floor. The room was a tech mogul's dream: dual monitors on a minimalist desk, a whiteboard scrawled with algorithms, and a sleek server humming in the corner. But it was t

pha data sets, but the weight of being here, alone with

exed as he typed, and Elena caught herself staring before snapping her gaze back to her screen. Focus, she scolded herself. He's your boss, no

"If the model's still overfitting, we're wasting time," he'd snapped, his voice low but lethal. Elena had stepped in, redirecting the team to prioritize new d

n items, her fingers flying across her laptop, but her mind kept drifting to the man across the room. He'd been different since they arrived-still cold, still demanding, bu

ed up to find him leaning back in his chair, his gray eyes fixed on

re," she said, rising and crossing to his desk. She stood beside him, close enough to catch the faint scent of his cologne-cedar and

ise reduction," he said, pointing to a graph.

ad given her a working knowledge of its guts. "You're right," she said, tapping the screen. "The smoothing algorithm's flatten

g again." His tone was analytical, but his gaze flicked to her face, linge

he said, the words slipping out before she could stop them. She fr

hing hers. The contact was fleeting, but it sent a jolt through

laptop. Her cheeks felt warm, and she cursed herself for letting him rattle her. This was w

or the next phase of Project Alpha's testing. Lucas alternated between coding and pacing, his energy restless, l

" she said, not wanting to blur the lin

nreadable. "No. You'll eat with me

wall of glass overlooking the mountains. A simple but elegant spread waited: grilled salmon, roasted vegetables, and a bottle of sparklin

, his eyes on her. "You've never mentioned why you chose this job," he said, pic

hoosing her words carefully. "I told you. I'm good at it. An

. "That's not t

ll her life to a man who'd probably forget it by tomorrow. "It

question. Then he shrugged, his mask sliding back into place. "Curios

g her. He was right-she was efficient, indispensable even, but it came at a cost. Late nights, missed bi

ofter than usual. "This estate-it's where I come to think. No distractions, no noise. Just th

onal thing he'd ever shared, and it felt like a window into the man behind

she braced for a sharp retort, but he only nodded. "It is." He set his glass down, the moment pas

pha's schedule, her tablet lighting up with notes. By the time they returned to the office, the air felt steadi

g coffee from the kitchen, the wind picking up, rattling the windows. Margaret appeared, her face creased with conce

tomach sa

. Roads close, power flickers. We

with Lucas. No escape, no buffer. She found him at the whiteboard, ske

ice even. "There's a storm coming. We m

inst the board. "Fine. We'll work through i

izzard like it was a minor inconvenience. "I'll le

r. "And Elena? Stop calling me Mr

t. "What should

e, shifting something fundamental. He turned back to th

lt like a challenge, an invitation to see him as something other than her untouchable boss. She sh

ced, muttering about algorithms. The office felt smaller now, the walls closing in as the wind howled. She stole a glance at him, his silhouette sharp aga