Mag-log inThe conference room is immaculate in that very specific, pre-audit way — chairs aligned to surgical precision, screens glowing with frozen dashboards, water glasses placed as if someone measured the distance with a ruler. The air smells faintly of coffee and ambition. At exactly 8:30 a.m., the doors open. The Board of Directors enters as a unit — dark suits, tablets tucked under arms, expressions carefully calibrated to serious. No wasted movement. No unnecessary smiles. This is the kind of entrance meant to remind everyone that today is about governance, compliance, and consequences. Sebastian steps forward to greet them. He does it perfectly. Firm handshakes. Calm eye contact. A voice that lands somewhere between reassuring and commandingly precise. The kind of tone that makes people trust him with money they’ll never personally see again. “Good morning. Thank you for being here. We’re ready when you are.” Several heads nod in approval. Then — because the universe ha
The office was barely awake when Katherine arrived. The lights were still too bright for that hour, the kind of sterile glow that made everyone look more tired than they were willing to admit. Desks hummed quietly, screens flickered on, and the smell of burnt coffee drifted through the floor like a warning rather than an invitation. Katherine stepped out of the elevator, already skimming through emails on her phone, mind half a step ahead of the day. And then she stopped. Her desk was gone. Not literally — but it had been overtaken. Completely. A massive bouquet sat at its center, absurdly large, unapologetic in its presence. Pale peonies, blush roses, soft greenery spilling over the edges, arranged with the kind of care that suggested intention rather than obligation. It didn’t whisper. It announced itself. For a moment, Katherine just stared. Someone down the row pretended very badly not to notice. Sophie froze mid-step near the printer. A junior analyst actually w
The day released them slowly, like it wasn’t quite ready to let go. By the time Katherine stepped out of the building, the glass façade of Mason Equity was already catching the last of the sun, reflecting it back in muted gold instead of its usual cold steel. The lobby behind her hummed with departure — heels clicking, voices loosening, the collective exhale of people who had survived another day without collapsing. She paused for a moment on the steps, rolling her shoulders back, letting the tension settle where it always did — between her spine and her pride. Her phone was already in her hand, thumb hovering over the screen, ready to check emails she knew would still be there no matter how long she pretended otherwise. “Hey.” Sebastian’s voice came from her left, low and unhurried. She turned. He stood a few feet away, jacket slung over one arm, tie gone, sleeves rolled just enough to suggest he’d stopped performing hours ago. The setting sun caught in his hair, softening
The first light of morning bled through the half-closed curtains, soft and golden, cutting faint lines across the floor. The city outside was barely awake, its noise still a rumor that hadn’t reached the penthouse yet. Katherine stirred first. The sheet slipped from her shoulder as she shifted onto her side, her hair a loose tangle that caught the early light. For a moment she just looked — the kind of quiet observation she’d never allow herself in daylight. Sebastian lay beside her, one arm bent under his head, the other resting over the blanket that had half fallen to the floor. His face, usually sharpened by tension and strategy, looked different now — softer, almost peaceful. The faint shadow of stubble traced his jaw, his lips parted slightly with each even breath. Katherine let out a sound that was almost a laugh. “You look almost human when you’re unconscious.” His eyes didn’t open right away. “I’d say the same,” he murmured, voice roughened by sleep, “but I’m afraid yo
The office had begun to empty, leaving behind only the mechanical hum of air conditioning and the faint glow of monitors that no one had bothered to turn off. The city outside was shifting from gold to indigo, the sun bleeding into the skyline like the aftertaste of something that had finally burned out. Katherine sat at her desk, posture still perfect, though her shoulders had long since given up pretending they weren’t sore. The glow from her laptop painted her face in cold light, catching the delicate exhaustion beneath her composure — a quiet proof of the hours she’d spent fighting to keep her pulse steady through numbers, questions, and power plays. The cursor blinked on an unfinished email, and for the first time that day, she didn’t rush to finish it. Her reflection in the screen stared back — the same blazer, the same tied hair, the same eyes that refused to betray how drained she truly was. The soft click of a door pulled her from the trance. Sebastian stood there.
Los Angeles looked too calm for what the morning was supposed to be. The streets were washed in soft light, the kind that made glass shine and nerves hide. The city, always loud and restless, seemed to be holding its breath — as if even it knew that something was about to be decided. Katherine stepped out of the car and smoothed the front of her blazer, though her hands were already cold. She caught her reflection in the glass doors of the Mason Equity building — hair pinned back neatly, shoulders straight, every inch of her composed. No one could tell she hadn’t really slept. No one but him. The moment she entered the lobby, she felt it: the silence under the surface. Phones still rang, shoes still clicked across the floor, but voices were lower than usual, glances shorter, movements tighter. People greeted her with polite nods, but every “good morning” carried the same hidden question — Did you hear? Did you see the email? Are we ready? She didn’t answer any of it. She jus







