78

Zara's POV

I strode into the conference room, my head high, a smooth mask of indifference firmly in place. It was a fragile dance this partnership with Kai required; precision and constant vigilance not to slip up at one wrong move. He, too, was studying me closely, his eyes digging for chinks in my armor.

I would give him none.

I settled across from Kai, the echo of Michael's warning still playing out in my head. "Be careful, Zara," he'd said. "Kai isn't the same man you left behind. He's dangerous now, unpredictable."

He wasn't wrong. Every time we entered a room together, tension seemed to hum in the undercurrents. Kai was unrelenting; his intentions as murky as they were unnerving.

But I wasn't that woman anymore. I knew how to play the hard games, and I would win.

"Ready to begin?" I asked, light, professional.

Kai leaned back in his chair, his gaze never leaving mine. "Always."