We need to discuss...privately

The atmosphere on the 12th floor was thick enough to cut with a knife. The soft thud of Mia’s spilled coffee cup echoed in the dead silence of the office, but no one turned to look at her. Every single pair of eyes was glued to Julian Vance.

Mia stood frozen, her heart was now racing.

" How's this possible? Why the hell is he here ". She muttered in panic.

Julian’s gaze lingered on her face for two agonising seconds. His expression didn't change—it remained an unreadable, icy mask—but his eyes narrowed slightly, catching the stain on the carpet near her shoes before sweeping past her as if she were nothing more than a piece of trash to pass on.

"Mr. Henderson," Julian’s voice sliced through the silence, deep, commanding, and utterly calm.

 "Where is the chief archive auditor?"

Henderson, the department supervisor, scrambled forward, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. 

"R-right here, Mr. Vance! Miss Mia Willow handles our primary record management and risk compliance archives."

Julian turned his head slowly toward Henderson, then back to Mia. 

"Is that so?" He paused, stepping further . The sharp click of his Italian leather shoes against the floor tiles sent a shiver down Mia’s spine. "Then Miss Willow should be present in the board conference room in ten minutes. We are reviewing the legacy compliance reports for the Q3 acquisition."

"Of course, sir! Immediately!" Henderson squeaked, nodding frantically.

Julian didn't say another word. He turned on his heel, his tailored suit fitting his broad shoulders perfectly as his entourage fell into line behind him, disappearing down the glass corridor toward the executive elevators.

The moment the heavy glass doors closed behind them, the entire floor erupted into desperate whispers.

"Oh my god," Lucy hissed, lunging toward Mia’s desk and grabbing her by the forearm. "Mia, are you okay? You look like you're about to faint. You're completely white."

"I... I can't go in there, Lucy," Mia choked out, her voice barely a whisper as she gripped the edge of her desk to steady her weak knees.

"What do you mean you can't go in there?" Lucy whispered urgently, checking over her shoulder to make sure Henderson wasn't listening. "It's the CEO! If you blow off a direct summons on his first day, he’ll fire you on the spot. What is wrong with you?"

Mia looked up at her best friend, panic clear in her eyes. "Lucy... the guy from the penthouse. The guy who tried to pay me. The guy whose coffee I ruined this morning..."

Lucy’s eyes went wider than Mia had ever seen them. Her grip on Mia’s arm tightened so hard it bruised. "No. No, way. You're joking. Tell me you're joking."

"I wish I were," Mia swallowed hard, pressing a hand to her pounding chest. "That's him. That's Julian Vance."

Lucy let out a breath that was half-laugh, half-gasp. "Oh, you are in so much trouble. But Mia, you have to go up there. You have to play it completely professional. If he realizes you're terrified, he wins. Go in there, present the files, and act like you've never seen his face before in your life."

" You say it like as if it's easy ". 

Mia took a deep, shaky breath, closing her eyes for three seconds to force the rising nausea down. Lucy was right. If she ran away now, she’d lose her job, her reputation, and her dignity. She had done nothing wrong except make a bad decision after getting her heart broken. She wasn't going to let Julian Vance intimidate her out of her career.

Ten minutes later, Mia stood outside the heavy mahogany doors of Boardroom A on the 14th floor. 

She carried a thick black leather binder containing the Q3 compliance audits, her posture rigid, her chin lifted high despite the violent pounding in her ribs.

She knocked twice and pushed the door open.

The boardroom was massive, wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass overlooking the city river. Sitting around the long polished conference table were eight senior department heads, two corporate attorneys, and at the head of the table, sitting back in a high-backed leather chair, was Julian.

He had removed his suit jacket, rolling the sleeves of his crisp white shirt up to his forearms—exposing the broad wrists and dark watch she remembered all too well from the dark room of his apartment.

"Ah, Miss Willow," Henderson called out nervously from the far end of the table. "Come in, sit down. We were just about to start."

Mia walked in with deliberate, measured steps, choosing a seat near the middle of the table, directly opposite the legal team and three chairs down from Julian. She kept her eyes fixed strictly on her binder, unbuttoning her jacket as she sat down, refusing to look toward the head of the table.

"As you all know," Julian’s deep voice filled the room, making the air feel instantly heavier, "the merger with Crestline Logistics hinges on our clean compliance record over the last five years. I've spent the morning reviewing high-level summaries, and frankly, I find them lacking in detail."

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on glass table. Though his words were addressed to the room, Mia could feel his gaze burning into the side of her face like a physical weight. 

Every time she reached for her pen or shifted a page in her folder, she felt his eyes watching every micro-movement of her hands.

It felt like he was staring daggers right through her, silently daring her to break, silently reminding her of the rage she had spat at him just hours earlier.

"Miss Willow," Julian said suddenly, his tone smooth as silk, yet dropping the temperature in the room by ten degrees.

Mia’s pulse spiked, but she forced herself to raise her eyes, meeting his intense, unblinking glare directly.

 "Yes, Mr. Vance?"

"Page fourteen of the compliance draft," Julian said, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his glass of water. 

"There is a discrepancy in the archivist sign-off from two quarters ago. The report states the physical files were audited, but the digital timestamp suggests otherwise. Can you explain why an archivist would submit incomplete work?"

The entire room went dead silent. The legal team shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

Mia felt her heart hammer against her ribs, but the sheer arrogance in his tone ignited a spark of that same anger from the morning. He was testing her. He was trying to publicly corner her.

"If you look at appendix B on page sixteen, Mr. Vance," Mia replied, her voice remarkably steady and clear, holding his stare without flinching, "you’ll see that the digital timestamp reflects the server migration delay, not the physical audit date. The physical files were verified and signed off in person by myself on the twelfth. I don't submit incomplete work."

A subtle, almost invisible twitch crossed Julian’s jawline. A quiet murmur of agreement went around the table as the legal team flipped to page sixteen.

"I see," Julian murmured, his gaze darkening slightly as he leaned back into his leather chair. "Thorough."

For the next forty-five minutes, the meeting dragged on. Julian picked apart financial estimates, questioned department leads, and issued sharp directives, but through it all, his attention kept drifting back to Mia. Every time she spoke, every time she made a note, his heavy, calculating stare was on her, suffocating and relentless.

When the clock finally struck eleven, Julian stood up, buttoning his jacket. 

"That will be all for today, gentlemen. Henderson, I want those revised numbers on my desk by four."

The executives quickly gathered their papers, eager to escape the tense atmosphere. Mia let out a long, silent breath of relief, quickly closing her binder and sliding her pen into her pocket. She stood up, ready to blend into the crowd heading for the door.

"Miss Willow," Julian’s voice cut through the rustle of papers, sharp and authoritative.

Mia paused, her hand hovering over her binder.

Julian was standing near the head of the table, his hands resting casually in his trouser pockets, his eyes locked onto her with terrifying focus.

"Leave the folder," Julian said softly, his voice dropping into that low, dangerous register that sent a jolt straight down her spine. "And step into my inner office. We have private matters to discuss."

Hearing that Mia's heart instantly raced