The conference room at Carter & Associates felt charged with tension as Emma Carter sat across from Alex Kingston, the man who had quickly become both a necessary evil and a maddening distraction.
It had been three days since their forced partnership began, and Emma was already questioning how much patience she had left.
Alex was late. Again.
She tapped her pen against the table, staring at the clock. Three minutes past the hour. She hated tardiness almost as much as she hated Alex's insufferable smirk.
The door swung open, and in he walked, completely unbothered, exuding the kind of arrogance that made her blood boil.
"Glad you could join us," she said flatly.
Alex smirked, setting his coffee down. "Good morning to you too, Feisty."
Emma's jaw clenched. "Stop calling me that."
He leaned back in his chair, eyes gleaming with amusement. "You sure? It suits you."
She ignored him, sliding a stack of documents across the table. "I restructured our initial pitch. We need to focus on strategic growth, not reckless expansion."
Alex picked up the papers, scanning them with infuriating nonchalance. "Hmm."
Emma's eyes narrowed. "What?"
He looked up, the corner of his mouth twitching. "You really don't like compromise, do you?"
She exhaled sharply. "I don't like losing."
His smirk widened. "Neither do I."
Their eyes locked, the air between them crackling with an intensity neither of them acknowledged.
Finally, Alex set the papers down and sighed. "Fine. Let's go with your strategy. But if it backfires, you owe me dinner."
Emma blinked. "Excuse me?"
He shrugged. "You want me to play nice? That's my price."
She crossed her arms. "I don't mix business with personal."
His smirk turned wicked. "Then consider it a business negotiation."
Emma's pulse kicked up—whether in irritation or something else entirely, she refused to admit.
She leaned forward, holding his gaze. "If my strategy succeeds, you owe me dinner."
Alex chuckled. "Deal."
They shook on it, their hands lingering a second too long.
Neither of them noticed the way Rachel, standing in the doorway, raised an eyebrow before slipping away with a knowing smile.
The war between them had just taken an interesting turn.