ceo's mistake

Untitled

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*THE 3AM RULE*

Silas Blackwood didn't believe in love. He believed in schedules, silence, and coffee at exactly 6:00 AM.

CEO, 32, ruthless. The kind of man who ended meetings with "I don't care how you feel, I care if it works."

Then there was Celia Reyes.

24. No filter. Intern in his company who was NOT supposed to be in his office after 8 PM.

He walks in. She's there, barefoot, heels kicked off, sitting on his desk, eating his $80 imported macarons like they were chips.

Silas: "What are you doing in my office?"

Celia: doesn't even flinch "Your assistant said you were in a bad mood. Sugar helps bad moods. Science."

Silas: "Get off my desk."

Celia: "Please?"

That one word. No one ever said please to him like it was a joke.

He stared at her. She stared back. For 5 seconds the cold in that office cracked.

Molly - his AI assistant - chimed in: "Mr. Blackwood, your heart rate is elevated."

Silas: "Shut up, Molly."

Celia burst out laughing. "You named your AI? Oh my god, you're lonely."

And that was it. The first person in 5 years to call him lonely to his face.

He should have fired her.

Instead, he said: "You have 3 minutes to explain why I shouldn't."

Celia slid off the desk, walked right up to him — too close — and said:

"Because everyone else in this building is scared of you. I'm not. And you haven't been able to stop looking at my mouth for the last 30 seconds."

Silas went still. Cold. Dangerous.

Then, very quietly: "You have no idea who you're playing with."

Celia smiled: "Then show me."

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That's Chapter 1.