Mag-log inI can. I do. The door hisses shut behind me, and the sound is a relief so complete it almost floors me. The corridor outside is low-lit, hushed, a world apart from the glass box I’ve just escaped. LEDs run the length of the baseboard, cold blue-white, washing the marble in the kind of glow that tu
But the victory is cut short when the light from the projector passes through my fingers. For a split second, I see it—my nails are too long, the tips gone sharp, the cuticles retreating. It’s not a trick of the light. It’s the thing inside me, crawling toward the surface. I press down harder, feel
He interrupts, smiling, “It’s not the resumes, it’s the retention.” I smile back, but it’s a trick. “We retain better than anyone in this zip code. Anyone on this floor, even.” Trent snorts. “That’s not what LinkedIn says.” The wolf in me bares its teeth, just behind the mask. “If you believe eve
The conference room is a crystal box with its own climate: cold and wet, like the inside of a shark’s mouth. Forty-two floors up, the city grid throws itself at the windows, desperate for a foothold, and fails. Every pane reflects my face, multiplied and refracted, the effect like being stalked by m
I offer a smile, all teeth, but none of them friendly. “If you’re worried, Arthur, I suggest you keep your seatbelt on. The next quarter’s going to be a hell of a ride.” He laughs, soft and practiced, and sits back. The contest has drawn blood, but neither animal is ready to yield. Above us, the l
He lets the word legend hang, and it lands with the weight of a threat. Hargrove’s jaw tightens, but he tries for neutral. “We were just reviewing the final deliverables. I assume you have something to add, Mr. Reynolds?” Arthur folds his hands, fingers interlaced, and leans forward just enough to
I let them watch me as I unfurl into motion, as I take my time, a tigress stretching beneath a lazy sun. The documents make a soft, lethal sound as they hit the glass, echoing back to fill the silence. These papers are my arsenal, my map to the battlefield I will carve from this sterile room. I ar
The air thrums with ambition, the kind that leaves marks like teeth on skin. I step into the boardroom, a half dozen pairs of eyes pulling toward me as if gravity's force has just shifted. The glass walls loom like a watchful sky, reflections doubling back on themselves, encasing us in a tower of ou
I gather the pieces of myself and leave the office. My own intentions are as fractured as his. I cannot think straight with the scent of him so fresh, so insistent, so much like a promise. The door swings shut behind me, cutting off the warmth and memory of Derek's presence with surgical precision
I stiffen, a snarl forming at the back of my throat, before I manage to smooth it into something more civil, more human. This is not what I expected, not what I am prepared for. I should have known. I should have known he'd come. "Mara," his voice drawls, easy and confident, but I hear the challeng







