Men always looked.
She wasn’t built to be ignored. Curves, confidence, presence: those were things she wore without apology.
But Alex didn’t just look. He assessed. Sorted. Filed away.
“Arden.” Her name slipped off his tongue like a secret claimed. “Gideon’s latest…fascination.”
He let the word linger. A smirk. A trap, gift-wrapped in velvet.
“What brought someone like you to a place like this? Luck? Wrong turn? Or are you playing the long game?”
Her response came as coolly as the liquor she measured. “The job listing seemed straightforward enough.”
Amusement flickered, sharp and fleeting. “Clever. I like that.”
He leaned in, enough for it to register. His voice dropped. “But clever doesn’t always keep you safe.”
His eyes swept over her—slow, thorough. Not admiration. Not even desire. Calculation.
“Gideon has a thing for rare talent,” he mused, his smirk curling wider. “You must be… exceptional.”
Bait.
She didn’t bite.
“Maybe not, Alex,” she said, meeting his gaze head-on. “But it’s gotten me this far.”
Alex tilted his head, studying her like a predator watching something that hadn’t noticed it was cornered. He let the silence breathe, stretching the moment until it nearly snapped.
Then, voice low, rehearsed: “How does it feel… being the most interesting person in the room?”
A slow, thoughtful smile curved her lips. “I wouldn’t know. You’ve been here the whole time.”
His laugh came quick and tight, laced with something that didn’t reach his eyes. And then they darkened.
“You’ve got spirit.” His tone sound almost admiring. Almost. “But we'll see how long that will last.”
Before she could respond, another voice cut in. Cool. Controlled. Precise.
“Alex.”
Cate Blackwell didn’t glide. She cut.
All elegance. All angles. All steel in silk. Her pale pink sheath dress said perfection.
Her voice said war. She didn’t look at Arden. Didn’t need to. “Leave her alone.” Low. Unyielding. Command masked as courtesy.
Alex didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. He turned, slowly, as if indulging her.
“Only making conversation, darling,” he said, the smirk never faltering. “You know how I enjoy meeting new people.”
Cate’s jaw ticked just barely, but enough to shift the air.
“And you know how I enjoy reminding you where to stop.”
A pause. Not cold. Not warm.
Familiar. Dangerous.
