of wooden surfaces. Outside, horns blared, engines growled, people rushed, city noise never s

Sure, that was counted on. But the cool, tense kind of sureness Eli wore that caught

st the wood, pulling h

n said, careful

g away. A moment he stood still, eyes scanning slow, like numbers ticking throug

reviewing the revised projections for Rivera before the af

ng slightly. "I did. And I expect a

versights. No excuses. Sou

it could settle. What he puts up with might sh

snapped into place the moment their eyes met. Each idea from Eli drew a slow stare, then

nventory schedule by two weeks, the projected revenue increases by twelve

Eli. "Good. But I want three contingency plans att

he table. "Three alternatives: conservative, moderate, aggressive. Each

ressive. But do they account f

he data includes competitor moves, seasonal fluct

edge, clean, deliberate moves, nothing wasted. It bothered him to thin

papers, yet tension hummed like wire pulled too tight. A shift in

it hap

touch, skin against skin, light but lingering just long enough to blur intention. Heat rose in Adrian, uninvited, sharp under the f

d, nearly offhand, yet his words

just past normal. "Ready matters too. Fast but sl

reful, Navarro. That tone d

ice smooth, eyes locked on Adrian's. "B

the quick beat beneath his ribs. It annoyed him how so

quick back and forth, nobody backing down. Underneath it all, pressure built without a sound clear, pr

detail had slipped through. He touched a spot near t

ifting. "Saw that," a pause,

? Adrian repeated,

your models perfectly. I've accounted for them," Eli rep

like heat, an urge to take control sparking behind his ribs yet something else held him back: the

es brushing the air. The second visit earned silence. Adrian looked away. Interruptions

d, thin but sharp, like a wire pulled tight across silence. Not comfortable. Never said so out lou

s folded. "We go over those bold forecasts

while tucking the file insid

ps shifting just slightly with each stride a small thing, yet somehow gr

was, he didn't want to say it out loud, yet Eli Navarro had gotten under his skin. No shou

asn't an ending. Instead, a quiet certainty settl