Ethan leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
The hardest part was over. The speech was done. The staff were energized. The buzz of Nova Tech's first day was alive and growing. For the first time in hours, he allowed himself to sit still.
The door creaked open.
Jordan strolled in like he always did—uninvited, unapologetic. He dropped onto the couch across from Ethan and stretched out, arms spread, legs wide, like he was home.
"Well, well, well," Jordan said, clapping slowly with a grin that was all teeth. "Look who finally decided to be a real CEO today."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, not even trying to hide his smirk. "That supposed to be praise, or are you just here to bully me again?"
Jordan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "A little bit of both. I mean, what was that up there? The voice, the posture, the whole 'we're building a vision together' thing? You even had that pause before smiling, was that on purpose?"
