Author's Preface
[Cont.]
[Kai]
I glance at Annie in the passenger seat, then adjust the rearview mirror.
The soft morning light filtering through the windshield hits the side of her face, highlighting the subtle swelling on her cheek and the faint red mark near the corner of her lip.
Every time my eyes land on it, a cold blade turns in my gut.
My hands tighten around the steering wheel until my raw, scraped knuckles begin to throb.
"Annie," I say, keeping my voice low and steady as I break the silence.
"You don't need to go in today. Stay at the apartment. Rest."
She doesn't even hesitate.
She turns her head toward me, smoothing down the front of her blazer, her posture rigid with that stubborn determination I know all too well.
"I'm fine, Kai. Sitting alone in the apartment all day will only make me overthink. I have work to do, and so do you."
A flash of frustration runs through me.
I click my tongue softly and shift into drive as the light turns green.
It pisses me off how relentlessly unyielding she can be about her independence, especially when every instinct in my body is screaming at me to turn the car around, lock the front door, and keep her hidden away from the rest of the world where no one can ever touch her again.
I pull into the SilverOak underground executive parking garage, bringing the car to a smooth stop in my reserved bay.
Before she can reach for the door handle, I unbuckle my belt, lean across the center console, and catch her wrist.
She stops, looking back at me.
I reach up, my thumb lightly brushing the clean skin just beneath the small cut on her lip, keeping my touch feather-light.
"If you feel tired, or if your head hurts at all, you tell me immediately," I order, searching her face, my chest tight. "No arguing."
Annie looks at me for a second, her soft brown eyes searching mine, before a small, warm smile breaks through her quiet expression.
"Okay. I promise."
[ *** ]
Once we reach the 16th floor, the corporate machine takes over, but my focus remains divided.
While Annie sits at her desk handling morning correspondence, I step into my private office, lock the door, and pull out my secure cell phone.
I dial a private, unlisted number and press the phone to my ear.
"Yes, sir?" a brisk voice answers on the second ring.
"I need a complete dossier on a startup." My voice is cold and clipped.
"Oliver Roven and his firm. I want every cap table, every shareholder agreement, and the names of his primary investors."
"Right away."
"Once you have the list, begin quiet outreach," I instruct, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window and looking out over the city.
"Find out what it takes to buy them out. Do it quietly. No noise."
"Consider it handled."
I end the call and toss the phone onto my desk, my gaze drifting out the window toward the skyline.
A knock at my office door breaks my train of thoughts.
James walks in, holding a slim leather folder containing the preliminary compliance files for the audit.
His expression is perfectly neutral, his posture impeccably composed, but as he approaches my desk, his eyes briefly drift toward the distant row of cubicles where Annie is seated.
A quiet, protective tension settles over my shoulders.
Beneath James's disciplined, detached exterior, I recognize the concern he still harbors for her, even if he keeps it strictly within professional boundaries.
"We’ve cross-referenced the diagnostic logs for the EX-0 system," James says, placing the folder on my desk, his voice smooth and detached.
"Everything appears standard on the surface, but I’m running a second background trace just in case. We can't afford any technical anomalies triggering an audit red flag."
He pauses, his gaze briefly shifting toward the glass wall overlooking the office.
"Annie looked a bit pale this morning. Is she handling the compliance workload alright?"
I pull the folder closer, my jaw tightening as I meet his eyes.
"Her workload is perfectly managed. She’s fine."
James holds my gaze for an intense second, assessing my response, before offering a polite, icy nod.
"Good. We need every system and document locked down before the board meeting."
The moment he exits my office, the air feels stifling.
James remains relentlessly consumed by the EX-0 investigation, entirely unaware of the private war I am waging in the background.
[ *** ]
By mid-afternoon, watching Annie touch her lip every time she answers a call becomes too much to bear.
I stand and head toward the private archive room down the secluded back hallway, away from the floor's main cameras and glass partitions.
I send her a brief, two-word message on her desktop communicator: Archive room.
A minute later, the heavy wooden door clicks open, and Annie steps inside, holding a set of physical compliance folders as a cover.
The moment the door shuts behind her, I step into her space, my hand reaching out to firmly take the heavy stack of folders straight from her arms.
Without taking my eyes off hers, I toss the files onto the nearby table.
Before she can even react, I catch her waist and pull her flush against my chest, trapping her between my body and the solid wood of the door.
"Kai!" she gasps, her eyes going wide as she glances toward the frosted glass panel.
"What if someone walks down this corridor?"
I don't answer.
I reach up, cradling the uninjured side of her face, and lean down to capture her mouth in a deep, slow kiss.
I take my time against her lips, careful to avoid the tender cut, pulling her impossibly close.
With the files out of the way, Annie sighs softly against my mouth, sliding her arms around my neck as she tilts her head to kiss me back with unexpected intensity.
A sudden, electric surge of heat hits my blood.
My breath catches, my mind going instantly wild with excitement and raw, overwhelming need.
The taste of her, the feel of her hands in my hair, her body leaning completely into mine—it nearly shatters every ounce of my control.
I want nothing more than to lift her off her feet, settle her against the corner desk, and lose myself in her until she forgets the rest of the world exists.
I force myself to pull back just an inch, my chest heaving, my hands gripping her waist tightly against her blazer.
Annie’s cheeks are flushed bright red, her eyes dark and dazed, her lips parted and breathless.
"You are insane," she whispers, her breathing shallow as she tries to gather herself and glances toward the table where I dumped her files.
"We are in the middle of a workday."
An amused smirk tugs at the corner of my mouth as I gaze down at her flustered face.
"You keep seducing me, Annie. What do you expect?"
A quiet, breathless laugh escapes her lips, breaking through her lingering panic.
She shakes her head, waving off my accusation with a soft dismissal.
"I am not seducing anyone. I came in here purely focused on work—I have never seduced you."
"Right. You just exist," I murmur, my smile softening into something far gentler.
My thumb traces the line of her jaw one last time before I step back to give her space.
"Drink some water. And take a break."
I turn to the table, picking up the compliance folders, and neatly arrange them back into her arms.
Before she can turn toward the door, I lean in once more and press a tender kiss to her forehead, letting it linger for a moment.
She looks up at me, her eyes softening, before slipping back out into the hallway.
Standing alone in the quiet, dim archive room, I look down at my hands.
The scrapes on my knuckles are still raw, hidden beneath my cuffs, but the sting means nothing.
A heavy realization settles deep in my chest.
I have spent my entire life believing that everything can be controlled, calculated, and kept within its proper limits.
Annie has made me question all of that.
But one thing remains certain: if someone ever tries to hurt her again, I won't hesitate to act.
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