POV: Emily
The name Marcus Hall felt like a punch to the gut.
I had heard of him, of course. Anyone with any influence in the business world had. He was one of those people you never saw coming, a ghost who moved through the shadows of high finance and corporate takeovers, leaving devastation in his wake. The fact that he was the one pulling the strings behind The Syndicate's attack on Carson Enterprises made my stomach turn.
The room felt colder now, the air heavy with the weight of Victor's revelation. I tried to process it, tried to understand what this meant for me, for the company, for Jake. But no matter how hard I tried to focus, one thought kept circling back.
We were in deep trouble.
I glanced at Jake, hoping for some kind of reassurance, but his expression was tight, controlled. The hard lines of his jaw were locked in tension, his eyes dark and unreadable. Whatever he was thinking, he wasn't going to share it here. Not in front of Victor.
I turned back to Victor, whose lazy smile remained firmly in place, like he enjoyed watching us squirm. I hated him already.
"And Marcus?" I asked, my voice firmer than I felt. "What's his next move?"
Victor leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. "Marcus plays the long game, Emily. He's already made several moves that you haven't even noticed yet. The marriage between you and Jake? He saw that as a challenge, a direct threat to his plans. Now that you've merged both of your companies, it's a more valuable target."
"He's not wrong," Jake muttered, his eyes still fixed on Victor. "But Marcus isn't just after money or power, is he? This is personal."
Victor chuckled, his eyes gleaming. "You catch on fast. Marcus Hall is the type of man who takes a challenge personally. And you, Jake, threw a wrench in his carefully laid plans. By marrying Emily, you bought her time. But that time is running out."
My breath caught in my throat. Marcus Hall wasn't just after Carson Enterprises; he was after me. And now, Jake had thrown himself into the line of fire as well.
"What does he want?" I asked, trying to maintain my composure. "What's his endgame?"
Victor's smile widened, and I hated how amused he seemed by all of this. "Marcus wants what he's always wanted ,control. And you, Emily, are standing in his way. He'll come for you. And when he does, he won't stop until you've lost everything."
I felt my pulse spike, panic clawing at the edges of my mind. But I couldn't afford to show weakness, not now. Not in front of Victor, and definitely not in front of Jake.
I sat up straighter, forcing my voice to stay calm. "Then what's our next move?"
Victor's eyes flicked to Jake. "That depends on how much you're willing to risk. I can give you information, but it's up to you to use it wisely. Marcus Hall is not a man you want to cross lightly. He plays dirty. And he doesn't lose."
I hated the smugness in his voice, the way he seemed to enjoy watching me struggle with the weight of this new reality. But I didn't have a choice. If Victor was our only lead, I had to use him. For now.
"And what about you, Victor?" Jake asked, his voice low and hard. "What's your play in all of this? You're clearly not just doing this out of the kindness of your heart."
Victor's smile didn't falter. "You're right. I'm not. Let's just say that keeping Marcus Hall in check benefits me as well. There's no room for someone like him in my world, and I have no desire to watch him destroy another player who could be useful to me."
I didn't miss the way his eyes gleamed when he said "useful." It sent a shiver down my spine, and I realized exactly how deep we were in. Victor wasn't just giving us information he was playing us. We were pawns in his game, just as much as Marcus Hall was.
But I couldn't worry about that now. I had a bigger problem staring me in the face.
Victor stood up, brushing imaginary lint off his jacket, signaling the end of the meeting. "I'll be in touch with more details. But be careful, Emily. Marcus is already watching. Make the wrong move, and he'll take it as an invitation."
I stood up, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Thanks for the warning."
Victor's smile widened. "You're welcome."
With that, he turned and left the room, leaving Jake and me standing in the thick, suffocating silence.
Outside – On the Street
The cool evening air hit me like a slap as we stepped outside the restaurant, and I inhaled deeply, trying to calm the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind. We were standing at the edge of something huge, and the ground beneath us was shaky, unpredictable.
Jake walked beside me, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his jaw still tight. He hadn't said much since Victor dropped Marcus Hall's name, and I could tell he was grappling with the same tension I was.
But what could we do? How were we supposed to take down a man like Marcus Hall?
I glanced sideways at Jake, unsure of how to break the silence. Finally, after what felt like forever, he spoke.
"This is bigger than I thought," he said, his voice low.
I nodded. "Yeah. It is."
He stopped walking and turned to face me, his dark eyes full of something I hadn't seen before,worry and maybe even a flicker of regret.
"I shouldn't have dragged you into this," he muttered. "I thought I could keep you safe, but this… Marcus is unpredictable. I didn't realize how far he'd go."
My chest tightened at the raw honesty in his voice. For the first time, I saw past the corporate mask Jake always wore, past the cold, calculated persona he showed the world.
This was different. This was real.
"You didn't drag me into anything," I said quietly, stepping closer to him. "I'm in this just as much as you are, Jake. Maybe more. We're a team now. Whether we like it or not."
He looked down at me, his eyes searching mine, and for a moment, the tension between us shifted, became something else. Something deeper. The world around us seemed to fade, and all I could feel was the steady thrum of my heart, pounding in rhythm with the unspoken connection between us.
"I don't want to lose you," he said, his voice rough, almost vulnerable.
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words sinking into me. I wasn't ready for this, wasn't ready to face the emotions swirling inside me. But the truth was, I didn't want to lose him either.
Before I could respond, Jake's hand reached out, gently brushing against mine, his touch warm, grounding. My breath hitched, and for a moment, I was frozen, caught in the intensity of the moment.
This wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to be working together to stop a threat, not get tangled up in whatever this was. But I couldn't deny the pull anymore.
"Jake…" I whispered, my voice shaky.
He stepped closer, his hand sliding up to cup my cheek, his touch gentle but firm. My heart raced as he looked down at me, his eyes dark with something I couldn't quite name.
"I know," he said softly, his thumb brushing lightly against my skin. "But I can't stop."
And before I could stop him or myself his lips were on mine.
The kiss was soft at first, tentative, like we were both testing the boundaries of something we hadn't meant to cross. But then it deepened, and all the tension, all the frustration that had been building between us for so long, melted away.
I kissed him back, my hands fisting into the front of his jacket, pulling him closer, needing to feel the strength of him against me. Every part of me was on fire, alive with the intensity of the moment, and I knew that after this, nothing would be the same.
But for now, I didn't care.
Jake's hands moved to my waist, pulling me flush against him, his lips urgent, demanding, and I gave in, let myself get lost in him, in this, in us.
When we finally broke apart, both of us breathless, Jake rested his forehead against mine, his voice a low whisper.
"We'll figure this out, Emily," he said, his breath warm against my skin. "No matter what."
I nodded, my heart still racing, the weight of what had just happened sinking in.
"Yeah," I whispered. "We will."
But even as I said the words, I knew that whatever came next wasn't going to be easy.