* Jana *
The echo of his word followed me out of that boardroom like the toll of a bell. Liar. It shouldn't have mattered. God knows I've been called worse, by men who mattered less. But from Lawrence... it was different. He said it like a verdict, like he'd stripped me clean and found the truth beneath all the polish, and damn him, he wasn't wrong.
Because I was lying. Not about the deal, I meant every word I'd thrown at Nano Tech. That was a strategy. That was survival. But about him? About the way his gaze unraveled me, the way I could feel the imprint of his voice in my ribs long after he stopped speaking? That was the lie.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the empty stretch of table as if it could hold me steady. The truth pulsed under my skin, dangerous and raw, I had never st
