Ava’s laptop lay open, spreadsheets and reports meticulously aligned, but her attention wasn’t fully on the numbers. A text from her assistant had appeared twenty minutes ago, the words terse, urgent: “Be cautious. There is unusual activity in the network. Could be a leak.”
Ava’s pulse quickened. She had expected challenges with contracts and client negotiations, not threats infiltrating her work environment before she even had a full week in the company. She tried to maintain calm, telling herself that she was prepared, trained for pressure—but the unease that pricked her skin was undeniable.
Hunter’s presence arrived before he even spoke. One moment she was alone, assessing her own tension, and the next, the door opened, letting in the faint scent of his cologne, the sound of his foots
