ande

tablet's glow casting shadows across the mahogany desk. Elena Vasquez's resume stared back at me: sparse, raw, real. No Ivy League polish, n

g the bridge of my nose. The man was a vulture, circling my empire with those col

nom. "Just checking on our little wager, Kane. Found

reputation, his smug claim I couldn't charm a woman who wasn't after my money. Three months to make her fall, or he'd take the merger that'd lock Ka

aid, voice flat. "S

hope. I'd hate for this to be t

r dark eyes, the way she'd called me out without flinching. Most candidates groveled. She didn't. It stirred som

red. "You sound invested. D

id who'd watched his father's fraud tank my parents' company. Victor's dad got prison; mine got a gra

nocked softly. "Ms. Va

in the window. Thirty-two, and I looked like I carried a decade m

morning, but now? Damn. Her hair was pulled back, exposing the stubborn set of her jaw. She clutched a worn duffel ba

but laced with something sharp. "

. I'll show you late

me harder than it should've. "I'm here to

bably made her flinch. Or was it me? "Your first task. My calendar'

g the screen. "This isn't a

hink you ca

ping away, her focus razor-sharp. I watched her for a moment to

hire her, charm her, win. But Victor's call lingered, and so did Elena's presence. She wasn't like

said, heading for the

e called, not looking up. That w

ce swallowing my steps. Charles was waiting

Victor not to pull something. He'd been too smu

Innovations wasn't just a company; it was my armor. After the crash, I'd built it from nothing: coding at sixteen, de

'm watching. A chill ran through me. He knew about Elena already? Impossible. Unless someone

d over the tablet, muttering to herself, organizing my chaos with a speed that imp

ed. Elena Vasquez wasn't just a mark. She was trouble. And

l, silver, the works. If she could handle lobster bisque and my

closet I'd had stocked. It fit her like it was made for her, and I

tting across from me. "Calendar's don

glass. "To

eyes narrowing. "T

ut the crash, and I didn't offer. But her stories about her dad, her abuela's recipes, hit a nerve. I had

I expected," I sa

e was sharp but warm. "You're not e

ising myself. "But you'r

r cheeks flushed. "G

uite, the hall dim, her scent, something flor

This wasn't part of the plan. The bet was supposed to be cold,

n. I deleted it, but his words echoed. I'm watching.

I th