badly.
Keifer noticed.
Of course he did.
"You don't have to look so tense," he said quietly, without looking at her.
"I'm not tense," she whispered back.
A pause.
Then—
"You're sitting like you're in an exam."
Her lips curved.
"Your office is scarier than any exam hall."
That finally made him glance at her.
Not a full smile.
Just that soft, private bend in his eyes.
"You're safe here."
Simple.
Certain.
She hugged her notebook closer.
"I know."
He stood up a moment later, rolling his shoulders once, as if shedding something heavy from his body.
When he walked toward the glass wall, Jay followed him with her eyes.
Strong.
Unshakable.
The man everyone listened to.
But before stepping out…
He stopped.
Turned back.
Walked straight to her.
Jay looked up.
"Yes?"
He leaned down slightly, one hand resting on the desk beside her knee.
Not touching her.
But close enough that she felt his presence settle over her like warmth.
"Don't disappear while I'm gone."
She blinked.
"I'm literally sitting in your chair."
"I mean…"
His voice lowered.
"…don't leave."
Her chest tightened.
"Keifer, I—"
He shook his head once.
Softly.
"No explanations."
Just this.
"Stay here when I come back."
Jay's answer was immediate.
"Always."
The word slipped out without thinking.
Always.
It did something to him.
His jaw flexed.
For a heartbeat, it looked like he might forget the glass wall, the hallway, the cameras, the entire building.
Instead…
He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
One slow motion.
Careful.
Like she was fragile only to him.
Then he straightened.
"Ten minutes," he said.
She nodded.
"Go be powerful."
A faint huff of a laugh escaped him.
He opened the door.
But before stepping out—
He looked back one last time.
Jay was already watching him.
Exactly where he had left her.
For the first time that morning…
Keifer walked into that meeting calm.
Because no matter what waited on the other side of that glass—
Jay was waiting on this side.
And that was enough for him.