A Calculated Setup

PIPER’S POV

The moment Nolan sat down directly across from me, I knew. This wasn't a coincidence. This wasn’t polite social overlap. This was a setup.

The chair scraped softly against the floor as he settled in, all tailored confidence and familiar posture. He looked… good. Annoyingly so. Dark suit, relaxed smile, the version of Nolan that had once known exactly how to disarm a room and me.

My sto