Under His Billionaire Roof novel Chapter 12

Noah didn't come back that night.

Leighton heard his car pull in around three in the morning. Heard his footsteps on the stairs. Heard his bedroom door close.

She didn't sleep.

By morning, he was already gone. His office door was closed, but when she pressed her ear against it, she heard nothing. No typing. No phone calls. Empty.

He'd left the house entirely.

Day one of avoidance.

She spent Saturday preparing for her new job. Researching the company's recent projects. Reading articles about their software. Picking out outfits that looked professional but not like she was trying too hard.

Anything to keep busy. Anything to stop replaying Thursday night over and over.

His thumb on her lip. His breath on her mouth. The way he'd looked at her like she was something he wanted but couldn't have.

Then the way he'd walked away.

Her phone stayed silent. No texts. No calls. Nothing.

By evening, she was pacing her room like a caged animal. She needed to get out. Needed air. But the thought of running into Noah made her stomach twist.

She ordered takeout and ate in her room. Fell asleep with her laptop open, some mindless show playing in the background.

Day two was worse.

She saw him exactly once. Sunday morning, she went downstairs for coffee. He was in the kitchen, dressed for a run. Headphones in, water bottle in hand.

Their eyes met.

He looked away first. Grabbed his water and left through the back door without a word.

The coffee tasted like ash in her mouth.

She was an idiot. A complete idiot. She'd read signals that weren't there. Convinced herself that his touches meant something when they'd probably meant nothing. Just a guy being nice to his sister's pathetic friend.

God, she was pathetic.

She spent the rest of Sunday in her room. Applied to three more jobs, just in case the Knight Security thing fell through. Just in case Noah decided having her there was too uncomfortable and found a way to rescind the offer.

Her phone buzzed around four. Chloe.

*Coming home tonight! Pizza and wine?*

Leighton's stomach dropped. Chloe. She'd have to face Chloe and pretend everything was fine. Pretend she hadn't almost kissed Noah. Pretend her heart wasn't breaking over a man she had no right to want.

*Sounds perfect!*

She stared at the fake enthusiasm on her screen and hated herself a little more.

Chloe arrived at six, arms full of pizza boxes and a bottle of wine. Her energy filled the house immediately, bright and loud and so normal it hurt.

"I've missed this place!" she said, dropping everything on the kitchen counter. "Work has been insane. I swear I've eaten nothing but sad desk salads for a week."

"Poor you," Leighton said, forcing a smile. "Living the corporate dream."

"Living the nightmare, more like." Chloe grabbed plates and wine glasses. "Where's Noah? He usually hovers when I bring food home."

"I don't know. I haven't seen him much."

"Really? I thought you two would be hanging out more by now."

Leighton's throat tightened. "Why would we be hanging out?"

"I don't know. You're both here. He works from home. I figured you'd at least run into each other." Chloe poured wine into both glasses. "Has he been weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Cold? Rude? He can be kind of an ass when he's stressed."

"He's been fine. Mostly keeps to himself."

The lie tasted bitter.

They took their pizza and wine to the living room. Chloe launched into a story about her boss and some presentation disaster. Leighton laughed in all the right places. Nodded. Made appropriate sounds of sympathy.

But her mind was somewhere else. On the candlelight scenes. On Noah's hand on her jaw. On the kiss that hadn't happened.

"Earth to Leigh."

She blinked. Chloe was staring at her.

"Sorry. What?"

"I asked if you're excited about starting tomorrow."

"Oh. Yeah. Totally excited."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "You okay? You seem off."

"I'm fine. Just nervous about the new job."

"You're going to kill it. I told Noah he'd be lucky to have you."

"You talked to Noah about me?"

"Of course. I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be weird about it. You know, hiring his sister's friend." Chloe took a bite of pizza. "He said you're really talented. That the team loved you."

"That's good."

"That's all you have to say? Leigh, this is huge. You've been looking for a job for weeks, and now you're working for one of the most successful tech companies in the city. You should be celebrating."

"I am celebrating. See?" Leighton held up her wine glass with a smile that felt like it might crack her face. "Celebrating."

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