WILL GIVE Y

alled. Her dress was corporate o

st in cut yet impossible to ignore. The neckline revealed nothing scandalous, but the sug

pinned back, makeup precise, lipstick calm. She looked like a woman built for b

traightened i

not move but h

dges. One controlled breath. Her fingers slid along the cuff of her sleeve, smoothing

na turned, spine straight, chin lifted. In thi

numbers, and she was th

present our expansion strategy. I'll be walking you through market projections, resource al

over his knee, fingers brushing his mouth as though settling in for a show he had already decided he would enjoy but there

nued, walking them through charts and figures, clicks precise, slides flawless. He

ned still, unreadable, yet the glint in his ey

t question. She was ready a

osure," he said, voice low but carrying th

llenge had barely a hint of politeness. This was

, but stagnation is fatal," she replied evenly, meeting his

d

projections are inaccurate? How do

ibility does not weaken strategy, it ensures survival. Our plan accounts for market vo

mouth tilted, ever so slightly, but the intensity in his gaze sharpene

tested her. Not cruelly, not u

arios. Every time, she answered with clarity and aut

briefly about logistics

hrill through her, one she fo

ater or not at all. The present

Her boss whisper

ght, heels clicking a rhythm of control. She w

Blake.

. Not as a reque

r closed behind them with a finality that made her

investor. He was the man from the wall, the dangerous presen

nary," he said quie

ional mask firmly in pla

ing choice. I don't remember

he refused to surrender

g closer, "you're still the wo

g in life, but this man, this presence made her heart stumbl

faint but dang

akable. "And now that I know what you can do... I hav

, he gave her one last, certain look. "I to

ged. His eyes swept over her once,

at had haunted her dreams, he sa