Olivia grinned.“They turned out great though, right?You’re brilliant.Hiring you was the best decision I ever made.”
Azlyn snorted.“Pretty sure I had to fight to prove the format would even work.”
Olivia sighed and sank deeper into the leather chair across from her.“Ah, the good old days, right?”She shook her head wistfully.“Great memories.Now I can’t walk down the street without someone complimentingyourbrilliant, insightful questions.”
Azlyn laughed, her eyes sparkling.“And you love every second of it.”
Olivia shrugged, half-smiling.“Yeah.I do.”She leaned forward, bracing her hands on the desk.“But seriously, you should take a few days off.We’re not filming again for two weeks.Let your research team take over—they’re still trying to prove themselves, and this is the perfect chance for them to–”
A loud chime interrupted her.
One of Azlyn’s encrypted chat windows popped up, and a message flashed across the screen.
Azlyn stiffened.Her eyes narrowed.“No,” she whispered.
Olivia straightened.“What is it?”
Azlyn was already typing, her fingers flying across the keys as her eyes scanned the screen.
Olivia moved around the desk to try and get a look, but all she saw were strings of gibberish and code.She knew better than to ask for a translation—Azlyn’s online world was a maze of backdoor forums, burner accounts, and encrypted chatrooms.
Olivia’s strengths were charm and connections.Azlyn’s were...everything else.
“Just—” Azlyn mumbled, then broke off, clicking through screens faster than Olivia could follow.
Olivia sighed and stood.“I have no idea what you’re doing, but I’ve seen that look before.You’re lost to the world, aren’t you?”
Silence.
“There’s a purple gorilla climbing through the window,” Olivia said dryly.
Still nothing.
She rolled her eyes and turned away, shaking her head.Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be that focused onanything.Then again, her nails were chipped.Maybe she could squeeze in a quick manicure.
Chapter 6
Zayn ended one phone call and immediately started another.
He hated that there was no space in his schedule for personal business.What hereallywanted to do right now was call Azlyn and ask if she’d have dinner with him tonight.
He didn’t give a damn about the price of steel he was supposed to negotiate for the construction project.He didn’t care about calculating the crude oil exchange rate Singapore had requested.And he was definitely not interested in the latest report on the cost-of-living increase and how it would affect pensions and retirement funds for business owners in his country.
He just wanted a few uninterrupted hours with Azlyn.
He wanted to hear how she got into her line of work.What she hoped to accomplish in the next year.In five years.In ten.
Instead, he listened to a group of lawyers drone on about contract clauses while pulling up suggested language on one screen and scrolling through resumes and background checks for a vacant staff position on another.
His calendar for tomorrow was already packed with downtown meetings, but he found himself wondering if he could cancel one.Maybe two.
The thought stopped him cold.
He’dnevercanceled anything for a woman.Never evenconsideredskipping a meeting to spend time with someone outside of his official duties.
What was it about Azlyn?
Didn’t matter.
