Hard to Handle

The Revelation

Working for Lucian Blackwood was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

Amara's first week was a whirlwind of site visits, design meetings, and late nights hunched over blueprints in Lucian's penthouse (where she now had full access, though she still couldn't stop herself from straightening pillows when he wasn't looking).

The man was relentless, questioning every decision, pushing her to defend each choice. At their first presentation to the Miami team, he sat silently in the corner while Amara presented her revised concepts, watching with those unnerving gray eyes as she explained her vision.

When the lead architect, a silver-haired man who'd been in the business longer than Amara had been alive, scoffed at her suggestion of curved walls, Lucian spoke for the first time.

"Try it."

That was all he said. But it was enough.

—

Late one night, after everyone else had gone home, Amara found herself alone in the design studio, working furiously on a particularly stubborn section of the hotel's rooftop bar.

"You're holding back."

Lucian's voice startled her so badly that she nearly toppled off her stool. He stood in the doorway, sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms, his tie loosened in a way that made him look dangerously approachable.

Amara swallowed hard. "I'm just working through some options for—"

"Why?" He moved closer, his cologne—something expensive and woodsy—filling her space. "This project needs to be extraordinary. So why are you playing it safe?"

Amara hesitated. "Because real design is vulnerable. It's not just about pretty spaces—it's about how they make people feel. And that's...terrifying."

"Then terrify me."

The challenge in his voice sent heat rushing to her cheeks. She grabbed her pencil with renewed determination, losing herself in the work until dawn's first light crept through the windows.

When she finally looked up, Lucian was watching her with an expression she couldn't decipher. He reached out, his thumb brushing a smudge of charcoal from her cheek. The contact sent a jolt through her.

"You're incredible," he murmured.

In that moment, Amara realized two things:

She was falling for her boss.

He'd never looked at any of his other designers this way.