so angry that she couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer. She had spent days plan

, "you can't just break apart everything we've been working

gers over the papers in front of him as if she weren

calm and distant. "Then maybe you should be the one

understood that being mad wouldn't help, but this was too much to handle.

She couldn't move because of the way he looked at her. "You think you know

she could feel the heat of his gaze and the weight of his authority on her. He se

ble. His voice was low as he said, "I'm not here to make

clear. She opened her lips to say something back, b

looked over her shoulder as the door snapped shut behind her. He kept looking

op thinking about what Lucas had said, how he had dismissed her like she was just another part of the machine

ooking like he was in charge, with a mask of indifference over his keen features

the project's stats. He didn't know how much thought and effort she had put

as she said, "I don't think that's

brow. "Oh? And what

ed. "The way you're thinking about it will only make things worse. I've already laid

Do you ever stop to think, Ayla, that you might

the picture from all sides." Maybe if you too

the air and stop her. "I don't have time to hear your i

ng so hard that she could hear it. With every syllable, the tensi

a," in a low but passionate voice. He stood up,

n down her spine. Lucas's words hung in the air, and Ayla

uldn't let it go. Not when all she had worked for was hanging

in her ears. She didn't care that he was busy; she wasn't leaving unt

standing there with her arms crossed, evid

iss Weathers?" He asked, h

ice quiet but quivering with rage. "Without even

u want me to say, Ayla?" From the outset, the project was not good. You

. You have no idea what we've been doing. You just ran over everything,

illed the room and made the space between them smaller. Th

o play games." "I'm here to win. And if you ca

r between them that they weren't ready to accept. She didn't move or b

s voice was low and scary. "W

l she had been holding back. But at that moment, all she could do was stand th

as stern and wanted a response. "Nobody even tal

ad that expression on his face that said he was thinking about whether or not she was worth his time. His voice was low

ight. "Is that all? You make the decision,

a small problem. Ayla, I don't have time to

t the folks who put forth the effort to attain those results? What about the crew that has

oing this for power?" His voice got so low that it was almost a grow

mething sinister that she couldn't quite understand. He wasn't only talking abou

olerate. The silence was so deep it felt like a cloud. Ayla

exity. She strolled outdoors into the cold evening air to clear her brain. The quiet rustling of leaves filled

a message from her adoptive father. A knot formed in her stomach. He didn't typically text her un

tand: "You've walked into the lion's den

areful and even secretive, but this was different. The way he spoke made

be careful with the man she worked for? She couldn't deny that she was getting more and more uneasy about him. T

back in her bag. She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't shake the

d whether her father knew anything about Lucas's family that she didn't. What wou

re closely about her. The weight of the message was heavy o