“Final award goes to BlackSphere Technologies,” he said, glancing up from his notes. “They came in with the most competitive technical score, solid financials, and honestly, the only company that proposed a fully automated system for post-construction monitoring. Their package includes deep-settlement gauges, vibrating-wire piezometers, in-place inclinometers, and real-time alerts. Very tight spec.”
I froze.
My spine locked up. My jaw clenched so hard I felt it in my molars.
BlackSphere.
Calla’s company. She was the CEO. I knew that everyone in Winston Hills did. BlackSphere was known for its cutting-edge data security, automation systems, and enterprise platforms, primarily serving finance andprivate-sector tech firms, as well as smart homes, secure communications, and cloud-based AI diagnostics.
But I didn’t know they’d stepped into civil engineering instrumentation.
No one informed me, and it’s clear no one thought to.
Amiyah shifted in her seat beside me, flipping the binder to the next tab. “Didn’t expect to see BlackSphere on this bid,” she murmured, just low enough for only me to hear. “Thought they stuck to corporate tech.”
“They did,” I said before I could stop myself. My voice was tight. “Or… they used to.”
I kept my eyes on the screen, but my pulse thudded behind my ears.
Images of last night tangled with the one in front of me now, graphs and schematics, data hubs and antenna placements, and her. Bent over me. Inside me. Pulling sounds from my throat that I didn’t know I could make.
And now she was about to install pressure sensors beneath my goddamn bridge.
DeShawn kept talking, oblivious. “They’ll be responsible for pre- and post-construction monitoring, settlement tracking, groundwater shifts, and lateral earth movement. Everything feeds into a cloud-based dashboard with hourly updates. We’ll tie it into our control system for continuous data collection through the 12-month stabilization period.”
“Is there a sub-consultant?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. “They have geotechnical oversight?”
DeShawn nodded. “Yep. They’re partnering with Ascent Geo, Dr. Howard’s firm. She signed off on the install design and the calibration specs. Apparently, BlackSphere’s software is entirely self-tuning. Even proposed somepredictive algorithms for displacement tolerance thresholds.”
I stared at the screen, but I wasn’t seeing numbers.
I was seeing her.
Calla.
In heels and gloves. Holding a flogger in one hand and my sanity in the other.
I remembered the way she’d sat me down after and fed me water from a glass like I was precious. I remembered the slight smile on her lips when she told me she was proud. When she called me her good boy and stroked her fingers through my curls like I was something worth keeping.
And now she was back in my world.
Professional. Present. Quiet power wrapped in black silk and code.
And I had no idea how to process that.
Amiyah leaned toward me again, her voice warm and curious. “Something wrong with the award?”
I shook my head once. “No. Just surprised.”
I could feel her eyes on me, studying me. Like she knew I was saying only half the truth.
But I couldn’t tell her the other half.
That the woman who just won the contract for one of the most critical parts of my billion-dollar project had her strap inside me less than 24 hours ago.
That she held me down and whispered my name while I shattered for her, and the last time I saw her, I was naked, shaking, and calling her Mistress.
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “Make a note to schedule a coordination meeting with BlackSphere and Ascent Geo next week,” I said to Amiyah, pulling myselfback into the room. “I want full integration with our existing monitoring platforms before any drilling starts.”
