POV — Catriona
The office was quiet, almost eerily so. The city lights spilled through the windows, painting long shadows across the polished floors. I was alone at my desk, reviewing the final containment report from the leak we’d traced the night before. Every number, every clause, every note had to be precise. Any error could unravel weeks of work—or worse, give Charles Laurent a thread to pull.
The soft click of the door caught my attention before it fully opened.
“Still here?” Shawn’s voice was low, calm, carrying that unshakable authority that always made me aware of every inch of space between us.
I looked up, heart skipping a beat, and found him leaning against the doorframe. Not looming, not imposing—just present, controlled, and impossibly centered.
“Yes,” I said, masking th
