I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 5

Seeing Zoe completely unresponsive to Hayden's command, his assistant, Colin Zachs, gently nudged her.

Zoe let out a confused gasp. She looked at Colin, then nervously peeked at Hayden.

What on earth did he want?

The meeting agenda?

Where was she supposed to find that?

She had zero memory of her job.

The only reason she even showed up today was to figure out what had happened over the last five years.

A grueling thirty seconds passed, and someone in the room coughed awkwardly.

Zoe stood there, paralyzed.

Hayden's dark eyes grew noticeably colder, and a sharp crease appeared between his brows.

"Mr. Thorne, I have a backup copy right here."

Valerie Yates, the Director of the Secretarial Pool, quickly slid a folder forward, and Colin took it instantly.

Almost everyone in the room broke out in a cold sweat.

No one ever dared to make a mistake in Hayden's meetings.

The usually meticulous Ms. Lynd must have a death wish today.

After that little disaster, Hayden didn't call on Zoe again.

The meeting dragged on for nearly three hours, and she stood in her heels the entire time.

To relieve the aching in her arches, she occasionally shifted her weight, standing on one leg like a flamingo to ease the burden.

That subtle movement caught Hayden's eye.

He finally noticed her outfit. She was wearing a sleek, tailored skirt that hit several inches above her knees.

Her legs were stunning—long, flawless, and luminous under the harsh office lights.

When she shifted her weight, the hem rode up just a fraction. From his angle, if she leaned forward even a little, the view would be spectacular.

For the first time all morning, Hayden gave Zoe a deep, assessing look, and she happened to meet his gaze.

Her large, expressive eyes looked completely innocent, entirely oblivious, silently asking him what was wrong.

As if she was waiting for a command.

Hayden forced his eyes away, focusing on the intoxicating lines of her stunning curves.

A visceral memory of their wild night flashed in his mind. A surge of heat hit his blood, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

Sensing the sudden, dangerous silence from their CEO, the executives held their breath, terrified to move a muscle.

After a moment of awkward lingering, she simply pulled it out and sat down.

Hayden finally looked at her.

Gone was the timid, cautious woman who used to walk on eggshells around him. Instead, she sat confidently, practically glowing with ease.

She wasn't terrified of him at all, sitting down right in front of him without permission.

"Sorry, I can sit, right? I mean, it's your company, but I definitely own a piece of it. We are married, aren't we?"

Hayden stopped mid-sentence, while the man on the other end of the line chuckled.

"Well, well. Hayden Thorne has a woman in his office. That's a first. Is it Sienna—"

Hayden hung up on him.

Zoe sat up straight, meeting his gaze head-on.

By all accounts, she should have been terrified of him.

Hayden emanated a dark, unapproachable aura that naturally intimidated everyone around him.

She was usually no exception.

In the entire world, the only person completely immune to Hayden's terrifying presence was the woman he loved with his whole heart: Sienna Winters.