The day Selene Blackwood decided to wear her sharpest heels was the day a stranger sat in her chair.
She didn't mean a chair. She meant her chair. The one behind the frosted glass desk that overlooked all of Midtown. The one carved from Italian marble with sleek brass inlays that said, I do not have time for your feelings.
The intruder? He was sipping her espresso like he bought it, legs crossed, perfectly relaxed—like he was on vacation in the Maldives instead of occupying the seat of Blackwood Global's COO.
Selene's stilettos echoed across the floor as she entered.
He didn't flinch.
Strike one.
"You're in my chair," she said calmly, her voice cool and clipped like winter air.
He looked up and smiled, the kind of smile that could probably sell toothpaste—or start wars.
"Technically," he said, swirling the coffee in her company-issued mug, "it's my office now. The board approved the transition this morning."
Selene blinked once. Twice.
Ah. So this was Julian Cross—the man the board had blindsided her with. The "miracle" CEO with three major turnarounds under his designer belt. The man she had read about, researched, and sworn to annihilate the moment he stepped foot in her territory.
She just hadn't expected him to be handsome. Or smug.
Or currently touching her mug.
"I wasn't aware you made personnel changes by theft," she replied, setting her Hermès bag on the desk beside his elbow. Deliberately.
"Oh, I don't steal," he said, standing and offering his hand. "I charm. Julian Cross."
She didn't take his hand. She gave him a stare that could curdle milk.
"Selene Blackwood. Still COO. Still with a functioning spine."
He chuckled. "Oh, I like you."
"I can't say the same. But give it time."
He whistled under his breath. "So this is how the infamous Ice Queen greets her new boss?"
Selene's jaw tightened.
"I don't greet my bosses. I outlast them."
---
20 Minutes Later – The Emergency Board Meeting
Julian sat at the head of the table like he'd been born in it. Selene sat to his right, flipping through her tablet with surgical calm while mentally listing ways to sabotage his Wi-Fi.
The board was full of soft smiles and nods, praising Julian's 'fresh leadership' and 'charismatic strategy.'
Selene spoke only once.
"If you've brought him in to tame me," she said dryly, "you've overpaid."
Julian leaned in, voice just for her. "What if I came to partner with you instead?"
She didn't blink. "Then you're more naive than I thought."
He leaned closer, grin widening. "Or maybe I like a challenge."
---
Later That Night – Her Apartment
Selene stared at the whiskey glass in her hand, her mind looping back to Julian's audacity.
He was smooth. Too smooth. And too damn charming for a man in a corporate viper pit.
But it wasn't just the smile.
It was the way he'd looked at her.
Not like he was trying to win her over.
But like he dared her to try him.
She hated that her heartbeat had skipped.
Absolutely hated it.