It was a sinner's suicide for anyone to work at Coopers Incorporation. It was no surprise that people aimed to stray far from the Devil known as Mr Elijah Cooper.
Cold, demanding, and rough, he ruled over everything with an iron grip and a calculati...
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Nora's P.O.V
"Elijah?"
A faint, muffled hum came from the seat beside me. The sound was quiet, drifting, as if on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. I turned my head slightly, my gaze settling on him. There he was—Elijah Cooper, the man who had always seemed untouchable, unreachable, now sitting mere inches from me, his head tilted to the side, his dark hair falling messily over his closed eyes. His arms were loosely folded across his chest, one leg crossed over the other, his entire frame exuding a rare moment of stillness.
I almost smiled.
It wasn’t often that I saw him like this—unguarded, unburdened. There was something almost… human about it. The exhaustion was catching up to him, his usual sharpness dulled by the long trip. His breathing had started to even out, and I could tell he was fighting the pull of sleep, though his body was already surrendering to it.
We were finally on our way back to New York. The whirlwind business trip had come to an end, our bags packed and loaded into the private jet. And though I wouldn’t call the trip unpleasant, I was more than ready to return—to the familiar skyline, the crowded streets, the comfort of my own space. To home.
I had been hesitating for the past fifteen minutes, debating whether or not to wake him, but curiosity gnawed at me, persistent and unyielding. There was something I needed to ask.
"Do you know Ben Jones?" I finally spoke, my voice soft but firm.
His reaction was instant. His eyelids flickered, his body tensed, and though he didn’t immediately open his eyes, I could tell he was no longer asleep.
A slow inhale. Then, without turning to look at me, he murmured, "Why?"
There it was—that edge in his voice. Subtle, but unmistakable. I wasn’t stupid enough to miss it.
"You two were at the same party months ago," I pressed, shifting slightly in my seat. "I just found it… interesting."
Elijah exhaled through his nose, finally opening his eyes. The drowsiness was gone, replaced by something far more alert. "You find it interesting that we were at the same party?" He turned his head toward me now, his gaze heavy with suspicion. "Or is it because you share the same last name?"
I met his stare, refusing to shrink under it. "I just want to know how you two are connected."
There was a pause. A flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. Then he ran a hand through his already tousled hair, sighing. "Ben and I grew up together. He moved into my neighborhood when we were kids."
