جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 5

Nichole's POVThe silence in Regaleon Knight’s office wasn’t the respectful kind. It was the kind that precedes an execution.“I have two questions for you, Miss Chen,” he began, his voice flat, devoid of the annoyance he’d shown moments ago. He didn’t sit behind his massive desk; he perched on the corner of it, leaning in just enough to feel intimidating. It was a performance, and I was the reluctant audience.I forced myself to sit upright in the plush chair, trying to channel the last vestiges of my fury, but desperation kept crowding in. I swallowed hard.“I applied because Knight Industries is the only place in the city that funds the kind of bio-engineering projects I specialize in,” I stated, keeping my voice level. “And I broke in because your HR department has rejected me three times, despite my thesis being directly applicable to your new Robotics Division. The first two questions are actually one question, Mr. Knight: I came here because your system is broken, and I am not.

Nickie’s POVWhen Leon told me the board was meeting me tomorrow morning my stomach dropped straight through the floor.The cold fear from signing the contract turned into something worse. Something shaky and loud and very hard to breathe through.The next few hours were the closest thing to torture I had ever experienced. Not physical torture. The kind where someone watches you walk across a room and sighs.“Stop walking like you’re rushing to return library books,” Leon said from across the living room. He wasn’t pacing. He was just standing there, completely still, watching me like I was a problem he was trying to solve. “You are my fiancée. Walk like the floor belongs to you.”I tried again.“I’m wearing shoes that cost more than my rent, Leon. It’s hard to look like I own anything when I’m scared of scuffing the marble.”He made a sound that was not quite a sigh and not quite a groan.“It’s in your head. Control your head and the rest follows. And smile. Like you are actually hap