LOGINSunday morning arrived with far less chaos than the night before.The first thing Clara heard wasn't her alarm. It was Tara laughing loudly.Very loudly. Clara frowned beneath her blanket."What is she laughing at this early?"She reached for her phone, checked the time, then groaned. It was too early.Dragging herself out of bed, she slipped into her slippers and slowly made her way downstairs, her hair still messy from sleep.The smell of breakfast reached her before she entered the kitchen. Bacon. Toast. Coffee. And Tara's endless laughter.Clara rounded the corner.Tara sat comfortably on one of the kitchen stools, one leg tucked beneath her, completely engrossed in her phone.She didn't even notice Clara."You've abandoned me for your phone now?"Tara gasped dramatically without looking up."No."Another laugh escaped her."I've abandoned you for your boss."Clara pinched the bridge of her nose."Good morning to you too."That finally made Tara lift her head."There she is!"She
Clara's heart skipped. Strong hands steadied her before she could lose her balance.The empty glass slipped from her fingers and shattered across the marble floor. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet walkway.For one suspended moment, neither of them moved. Matteo's hand remained around her arm, firm enough to keep her upright but not enough to hurt.His other arm had landed against the wall beside her during the impact, effectively trapping her between himself and the cold stone.Clara slowly lifted her head. Their faces were only inches apart.She could clearly make out every detail of his face. The sharp line of his jaw. The faint shadow of his beard. The intensity in his grey eyes.And his scent. Clean, subtle, and dangerously distracting. Her breathing slowed without her permission.Matteo didn't speak immediately. Neither did she.His eyes drifted downward. From the loose strand of hair that had escaped beside her face......to the necklace resting against her collarbone...
Clara stared and stared. For a second, she completely forgot where she was.Matteo descended the staircase with the same controlled confidence he carried everywhere. The dark suit fit him perfectly, the expensive fabric emphasizing his broad shoulders and lean frame.He looked annoyingly too good.The last time she had seen him dressed like this had been at the bar. Back then, she had thought he was attractive.Now there was something different. There was more authority, more sophistication, more danger. And somehow, that made him even harder to look away from.Or maybe harder to stop looking at.By the time Matteo reached the last few steps, Clara finally realized she had been staring.Her gaze snapped elsewhere immediately. Heat crept into her cheeks. Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice.Unfortunately… Matteo noticed. His eyes swept over her once. Then again. A little slower this time.He immediately spotted the obvious problem. The color. The material. The matching outfit.His gaze
Clara stood in front of her wardrobe with a faint crease between her brows.Tara was already seated on the bed behind her, and her legs crossed, scrolling on her phone like she had been assigned the official role of “outfit destroyer.”Clara pulled out a navy-blue dress. Tara looked up once.“No.”Clara paused.“…You didn’t even think.”“I did. That’s why I said no.”Clara exhaled slowly and returned it to the wardrobe. She pulled out a cream-colored dress next.Tara leaned back.“No.”Clara turned slightly.“This is getting ridiculous.”Tara shrugged.“I’m helping.”“For thirty minutes?”“Yes.”Clara shut her eyes briefly, then opened them again. She pulled out another outfit. Black, structured and professional.Tara didn’t even hesitate.“No.”Clara stared at her.“Are you just saying no to everything I own?”Tara smiled sweetly.“Not everything. Just everything you’re trying on.”Clara turned back to the wardrobe, now visibly confused.“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wear.”
Clara's alarm rang at exactly six-thirty. She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.For three seconds, she considered ignoring it. Then adulthood won.With a dramatic sigh, she reached for her phone and silenced the alarm. The room was unusually quiet.Normally, Nyx would be curled up somewhere on the bed, acting like she paid the mortgage. Today, the cat was nowhere in sight.Clara narrowed her eyes."Fucking traitor."She already knew where the cat was. Tara's room.Ever since Tara started spending more nights at the house, Nyx had shamelessly abandoned her original owner.Clara sat up and stretched before opening her notifications. Most of them were from the social media team.Her attention immediately moved to Matteo's newly created account.The first post had officially gone live. Curious, she opened the comments.The first one made her laugh.Finally. The mysterious billionaire has discovered the internet.Another read: Please blink twice if your assistant forced you to
"It seems..." Luca's grin widened. "...you just made a post online."Matteo stared at him. Then at Bianca. Then at the phone. His expression remained completely blank."What post?"Bianca immediately burst out laughing."Listen to him."She held up the phone."Like he doesn't know.""I don't."Luca shook his head."The social media team made the first post on your new account."Understanding flashed briefly across Matteo's face, then it disappeared immediately."Oh."Bianca blinked."That's your reaction?""What reaction were you expecting?""Shock.""I knew they were going to create the account."Luca handed him the phone."Read the comments."Matteo looked unimpressed. Still, he took the phone.The post was exactly what Clara had proposed. Simple, direct and annoyingly accurate.He hated admitting it, but the woman understood branding.The comments underneath were multiplying rapidly.This is actually him. 😭The attitude is already showing.Why is this funny?Someone finally dragge
The silence inside Matteo’s office stretched for a few seconds after Clara’s words settled in the air.Matteo remained seated, the pen still between his fingers while his eyes rested on the script in front of him. His expression gave away nothing, but Clara had already begun to notice something abo
Mark had imagined this meeting differently.When he sat inside the conference room earlier, adjusting the sleeve of his suit and rehearsing key points in his head, he had imagined walking out with a contract, or at the very least, an assurance that another meeting would be scheduled.Instead, ten m
Clara didn’t react immediately. For a brief moment, her brain simply refused to process what she was seeing. The canteen around her kept moving, quiet clinks of cutlery, distant conversations, but everything felt slightly muted, like she had been pulled half a step out of reality.Mark stood a few
“You can let her in.”Matteo’s voice cut through the room, calm and controlled, as he kept his eyes on the folder in front of him. The words were directed at the phone call, not Clara, but they still subtly shifted the atmosphere in the room.Clara exhaled slowly without meaning to. She only reali







