Chapter 4 Chapter Four: The List
By mid morning, Rowan had taken control of the expo prep.
Not officially.
No one had asked her to.
But they did not have to.
It happened the way it always did. A gap appeared, something unorganized, undefined, and her brain filled it before anyone else even noticed it was there.
She pulled up a fresh spreadsheet, already structuring it in her head before the file fully opened.
Columns.
Categories.
Contacts.
Deadlines.
Everything already mapped out before her fingers touched the keyboard.
Jess leaned over her shoulder, watching the screen fill in.
“You’re doing the thing again.”
Rowan did not look up.
“The thing?”
Jess rested her chin lightly on Rowan’s shoulder, reading along as the document took shape.
“The if I don’t do it, it won’t get done right thing.”
Rowan’s fingers kept moving, steady and precise.
“It’s not a thing. It’s a fact.”
Jess laughed softly, pushing off the desk and leaning back.
“Fair.”
Rowan titled the document.
Expo Prep – Materials / Vendors / Contacts
The words settled neatly at the top, clean and structured, exactly how she liked it.
Her fingers moved quickly after that, filling in the basics without hesitation.
Booth setup.
Display materials.
Backup inventory.
Shipping timelines.
Each section lined up, organized into something that made sense. The noise of the office faded into the background as she worked, her focus narrowing onto the screen.
This was the part she liked.
The part where everything had a place.
Where chaos could be broken down into manageable pieces.
Where nothing felt uncertain once it was mapped out correctly.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she continued, the earlier unease dulling just enough to be pushed aside.
Her cursor paused.
Just for a second.
Then, almost without thinking, she added a new section.
New / Unverified Vendors
Jess tilted her head, stepping closer again.
“What’s that for?”
Rowan barely glanced at her.
“Just in case. There are always a few companies we haven’t worked with before. Easier to track them separately.”
Jess nodded, already convinced.
“Smart.”
Rowan did not respond. She was already moving again, fingers settling on the keys.
She typed the first name.
Blacke Industries
The second the letters appeared on the screen, Rowan froze.
Her fingers hovered just above the keyboard, suspended in place.
That feeling again.
Stronger this time.
Not just wrong.
Present.
Like something had shifted closer.
A pressure settled behind her ribs, subtle but undeniable, tightening just enough to make it difficult to ignore.
“Rowan?”
She blinked, her focus snapping upward.
Jess was watching her now, her expression shifting from casual to concerned.
“You okay?” Jess asked. “You kind of went quiet.”
“Yeah,” Rowan said quickly.
Too quickly.
“I’m fine.”
She looked back at the screen.
At the name.
For a split second, she thought the letters shifted.
Not changed.
Just moved.
Like something existed behind them.
Like the word was not just a word.
Her breath caught, barely noticeable.
She blinked hard.
The screen stayed the same.
Normal.
Exactly how it should be.
“Okay…” she muttered under her breath, more to herself than anyone else.
Jess frowned slightly, not fully convinced.
“You sure you’re good?”
“Yeah,” Rowan said, forcing a small smile that felt thinner than she intended. “Just need coffee.”
Jess perked up immediately, the concern fading as quickly as it had appeared.
“Same. Let’s go.”
Rowan pushed her chair back and stood, grabbing her cup from the desk. The movement felt automatic, routine taking over again.
But something made her hesitate.
Just before she stepped away.
She looked back at her screen.
The spreadsheet was still open.
Unchanged.
The columns were aligned.
The sections exactly where she left them.
Everything in order.
Except.
There was a new line under Blacke Industries.
Her stomach dropped.
She stepped closer without realizing she had moved.
The text sat there, clean and perfectly formatted, like it had always been part of the document.
Status: Pending Confirmation
Rowan stared at it, her mind stuttering for a second as it tried to process what she was seeing.
She had not typed that.
She knew she had not.
There had not even been time.
Her pulse quickened, a sharp, steady rhythm that she could feel in her chest now.
“I didn’t…” she whispered.
The words barely made it out.
Jess’s voice cut through from the doorway.
“Rowan?”
Rowan did not respond right away.
Her eyes stayed locked on the screen, on that single line that should not exist.
Everything else around it looked normal.
Nothing else had changed.
Just that.
Just enough.
Just specific enough to feel intentional.
Rowan forced herself to breathe, dragging her focus away from the screen with effort.
She straightened slightly, her hand tightening around her cup.
“Coming,” she said.
Her voice sounded steady.
She was not sure how.
She turned and walked out of the office, each step deliberate, controlled.
Normal.
Be normal.
The noise of the office closed back in around her as she moved, conversations continuing, phones ringing, people laughing at something she did not hear.
No one else had noticed anything.
No one else reacted.
Which meant either nothing had happened.
Or she was the only one it was happening to.
She pushed that thought down immediately.
Not now.
Not here.
The break room came into view, Jess already halfway inside, talking about something she had missed entirely.
Rowan followed her in, setting her cup down under the coffee machine.
The familiar sounds and smells wrapped around her again.
Grounding.
Routine.
Safe.
She focused on that.
Letting the moment settle.
Letting her breathing even out.
But in the back of her mind, the image stayed.
Clear.
Unmoving.
Blacke Industries.
Status: Pending Confirmation.
And back at her desk, unnoticed by anyone else, her computer screen updated again.
The cursor blinked steadily.
Waiting.
As if expecting her to come back.
