Chapter 19: Alex

It was past noon, and my focus should have been unwavering, dissecting reports and strategies for the upcoming takeover – well, the hopeful upcoming takeover, anyway. But every few minutes, Ellie's image flickered across my mind, an unscheduled interruption that I couldn’t mute.

I leaned back in my chair, a leather-bound throne in a kingdom of numbers and ambition, wrestling with the implications of my own desires. It was a tactical risk, working with Ellie so intimately. She wasn't just any employee; she was the scion of the company, a smart, sassy enigma wrapped in professionalism. She was also magnetic, a fact I was professionally obliged to ignore but biologically programmed to recognize.