ELECTRICITY IN THE BOARDROOM

The moment the door closed behind Ethan the entire boardroom held its breath. Valerie did not look at anyone. Her face remained carved in cold stone. She could feel every stare drilling into her. Judging her. Questioning her judgment. The scent of his cologne still chased the air. It irritated her. It intrigued her.

She slowly turned her chair toward the window. The city skyline rose like glass blades cutting into a grey afternoon sky. The company she ruled. The empire she kept alive with sleepless nights and decisions that crushed weaker hearts. Yet somehow a single young man had walked into her board meeting and unsettled every molecule of air.

This was dangerous.

She pressed her fingertips lightly on the edge of the table.

The board members waited for her verdict. They always did. They needed her strength. They depended on it. Valerie Sinclair. The youngest and most ruthless female CEO in the country. Her mother had built the empire with loyalty and brilliance. Valerie protected it with iron will.

She would not lose control over a boy.

She finally turned her eyes to the executives still seated around the table.

Meeting, adjourned. Leave.

Her voice was sharp. Her tone, final. No one dared argue. Chairs scraped back quickly. Shoes tapped the marble floor in a rushed exit. They left like frightened birds escaping a storm.

As the last person disappeared into the hallway Valerie remained silent. Her chest rose and fell once slowly. She wanted to dismiss the feeling entirely. She wanted to believe it was only irritation that lingered after Ethan challenged her earlier.

But she knew the truth.

Her pulse had reacted with betrayal. Not to fear. Not to anger. But to interest.

She pushed back her chair and stood with graceful authority. Every movement, precise. Controlled. She crossed her office and stepped into her private suite where she could breathe without eyes watching her every blink. The door clicked softly behind her.

Her heels tapped against the polished floor as she walked to her desk. She touched the folder he had handed her earlier. His handwriting, sharp, intelligent, and confident. Not the handwriting of someone afraid to dream in big spaces.

Valerie opened the folder slowly. Pages filled with ideas lay inside. Innovative. Daring. A revolution waiting to rise within their technology department. He had been right. The former department lead had dismissed something brilliant.

His words echoed in her mind.

You fear anything you cannot control.

She hated the echo. She hated the fact that his sentence carried more truth than accusation. She hated the tremor it left beneath her skin.

Her phone buzzed.

Vivian calling.

Valerie inhaled deeply before answering. Her twin sister rarely called. Mostly texted. Her voice, often trapped in fear and memory. The trauma that had stolen her ability to speak freely. Their past lived inside her like a ghost with sharp claws.

Hello Vivian.

A soft sound. Almost a whisper. A broken attempt at speech. Valerie’s throat tightened with protective instinct.

I will come home early. Valerie said gently. You can show me the painting you finished. I want to see it.

Her sister breathed out something small. A sound of agreement. Then the call ended.

Valerie shut her eyes for a moment. Vivian’s silence always reminded her of the monster hiding in their family history. The murderer that still walked freely as if he had never stolen their mother. Their childhood. Their innocence.

Her father.

A man who smiled in public and rotted in private.

Valerie pushed the memory away. Her father would never control her life again. She promised herself that long ago.

She returned to her desk. To Ethan’s folder. To the reckless spark he left inside her.

A knock.

She looked up sharply. Not expecting anyone.

Come in.

Ethan stepped through the doorway.

For a heartbeat Valerie could not breathe. His presence seemed to fill the room instantly. His eyes found hers without hesitation. A storm in his gaze. Dark. Inviting. Challenging.

You should not be here. She said, Her tone, colder than the air conditioning.

You forgot to sign the approval. His reply,nsteady. His hand held a document toward her. He did not look intimidated. Not even close.

Valerie moved around her desk with slow elegance. She took the paper from him without letting their fingers touch. She refused to allow closeness. She refused to give the attraction shape.

I did not forget. I simply have not decided.

He stepped closer. One more inch and she would feel the heat of him against her skin.

Do you always pretend your heart is made of metal Miss Sinclair.

She lifted her chin. I do not mix arrogance with confidence. You should try it.

Ethan smiled. A dangerous smile. A smile made for sin and trouble.

If you fire me because I bothered you I will walk out with dignity. But do not pretend you are angry. You are curious.

Her breath caught. His voice was low enough to pull heat into her cheeks. No one spoke to her like this. No one dared. They were always either terrified of her or worshiping her. Ethan stood before her unaffected by her power.

He did not bow. He did not flinch.

She refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Valerie slid the document onto her desk and picked up a pen. She signed with perfect strokes of ink and handed it back to him.

There. Professionalism maintained. Now leave.

His gaze held her. Too long. Too intense. As if he wanted to memorize every detail of her expression.

Yes Miss Sinclair. His voice threads of mock obedience.

He turned to go. She watched his shoulders. The confidence in his walk. The quiet defiance. He paused at the door.

You have built walls so high you cannot see the sky anymore.

Valerie froze.

He looked over his shoulder. When you let someone in the world does not end.

Get out. Her voice came sharp. Not loud. But sharp enough to cut.

He left.

The room fell into silence. The door clicked. That same soft sound. Yet somehow it echoed inside her as though the entire building shook.

Electrical tension still clung to the air like static after lightning. Her breathing quickened. She hated that he saw too much. Hated that he touched a truth she never admitted.

Walls keep me safe. Valerie whispered to the empty room. Without them I would drown.

But even as she said the words she knew they were a lie. Safety was never real. Not in love. Not in family, Not in life.

She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heartbeat refused to calm down.

He was, trouble.

He was, temptation.

He was a crack in the armor she spent a lifetime forging.

She should have fired him. She should call security and ensure he never walked into this building again. She should delete every memory of his presence in her boardroom.

Yet her fingers hovered above her phone without pressing any button. Her hand trembled. A foreign sensation. She clenched her jaw and forced her control back into place.

She walked to the window again. The city lights flickered to life as dusk began to rise. Her reflection stared back at her. Perfect hair. Perfect posture. A woman who ruled everything she touched.

But inside her reflection she saw something else. Something unfamiliar. Something dangerous.

Desire.

The truth hit her like cold rain.

She wanted him.

That alone terrified her more than any corporate threat or family secret.

Valerie closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. Her chest rose in a shaky wave. Her mind tried to bury every image of Ethan. But he returned with every beat of her pulse.

His voice. His confidence. His eyes when he refused to break under her intimidation.

A forbidden fantasy whispered at the edge of her thoughts. A fantasy she could not search for in the dark because that search would consume her entire soul.

Night deepened outside.

Valerie returned to her desk with determination. She opened her laptop and typed aggressively. Distraction. She needed distraction.

Her phone buzzed again.

A message from an unknown number.

Your heart is not metal. I felt it.

No name. But she knew exactly who sent it.

Her hand almost dropped the device. A heat flooded through her body that no cold room could fight.

Her breath caught.

Why was he not afraid of her.

Why did he see the woman she buried under power and pride.

Why him.

Why now.

Valerie set the phone down with force and tried to ignore the thudding chaos in her chest. But her eyes kept drifting back to the message. To the possibility hidden inside those simple words.

She stood still. Her gaze fixed on the screen.

Her voice fractioned to a whisper only the walls could hear.

Who are you Ethan.

Her phone buzzed again. She snatched it before hesitation returned.

A second message.

I will not stay away.

Va

lerie’s blood turned to fire.

She knew one thing with absolute clarity.

She would not sleep tonight.

No matter how much she tried to bury the thought

She could not stop thinking about him.