A slow, genuine gleam lit Adrian’s eyes. He leaned in a fraction of an inch, his voice dropping into an intimate cadence that made the hairs on the back of Lena’s neck stand at full attention. “You come dangerously well-recommended, Lena. But competence like that usually comes with a catch. What’s yours?”
“I don’t have catches, Mr. Vale. Only high standards.”
“Is that so?” His gaze flickered down to her lips, slow and deliberate, before rising back to lock with hers. The air grew impossibly tight, charged with an undeniable, simmering current of heat that felt far more intoxicating than workplace decorum allowed. “And what happens when my standards conflict with yours?”
“Then we negotiate,” Lena said, leaning forward just enough to match his proximity, refusing to yield an inch of ground. “And I’m told I drive a very hard bargain.”
“I look forward to finding out,” he murmured, his eyes lingering on hers with a heat that made her pulse drum in her throat.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The professional boundary between them hung like a sheet of fragile glass, taut and glittering with promise.
