"I wa-want to say thank you for all you did for me Roan but I can't stay anymore, I don't want to ruin your image," The more Nova spoke, the stronger her voice became, although she couldn't look him in the eyes.
She had known him for only a day but it felt like weeks, that was how much of a strong impression he had made on her. "I also don't feel comfortable living off you even though I truly appreciate your generosity." She looked up now with a smile, her eyes teary for reasons she wished she knew.
She saw Roan's impassive expression and quickly caught herself, willing her tears to dry up so they wouldn't ruin the makeup Lauren had worked so hard on. "Sorry about that," She slipped up, "I shouldn't have done that right before our meal."
+
Roan's expression turned grim, he hadn't expected that Nova would find out about the news so soon. What he did expect though was for her to ask to leave because she never intended to stay, and he had the perfect solution to that.
He had already gotten too many emails and texts about the news himself which was ridiculous because he had been looking forward to the news so he didn't understand why everyone made it out to be a catastrophe. He knew well that showing up with a lady on his arm to the company dinner that rounded up the work year would yield such a result but once again, he had selfishly done something that negatively affected Nova.
Roan ignored her apology and kept the conversation going, "You don't have to live off me, come work for me." He offered, studying her intently to gauge her reaction.
And Nova was the kind of woman to say exactly what she was thinking with her eyes, it was why Roan looked at them so much. She was surprised, relieved but also hesitant.
"I wouldn't be able to focus if I knew you were out on the streets with nowhere to stay." He insisted, making it difficult for her to turn him down outright.
+
Nova almost wished she hadn't told Roan that because although it would be to her detriment, she just wanted to leave right then but now she couldn't say no. "W-Work for you?" She asked, watching him pour wine in his glass with a frown.
"Yes," Roan leaned back in his seat, "Whatever you want to do."
"Well, I used to be an accountant for an insurance agency," She found herself saying; it was too easy to spill secrets to Roan.
"Be my private accountant then," He offered without an iota of hesitation.
Nova was stunned by this, "What? I can't- I can't do that."
She wasn't saying that to undermine her abilities but someone like Roan definitely had a legion of far better accountants to handle his personal matters. She couldn't… she just couldn't do it.
"My personal assistant then," He placed another offer in front of her while she was still reeling from the first.
Nova couldn't help but notice that each position he offered her would make her work closely alongside him. Her first instinct was to turn this offer down as well but she felt guilty about doing that, Roan had been too generous and accommodating for her to do that, not to mention, she genuinely needed a job.
So she hesitated a bit and genuinely considered the offer, if she was revealed to be Roan's personal assistant, it would be a perfect cover for the dating rumors she unknowingly started. That worried her even more than not having a roof over her head or her next meal, and if she took the job all her problems would be solved.
She could probably stay in a guest room or the staff rooms until her first paycheck came in and then she could rent somewhere and slowly build her life from there.
Roan was actually handing her all the solutions to her problems in a very understanding manner, he could choose to be upset that she was acting ungrateful after all he had done for her but he didn't.
"Okay," She nodded with determination, "I think I can do that."
"Good," Roan sat up and placed his wine glass on the table. "I'll have a business contract drawn up, but we can do things unofficially for now."
Nova was a little startled by how quickly Roan got down to business, the side of him that was a tycoon was showing really strongly now, and she couldn't help but nod obediently. "Yes, sir."
"And don't worry about the news, I'll have that cleared up." He tagged on, emptying his cup.
Nova couldn't help but notice again that Roan had made no move to eat a bite of his food, it had been the same the night before. Now that the serious discussion was out of the way, she could focus on eating but even while she ate, Roan made no move to do the same.
"You didn't reply to my text," Roan brought up after moments of peaceful silence.
Nova nearly choked on her soup, panic in her eyes. She couldn't deny that she hadn't seen it because her reaction was too expressive to pull off the lie so she decided to go with honesty, "I was nervous."
Roan smiled faintly at her sheepish admission and Nova couldn't help her smile in return.
"Was it because of the news?"
"It wasn't," She denied, keeping to honesty. If she was to be working for Roan as his personal assistant, it was very important that she tried to tell him the truth as much as possible.
Roan leaned closer at this, looking intrigued. "Then why?"
Nova looked away, very self-conscious, "Because of the company dinner," She forced herself to say against her better wishes.
To her surprise, Roan leaned back again, ending that line of conversation. "Then when did you find out about the news?" He asked casually, pouring himself another drink.