Alexander cole doesn't do distractions. Like he just can't. His last name is literally everywhere. Every move he makes, people are watching. One mistake and the blogs have it, the press has it, it's a mess. So he just locks everything down. No feelings. No messing around. Duty first always. He figured out early that wanting something too much only screws you over in the end so he stopped. He stopped wanting anything. Till her. Mitchell reyes knows who alexander cole is. Of course she does. Everybody does. That name can get you in any room and it can get you kicked out just as quick. And she has spent her whole life making sure she never needs that. She has no rich parents, no big last name to save her, no safety net at all. She hustled for everything she has. So yeah she knows better than to let a man like him matter to her. She has watched what happens when people get too close to that kind of power. It's never pretty. Then the merger drops and boom they are stuck. Same company now. Same meetings. Same everything. Can't hide anymore. And the boardroom? It gets heated. It's not just work anymore. It's personal. They clash over everything but it's not even about work at that point. It's the looks. The silence after everyone else leaves the room. The way they both pretend not to notice each other and fail so bad at it. And every time they are in the same room it gets harder to say no. They know they should walk away. Like everything is telling them to. Family. Work. Reputation. The life they both built alone, by themselves. But the pull? It doesn't care. The more they push, the more it pulls them back together. And now people are starting to notice. Secrets are slipping out. Everyone is watching them. And they have to make a choice they are not ready for. Play it safe and protect everything they built... or risk all of it for something that should have never happened. Some things are not supposed to stay forbidden forever. And some people you just can't fight wanting, no matter how hard you try.