Ethan stood outside Lila's office, the door barely closed behind him. The weight of the conversation still lingered in the air, heavy and unspoken. The files in his hands felt like nothing more than paper now. The numbers, the projections—none of it mattered. His thoughts kept drifting back to her.
There was something about Lila Devereaux that he couldn't shake. Behind her cold professionalism, there was a woman who, despite her towering ambition and iron will, seemed… lost. She was a fortress, impenetrable and pristine, but for the first time, he saw cracks forming in the walls.
Ethan had always been the kind of guy who kept his distance. He had learned early on not to get too attached to people or places—life had a way of taking everything you held dear. But Lila… she was different. There was something in the way she carried herself, the way she held the world at arm's length, that made him want to get closer, to see the person beneath the surface.
He couldn't explain it. Maybe it was the vulnerability he glimpsed when she thought no one was looking, or the small moments where the mask she wore slipped ever so slightly. It was enough to make him wonder if there was more to her than the cold, calculating CEO everyone else saw.
He had never been one for games, especially in the high-stakes world of business. But when Lila looked at him, when she let her guard down just a fraction, it felt like an invitation—an invitation to see the woman behind the power.
And that terrified him.
He had always prided himself on being able to keep his emotions in check. He'd had to, after everything he had been through. He couldn't afford to get too close to anyone. Not here. Not in this world of ruthless ambition and high expectations. He wasn't like the others who might bend to Lila's will, who saw power and prestige as something to be admired and sought after. To him, it was just a game, and the rules were simple: don't get involved.
But the longer he worked with her, the more complicated things became.
As he walked down the hallway toward his desk, Ethan couldn't stop thinking about that look in her eyes when he asked if she was alright. She had said she was fine—of course she had. But he knew better. Lila was anything but fine. There was a restlessness beneath her composed exterior, a pressure that weighed her down, and no matter how much she tried to hide it, he could see it.
He dropped the files onto his desk, his mind racing. Why had he said what he did? He knew better than to get personal with someone like her, someone who built walls around herself like a fortress. But something inside him—something raw—had pushed him to say it.
Maybe it was the way she had looked at him, like she wanted to be seen, but couldn't allow herself to be. Or maybe it was the quiet ache he saw beneath her bravado. He didn't know, but for the first time in his life, he wanted to help someone—to be the one who could break through the walls she had spent so many years building.
But that was dangerous. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much it could cost him. Lila Devereaux was a force of nature. She was untouchable, at least that's how the world saw her. But to get close, to get beneath the surface, would mean risking everything he had worked for—his job, his stability, his self-control.
And yet, the pull was undeniable.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, trying to push the thoughts aside. He had a job to do. That was the only thing that mattered right now. Lila needed him to be sharp, focused, professional. The personal stuff? It had no place here. There was no room for distractions.
But deep down, he knew that wasn't true. Not anymore.
He had seen the way she flinched when she thought no one was watching, the way her shoulders tensed when the pressure of the world became too much. She was breaking, piece by piece, and no one seemed to notice except for him.
Was it his responsibility to protect her? To offer her the support she clearly needed, even if she didn't ask for it?
The thought of Lila depending on him—letting him in—was both intoxicating and terrifying. He wasn't sure he could be the one to fix her. And more than that, he wasn't sure he was ready to face the truth of what it would mean for him if he let himself get too close.
As the evening wore on and the office started to empty out, Ethan found himself still sitting there, alone with his thoughts. He could hear the distant hum of the city outside the windows, the constant buzz of life that seemed so far removed from the cold, sterile world inside the glass walls of Devereaux Enterprises.
And in that moment, Ethan realized that despite all his resolve, despite all his attempts to keep his distance, the real question was no longer if he was falling for Lila—but how long he could keep pretending that it wasn't happening.