Zara hated silence. The kind that filled empty boardrooms at midnight when everyone had gone home-everyone except her and the ghosts of the day's expectations.
She swept the same glossy floor she did every night. Sparkling floors, glass walls, cold light. The building felt like a throne room for someone rich enough to play god.
That someone was Eliot King.
Billionaire tech mogul. CEO of KingTech. The man whose picture was everywhere-but whose presence rarely touched the lower floors. He lived on the top like a myth. Until tonight.
A metallic click echoed. The elevator opened.
Zara paused mid-sweep, heart freezing. No one came down here this late. No one except... him?
Footsteps. Heavy, slow, precise.
And then he emerged - tall, sharp-jawed, in a tailored black suit with the air of a man who never asked questions, only gave commands.
Eliot King.
Her first thought: I should look away.
Her second: Why does he look... off?
His shirt was slightly untucked. A bruise bloomed on his cheek like spilled ink. His eyes locked on her like she wasn't supposed to be there.
"You," he said. His voice was low. Cold.
Zara's fingers tightened around the broom handle. "Yes, sir?"
"Did anyone come through this hall in the last ten minutes?"
She shook her head. "No. Just me."
Eliot looked past her, eyes scanning the hallway like a wolf scenting danger. Then he said something she didn't expect:
"Run."
Before she could react, a second man stepped from the shadows-face covered, gun in hand.
Oh God.
Instinct took over. Zara didn't run.
She threw the broom.
It hit the man's wrist, sending the gun clattering across the floor. In the blur of panic, Eliot surged forward, tackled the attacker, pinned him down with brutal precision.
Zara grabbed the gun. Her hands were shaking.
When it was over, the man was unconscious and Eliot was breathing hard, knuckles bleeding.
Silence again. The thick, heavy kind.
Eliot stood slowly, eyes on her now-not as a janitor. Not as background.
"You just saved my life," he said.
Zara blinked. "I... didn't think. I just-"
"You thought faster than my entire security team."
He stepped closer. "What's your name?"
"Zara."
He gave a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I don't usually say thank you. But this time I will."
Pause.
"You're coming with me."
"What? Why?"
He stared at her like she was something he hadn't planned for-and couldn't afford to lose.
"Because from now on, I don't trust anyone around me... except you."