CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH

SEINNA'S POV

Lucian checked his watch again, calm as ever. For him, this was timing. Optics. Control.

We need to be seen working together immediately. The first joint meeting is tomorrow at nine. The boardroom is on the forty-second floor. You will sit beside me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Beside you? How romantic and convenient.”

“Strategic,” he corrected. “People need to see unity.”

“Right, because nothing screams unity like a forced marriage.”

He studied me again, the same way he had in Damien’s office. Like I was a puzzle he hadn’t decided whether to solve or throw away.

“You’re angry. I get it but anger won’t change the timeline. We have twelve months. Let’s not waste them fighting over things we can’t control.”

I stepped closer. “I’m not angry at the situation, Lucian. I’m angry that you think you can just dictate how this plays out. You signed the same contract I did,”

“You want equality?” he asked quietly. “Then prove it tomorrow. Bring something useful to the table. I don’t hand out respect. I don’t hand out seats at my table. You earn them.”

I let out a small smile. “Good, because I don’t plan on sitting quietly and looking pretty.”

He didn’t answer right away, he just watched me. Then he turned and walked toward the glass corridor that separated our offices.

“Dinner’s at seven,” he said over his shoulder. “I expect you there. First public appearance is a small dinner with selected board members tonight. The dress code is formal. Your closet has options.”

I called after him. “You went through my clothes?”

“No. My stylist did and you have everything in your size, current season, and appropriate for the role. You’re welcome.”

I wanted to throw something at his back. Instead I walked into my new office and shut the door harder than necessary.

The desk chair was stupidly comfortable. I sat down, opened the laptop, and logged in with the credentials that had appeared in my email. The Calloway-Aries shared drive was already waiting.

Two hours later my phone buzzed and it was a text from Maya. I hadn't updated her since I got here.  I mean, I barely had the chance to.

“Tell me you’re alive. Also tell me the mansion has a dungeon because that’s the only explanation for how quiet you’ve been.”

“I'm alive and there is no dungeon. Just a lot of marble and arrogance.”

“A pic will create a better image,”

I snapped a quick photo of the view from my office window with the city skyline framed by perfect landscaping and sent it.

“Holy crap! That’s not a house. That’s a villain lair.”

“Well, it feels like it.”

“How’s the husband?”

“Don't call him that,”

“You can't escape reality,”

“Stop.”

I was still smiling at the screen when the door opened without a knock.

Lucian stood there at the entrance, sleeves still rolled. “Dinner in ten and you’re still not dressed.”

I closed the laptop. “I was working. You know, doing the job you want me to do.”

“Get dressed,” he said finally. “We leave in fifteen minutes and Sienna?”

I waited.

“Tonight, you smile. You smile broadly and stay close. You let them see we are a team and tomorrow, you can fight me in the boardroom.”

I walked past him, close enough that our arms brushed. “Deal but don’t expect me to play the perfect wife for long.”

He caught my wrist, not hard, just enough to stop me. His fingers were warm and I hated that I noticed.

“I don’t expect perfection,” he said quietly. “I expect smartness and so far…you’re delivering.”

He slowly let go, still locking eyes with me but I quickly looked away before walking out of the room.

I didn’t look back as I walked to my room but my wrist burned the whole way.

LUCIAN'S POV

I stayed in the dining room longer than necessary after she left. The candles were still burning low, throwing soft glows across the room.

I picked up my wine glass, but didn’t drink. My pulse hadn’t quite settled since I let go of her wrist.

I shouldn’t have touched her, not even that small grip. The contract was crystal clear. It says no touching, no feelings and no lines crossed. Yet the second she brushed past me, close enough that I caught the faint scent of her hair, my hand moved on its own.

I set the glass down harder than I meant to and the clink echoed in the quiet room.

She was dangerous in a way I hadn’t anticipated, not the obvious kind with tears, tantrums and manipulation, no. Sienna Calloway was dangerous because she didn’t perform for me. She didn’t shrink, flirt, or beg for approval. She simply existed in the space I’d built to keep everyone else out, and she refused to be erased.

I walked back to my office, loosened the top button of my shirt, and dropped into the chair behind my desk.

The laptop was still open to the shared drive. She had left the western division supplier file open. The notes she had added were precise and pretty intelligent.

I leaned back and rubbed the bridge of my nose. My grandfather used to say the only people worth keeping around were the ones who could surprise you without trying to impress you. I’d dismissed it as old-man nonsense. Now it was sitting in my inbox in the form of a woman I was legally tied to for the next twelve months.