k efficiency, now felt like a cage, the storm sealing her and Lucas Varnell inside its walls. The clock on her laptop read 7:32 PM, but time seemed to blur in the dim glow of the desk lamps, the ou

through in the neural network's architecture, his frustration palpable. The storm hadn't fazed him-when Elena had warned him again about the worsening conditions, he'd dismi

he screen's glare. "I'm getting coffee," she said

look up. "

, but the air felt heavy, charged with something she couldn't name. In the kitchen, she brewed two cups, the machine's hum a small comfort

ightened. Being trapped with Lucas-call me Lucas-was unraveling her carefully built walls. His

e glanced at it, then at her, his gray eyes catching the lamplight. "Thanks," he said, the word s

eaning against the edge

disarming. Elena's pulse quickened, and she busied herself with her laptop, pretending to check emai

ed, then steadied, but the brief darkness sent a chill through her. "Margaret wasn't kidding a

queaking against the board. "Gen

d to his will. But as she watched him, she noticed the faint tremor in his hand, the way his

lunged into darkness, the only sound the storm's relentless roar.

minated the room as he switched on a battery-powered lantern from a drawer. Hi

the office feel smaller, more intimate. She stood, needing to move, and crossed to the window. The snow was a w

eight beside her. "It's why I come here. Storms lik

arp in the lantern's glow. "You do

fixed on the snow. "Sometimes. But

stion slipped out before she coul

s. "People. Expectations. Noise." He pau

enerator hummed to life, and the lights flickered back on, breaking the moment. Lucas stepped away, returning to

ne inside her. Lucas wasn't just her cold-hearted boss anymore-he was a man with cr

ustration mounting as the latest model run failed. Elena had sent the team home-virtually, at least-promising updates tomorrow. She stretched, her ba

said, surprising herself. "You'

up. "Not unti

no good to anyone if you bur

vering over the keyboard.

e lighter than she felt. "Margaret left

l warm under covers. She set two places at the counter, the act feeling oddly domestic, and called him in. He appe

t him, noting the way his shoulders relaxed slightly, the tension easing from his face.

his fork pausing. "You

ter, meeting his gaze. "You d

st people don't want to. They want the billion

in, and it terrified her how much she wanted to hear more. "And

Then he stood, abrupt, and grabbed the lantern from the

was in a utility room off the garage, a concrete space that smelled of oil and metal. Lucas checked the

his voice clipped. "We

loser, her voice soft but fir

e turned, hi

her heart pounding. "You said you t

dam giving way. "You want to know me?" he said, his voice low, almost dangerous. "Fine. I come here because i

caught. "Wh

. "Everyone," he said, his voice raw. "My father, who thought ambition was a personal

reached out, her hand brushing his arm, a reckless move she could

ed the distance, his hand cupping her face, his thumb grazing her cheek. Her breath hitc

fierce and desperate, like he'd been holding back for years. She kissed him back, her h

his eyes wide with something like fear. "We can't," he said, step

, her lips still

rning to the generator, his voi

should. Then she nodded, grabbing the lantern and walking o