The unspoken rules of the glass office were suffocating: never make eye contact over a personal matter, never stay past 9 PM unless absolutely necessary, and never, ever, mention the word 'Ours' unless it was filed inside a folder.
But by Friday, the rules were fraying. After the charged exchange on Thursday night, the silence was heavier, the tension less professional and more personal. Lila found herself subconsciously mirroring Ethan's posture, anticipating his next demand, and struggling to stop her gaze from drifting to the precise spot on his forearm where his shirt sleeves were rolled.
The fragile tension broke, not from an argument, but from an outside force.
At 1:00 PM, a sharp rap on the glass wall interrupted their grim focus. Ethan's Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Vance—a man whose natural state was quiet panic—entered the office, his suit jacket already showing sweat.
"Mr. Reed, Ms. Torres, I apologize for the interruption, but we have a situation. Mr. Julian Vance is here for an unscheduled meeting. He says it's regarding the launch of Project Chimera."
Lila's pen froze mid-sentence. Julian Vance. Not a relative of the COO, but the CEO of Vanguard Media—Ethan's most aggressive competitor and, worse, a man who had briefly and disastrously courted Lila a year after she left town. He was sleek, charming, and ruthless, known for buying up struggling ideas and burying his rivals.
"Unscheduled is unacceptable," Ethan stated, his voice flat with immediate authority. "Tell him I'm busy."
"He is in the main lobby, sir, and he's threatening a press release regarding 'unethical procurement practices' related to the Chimera contracts," Vance stammered. "He claims he had a superior bid, and he knows the history of the asset."
Lila knew exactly what Julian meant. Vanguard Media had been the company that Ethan had quietly sold their old shared IP (Intellectual Property) to three years ago, moments before Lila walked out. Julian knew the technical details of their failure, and more importantly, he knew the intimate details of their personal split. He was here to leverage both.
Ethan stood up, his gaze locking onto Lila's. "He's trying to exploit the old wound, Torres. He wants to plant doubt in the board's mind about the stability of the core team."
Lila, however, was already adjusting her jacket. "Let him come up," she instructed, her voice calm. "We need to deal with this here. If we hide, it confirms his suspicion that this arrangement is fragile."
Ethan hesitated, assessing her resolve, then nodded sharply. "Fine. Vance, escort Mr. Vance up immediately. And get security to clear the lobby."
The Confrontation
Julian Vance, impeccably dressed and radiating false concern, entered the office with the confidence of a predator. He ignored Ethan and walked straight to Lila's desk.
"Lila, darling. You look exactly the same—still working too hard. I heard about the rush job. Project Chimera is... ambitious," he said, the word dripping with condescension. "Especially given the asset's turbulent history."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper intended only for her. "I still have the original development package we bought from Reed Global three years ago. I know precisely why you two parted ways over the future of this tech. And I know your current arrangement is built on a foundation of professional bad blood and deeply unprofessional history."
"Get out, Julian," Ethan cut in, stepping forward, his stance immediately aggressive.
Julian ignored him again, addressing Lila. "I'm offering you an out, Lila. Come to Vanguard. You can run your own division, no oversight, no impossible deadlines, and certainly no need to relive old emotional trauma. You're too good to be trapped in your ex-fiancé's office as his subordinate."
Lila felt the blood drain from her face. Ex-fiancé. Julian had just detonated the ultimate secret: the one detail neither she nor Ethan had breathed in the professional world. The board knew she was a former partner; they didn't know she was a former fiancée who had abandoned him at the peak of his success.
Before Lila could assemble her professional mask, Ethan did the unexpected. He walked over to Lila's side, placing one hand possessively on the back of her chair and resting the other lightly, deliberately, on her shoulder. It was a gesture of ownership, of alliance, of undeniable, fierce intimacy.
"Mr. Vance," Ethan said, his voice dangerously low, radiating authority that Julian couldn't match. "You have your facts wrong, as usual. Ms. Torres is not my subordinate. She is my partner on this campaign. Her firm is contracted because her vision is irreplaceable, and her commitment is absolute."
He squeezed her shoulder, the pressure both supportive and confining. Lila stared up at him, shocked by the force of his defense and the public redefinition of their relationship.
"As for our personal history," Ethan continued, his gaze unwavering, "that is private. But let me clarify one thing for you. I was the one who let her go three years ago, a mistake I will not repeat. Lila Torres is not available for an out. She is staying, and you will deal with both of us."
He was using her pain and her proximity to build an impenetrable professional wall. Julian's smile finally slipped, replaced by genuine frustration. He realized he hadn't created chaos; he had merely accelerated their forced partnership.
"Understood," Julian sneered, backing toward the door. "But I look forward to seeing the inevitable casualty list."
As the door clicked shut, Lila shrugged off Ethan's hand, feeling the heat of his touch linger on her shoulder.
"You had no right to do that," she hissed, gathering her furious composure. "Calling me your 'partner' and dragging our engagement into a professional dispute. You just complicated everything."
Ethan leaned down, his eyes dark with residual battle intensity. "No, I simplified it. He was trying to break us apart again. I just proved we are a single, professional unit. For the duration of this campaign, Lila, we are an alliance. And sometimes, the only way to survive the war is to share a foxhole."