Evenings at Diamonds headquarters were quieter than the chaos of the day, but no less alive. The floors gleamed under golden lighting, city lights stretching in from floor-to-ceiling windows like constellations reborn in glass. The world outside was rushing—horns, brakes, footsteps—but here, everything paused.
Tiana Kings stood in her office, staring out at the Manhattan skyline.
Only she wasn't looking at the buildings.
Her eyes weren't focused on the Chrysler spire, or the jagged glint of Hudson reflections. They were tracking movement far below—by the sleek black Bentley parked at the curb.
Inside it, Dylan Haven leaned against the hood, phone in hand, one leg bent at the knee. He wasn't doing anything remarkable. Just standing. Waiting.
But it was the way he waited.
Like he wasn't pressed. Like he didn't need to check in. Like he was already whole—untouched by the world she'd carved her name into.
Tiana watched him, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Behind her, a voice spoke. "You're doing it again."
She didn't turn. "Doing what?"
Emily stepped inside, iPad cradled at her side. "Watching him like he's a puzzle you can't solve."
Tiana finally moved—just slightly. Her profile sharp in the glass. "Maybe he is."
Emily closed the door behind her and walked closer, but stopped a few feet away, sensing the weight in the room.
"You okay?" she asked carefully.
Tiana didn't answer right away. Her gaze drifted downward again. Dylan tucked his phone away and crossed his arms, eyes half-focused on the street.
Unbothered. Unmoved.
Uninterested.
"I'm used to being watched," Tiana said suddenly.
Emily blinked. "What?"
Tiana turned now, finally meeting her PA's eyes. "Since I was seventeen. Since I started walking into rooms and every pair of eyes found me."
She moved to the edge of her desk, resting one hand lightly on the surface. "Men looked at me like I was theirs. Like a prize. Some tried to impress me. Some tried to tame me. But they all looked. They wanted me. And when they didn't, they pretended to."
Emily's voice was soft. "But not Dylan."
Tiana's jaw tightened. "No. Not him."
She sat down, slow and deliberate, as if the admission carried physical weight.
"He doesn't flirt. He doesn't compliment. He doesn't see me—not like the others. And it's making me..." She trailed off.
Emily sat opposite her. "Making you what?"
Tiana hesitated. Then, quietly: "Wonder if I'm still... beautiful."
Emily froze, breath caught in her throat.
"I mean, I know I am," Tiana added quickly, eyes flicking to the window again. "Objectively. Strategically. The world taught me that. My face is symmetrical. My body is proportioned. My name means power now. But—"
"But with him, it's like none of that matters," Emily finished for her.
Tiana exhaled. "Exactly."
Emily leaned forward, voice gentler now. "This is the first time I've ever seen you doubt yourself."
That hit harder than expected.
Tiana blinked. Once. Slowly.
"I don't doubt myself," she said, though her tone had lost its usual steel.
Emily didn't push. She didn't need to. The silence spoke for her.
Tiana stood again, walking to the window. She pressed one palm to the glass, watching the cool exterior meet the warmth of her skin.
"Do you know how exhausting it is?" she said. "Being the woman everyone wants, all the time? The looks, the whispers, the assumptions. Half the people who chase me don't even see me. They see power. Status. The idea of being able to say they had me."
She paused.
"But Dylan doesn't even look."
Emily offered a small smile. "Maybe that's why you're looking so hard."
Tiana didn't reply.
Emily rose and walked over, standing beside her. "He's not blind, you know."
Tiana scoffed. "You sure? Because he spends an awful lot of time avoiding eye contact."
"Maybe he's just smart," Emily said. "He knows what getting close to you does."
"And what does it do?" Tiana asked.
Emily met her gaze. "It breaks people. Or makes them want more than they should."
Tiana's shoulders dropped slightly, the first sign of weariness she'd shown in weeks.
"I'm not trying to break him," she said.
"No," Emily agreed. "But you're trying to crack him open. To see what's inside."
Tiana turned back to the window, her reflection ghostlike against the lights. "Is that so wrong?"
Emily's voice softened. "No. But it might be the first time you've wanted to be seen instead of admired."
Tiana didn't answer.
Outside, Dylan checked his watch. Still calm. Still waiting.
"He won't bow," Tiana whispered.
Emily nodded. "Maybe that's the point."
A long pause followed. One filled with years of unspoken truths. Then—
"Do you think he's afraid of me?" Tiana asked, and for once, she wasn't being arrogant. She was being honest.
Emily tilted her head. "No. I think he's afraid of what you could make him feel."
Tiana looked down, watching Dylan cross his arms again, leather jacket creasing at the elbows.
"So what do I do?" she asked quietly.
Emily smiled. "For once? Maybe stop trying to win."
Tiana shot her a look. "That sounds dangerously close to surrender."
"It's not surrender," Emily said. "It's being real."
Tiana exhaled and walked to her desk, gathering her clutch and coat. Her expression had smoothed again—cool, unreadable, composed. The diva returned.
But something had shifted.
Just beneath the surface.
"Send the sample revisions to the Milan team," she said. "Move the press release up a week. And—"
"And?" Emily prompted.
"Book the driver for the launch preview tomorrow. I want him to see what we've built."
Emily blinked. "You want Dylan at the preview?"
Tiana didn't elaborate. Just gave a faint smile.
"He's been carrying me through the city for weeks. He might as well see what I look like in my element."
Emily grinned. "Wearing velvet and vengeance?"
"Exactly."
They exited the office together, heels echoing down the marble hallway.
And as they walked past the elevator, Tiana looked over her shoulder once more.
**********
Down on the street, Dylan opened the car door, his gaze flicking upward—just once—as if he knew she was watching.
Their eyes didn't meet.
But the air between them sparked anyway.