Page 57 of Titus

Her heart was in the right place, but it wouldn’t work for the gala Evelyn Laurent was hosting. The ivory orchids needed to feel intentional, not emotional. There was a difference.

“Marcus?”

“Lighting sync is locked,” he replied instantly. “We’re tracking the sun. The stage will transition at exactly seventeen minutes past sunset. Audio grid is clean. Backup grid is live.”

“Excellent,” I answered. “Jules, how are we with guests arriving?”

“Prince Kareem Al-Hassan has arrived,” Jules said smoothly. “He prefers to keep his distance from the Zurich group. History there.”

I nodded. “Move Zurich,” I answered. “Not the prince.”

“Already handled.”

This is why my team and I were hired for this particular event. It wasn’t just another gala; it was a legacy. The Laurent Foundation Gala for Pediatric Neuro Trauma and Recovery was entirely funded by old money, but it also highlighted guests with new influence. Tonight would host the kind of room where reputations were quietly built… or erased.

“Lena?” I asked.

“All good on my end.”

“Very well, let’s keep everything moving forward with precision.”

“Cat?”

I turned at the sound of Avery Mitchell’s voice and softened instantly. I smiled when I noticed her standing near one of the VIP tables, beside Natalia Monroe and Jessa Brandt. All three women were dressed in gowns that screamed understated wealth.

Avery looked elegant as always in deep emerald silk, standing next to her husband, Jim, whose calm presence somehow always commanded a room without effort. Natalia looked devastatingly gorgeous in a black satin gown, one manicured hand resting possessively on her husband Spencer’s shoulder. I swear that man watched the room like he already knew every secret in it. Those two were practically the blueprint of a power couple.

And even though Jessa was part of this group of friends, I’d rarely seen her attend hospital events like this one. You’d never guess that, though, looking at her tonight in a soft champagne-colored gown that made her look like she belonged at every gala she walked into. She stood beside her husband, Cameron Brandt, which was likely the reason she was here at all. Dr. Brandt was the top pediatric neurosurgeon at Saint John’s, and while the man was always smiling, he still carried the quiet severity that seemed to come naturally to many in his field.

“You made this place look unbelievable,” Avery said as I approached the group.

I smiled warmly. “Thanks, babe. You look positively stunning tonight.”

“Comes with the job, I guess,” she said with a laugh.

“I will never understand how you can transform a room like this,” Nat chimed in, leaning toward me and giving me a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Let’s just say I do my best work on things I’m passionate about,” I smiled back at her.

Nat’s eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced past me toward the terrace entrance. Then she smirked.

“Oh hell.”

I frowned faintly. “What?”

Before Nat could answer, the energy in the room shifted. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just enough. I watched conversations soften, heads turn, and the security at the entrance subtly straighten.

Only one person, silenced the room and grabbed everyone’s attention by simply walking in. I slowly turned toward the entrance and watched as Titus Hawk stepped onto the terrace as if the evening itself belonged to him.

I exhaled, wondering why seeing him tonight was having some bizarre effect on me. It was annoying and completely unlike me.

“Didn’t Mr. Hawk have an event planned on his yacht in the Aegean Sea this weekend?” I asked, taking in the image of him.

The man was dressed in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo that looked criminal on him, the jacket cut broad across the shoulders and tapering sharply at the waist. No tie. The top button of his crisp white shirt was undone just enough to make the entire look feel more dangerous than formal.

Spencer eyed me with a knowing grin. “Rumor has it he failed to secure an event planner and had to cancel.”

“What?” I answered, knowing there was no way that man would cancel an event just because he couldn’t hire a planner.