Chapter 3: Lines are Crossed

Sebastian could barely focus. His mind kept replaying the scene from earlier, Maya standing in his office with that look in her eyes, like she knew something he didn't. There was something in her voice when she spoke—something dangerously persuasive.

"You will trust me. Eventually."

The words echoed in his mind, a subtle threat wrapped in a promise. She was confident, too confident, and it made him uneasy. He was used to being the one in control, the one people trusted because of his strength, his power, but Maya... she played the game differently. She didn't need to control the room to own it. She simply was. And it irritated him more than it should have.

He had to figure her out. That's what it came down to. She wasn't just some business partner or employee—she was an enigma. And enigmas were dangerous.

---

Maya left his office that evening with a plan forming in her mind. Every step, every word she said had been calculated, but even she had to admit—she felt the pull. It wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't supposed to be about attraction. This wasn't about chemistry. It was supposed to be about revenge, about taking everything his family had taken from hers.

But as she walked down the gleaming hallways of St. Louis Enterprises, she couldn't ignore the quiet tug in her chest. Sebastian was different. Not just in the way he looked—though that was undeniably a distraction—but in the way he carried himself. He had power in a way that she couldn't even begin to replicate. His cold demeanor didn't mask his intelligence—it sharpened it. And she knew it was only a matter of time before he realized just how dangerous she could be.

But tonight? Tonight she would keep playing the game.

She had to remind herself of the bigger picture—why she was here. Her father's ruined company. Her family's shattered reputation. Sebastian's father, Harry St. Louis, was the architect of their destruction. Sebastian might have inherited the empire, but Maya knew better than to believe that meant he would inherit the same ruthless ambition. He had to be pushed, prodded, manipulated into the role she needed him to play.

She had to keep her heart out of this. She couldn't afford to feel anything for him.

---

It had been three days since their conversation. Maya had avoided him in the office, kept her interactions strictly professional. She knew what he wanted—control. And she had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she was no pawn in his game.

But that morning, a text arrived. His name flashed across her phone screen, and her pulse quickened despite herself.

"I want to meet. Now."

---

Maya arrived at Sebastian's office with a mixture of tension and curiosity swirling in her chest. She had expected a cold, calculated conversation, but there was something different about the way he'd called for her.

The door opened before she had a chance to knock. Sebastian stood there, his posture straight and deliberate, his gaze intense. He didn't smile, didn't offer the usual pleasantries. He simply gestured for her to enter.

"You've been avoiding me," he said as she stepped inside, his voice rough, almost accusing. There was a weight behind the words, a layer of frustration she couldn't quite place.

"I've been busy," she replied smoothly, keeping her expression neutral. "You know, running the company."

His lips twisted into a smirk. "Don't play games with me, Maya. I know exactly what you're doing."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to keep her own irritation in check. "And what exactly is that?"

"You're trying to stay out of my reach," he said, stepping closer to her. "You think you can just keep your distance, but I can see right through you."

Maya didn't back down, her eyes locking onto his with a quiet challenge. "And what exactly do you see?"

Sebastian's eyes darkened, and for a split second, Maya saw something else in them—something raw. Desire? Anger? It was hard to tell.

"I see someone who's playing a dangerous game," he said, his voice low. "But I'm not sure you even know the rules."

She stood her ground, refusing to let the moment shift in his favor. "I'm not the one who's playing games. You're the one who doesn't even understand the stakes."

The tension between them crackled, thick and suffocating.

"You think you can take down my family?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, but there was a fury in it that she couldn't ignore.

"I think you have no idea what your father did to mine," she shot back. Her heart was pounding now, the weight of her own history pressing down on her chest.

His eyes flared with something—was it recognition? A flicker of realization?

"The Sinclair family," he murmured, stepping back slightly, his face unreadable now.

"That's right," Maya said, crossing her arms, her voice hard. "The same Sinclair family your father ruined. My father built an empire, and your father shattered it. You think I'm here for business? No, Sebastian. I'm here for revenge."

There it was—finally, the truth between them. The thing she had been hiding behind all this time.

Sebastian didn't respond right away. He just stared at her, his mind clearly working over what she'd said. The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.

Then, his lips curved into a small, knowing smile.

"Well, then," he said, his voice dark, "it seems we both have something to lose, don't we?"

---

Maya's heart skipped a beat. This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This wasn't just about the destruction of a family. This was about them—two people caught in a game that neither could fully control.

The next morning, Sebastian was waiting for her outside her office. His posture was relaxed, his usual cold demeanor replaced by something softer, more dangerous. He'd invited her to breakfast.

It was a trap, Maya knew that.

But she couldn't help herself. Something inside her tugged at her, drawing her closer to him even as every instinct told her to turn away. The line between power and obsession was growing thinner.

And she wasn't sure she wanted to cross it.

But then again, maybe she had already.