Katia’s POV
The lobby of the Windsor Empire Group was a temple of glass and brushed steel, a monument to the cold efficiency Julian Windsor demanded from the world. Usually, walking into a high-stakes meeting felt like stepping onto a battlefield where I held all the best weapons. But today, my grip on my briefcase felt loose. My skin felt too thin.
"Remember," Samantha whispered as the elevator surged toward the executive floor, "eyes on the data, not the man. You’re the CEO of IG Technologies. You’re here to prove our integration is seamless, not to answer for a jazz club in Antibes."
"I know how to do my job, Sam," I replied, though my voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. I glanced down at my hands. They were bare, my fingers looking pale and vulnerable against the black leather
