"How's my best secretary boy?" a voice boomed beside me as a hand landed on my shoulder.

I glanced left and saw Tessa smirking. "Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I'm good," she replied, leaning her elbow against my desk. "You went to see Carrie again yesterday, right?"

"Yep," I said. "Why?"

"You going to see her tonight too?"

"Probably," I said. "Why, jealous?"

"Kim talked to me yesterday," Tessa said quietly. "When you were gone. She said she wants to punish Carrie too, the same way you are."

"Punish?" I asked.

"You remember that strap-on you bought?" Tessa continued. "She wants to use it on her."

"Kim? Our Kim?" I asked. "Damn. I didn't know she was like that."

"Apparently she hates Carrie's guts," Tessa shrugged. "And she wouldn't mind rearranging them either."

"I think that might be too much for her," I said. "I'm not sure she'd actually be okay with it."

"Don't hog all the fun, magic fingers," Tessa said as she pushed herself off my desk. "Just talk to her."

"I'll think about it," I replied, watching her walk toward the elevators.

She glanced back, waved, and stepped inside. I leaned back in my chair, clasped my hands behind my head, and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Kim wanting in sounded hot on paper, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she said it out of anger and didn't actually mean it.

After a few seconds, I pulled my phone out and dialed Kim. She picked up after the second ring, and it sounded like she was outside.

"Hey, handsome," she said.

"Hey," I replied. "You outside?"

"Yeah. With Tessa… well, she's not here, but she'll be," Kim said. "She was going to swing by you. Did she?"

"Oh yeah, she did," I said. "And she told me some things you supposedly wanted to do."

"Oh my god," Kim muttered. "I was drunk, Evan. Please don't take that seriously."

"So it was just drunk talk?" I asked.

"It was," she said quickly. "Forget it. I told her to keep her mouth shut this morning, and of course she didn't. If I did that to her, she'd never let it go."

"That's Tessa," I said.

"She's coming outside now," Kim added. "I'll talk some sense into her. Bye, Evan."

"Yeah. Bye."

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and leaned into my chair again, exhaling slowly.

The elevator doors slid open, and Anotta stepped out.

She didn't slow down. She walked straight toward Nala's office, heels clicking softly against the floor. As she passed my desk, our eyes met.

My body tensed before I even realized it. Shoulders stiff, spine straight, like some instinct kicking in. Anotta didn't smile or acknowledge it beyond that brief glance. She kept walking, entered Nala's office, and closed the glass door behind her.

I exhaled slowly.

Anotta was dangerous. Not in an obvious way—no raised voice, no intimidation tactics. Just… power. Connections. The kind of woman who didn't need to threaten anyone to get what she wanted. I needed to be careful around her.

"Welp," I muttered. "Smoke break."

I pushed myself up and headed down the hallway. At the end was the coffee room. A few people were already there, waiting in line, grabbing cups, talking quietly. The machine hummed as it poured coffee for the guy in front of me.

When it was my turn, I poured myself a black coffee and headed for the door that led outside.

Outside was a narrow platform attached to the building, with a concrete floor and metal railings. There was barely enough room for a handful of people to stand without crowding each other. A couple of ashtrays were bolted near the railing, and the lingering cigarette smell suggested the place saw plenty of use.

A few coworkers were already there, smoking, leaning on the railing, staring out at the city.

I pulled a cigarette from my pack, lit it, and took a slow sip of my coffee. Bitter, hot, grounding. I exhaled smoke and looked out over the city—gray buildings, distant lights, the sky heavy and dull.

Then I glanced back inside.

Through the glass, I saw Amelia at the coffee machine. She hadn't noticed me yet. Her posture was straight, expression serious, eyes sharp behind her glasses like always.

I lifted my hand and waved.

She didn't react at first. Then she turned her head slightly, her gaze drifting toward the window, and she saw me. She gave a small nod.

Coffee in hand, she stepped outside.

"Hey," I said. "Want a smoke?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Eh… sure."

I handed her one and leaned in to light it. She took a careful drag and exhaled slowly, like she wasn't entirely used to it.

We stood there side by side, smoking.

"When's your break?" I asked.

"In a few hours," she replied. "Are we going to drive around the parking lot again?"

"Yep," I said. "Only if you want to."

"Sure," she said. "I just hope I won't hit a car. That'd… suck."

"You'll do fine," I said. "You did fine before."

"Yeah…" She cleared her throat. Then her eyes widened slightly. "Hey. You saw Anotta, right?"

"Yep," I said. "She went into Nala's office."

"She's… a weird one," Amelia said. "I don't get good vibes from her."

"Yeah," I said, shrugging. "But she's interested in the project. We kind of have to tolerate her."

"I heard there was a meeting," she said. "And you were there too. What did they talk about?"

"I honestly have no idea," I said. "They just talked and talked. I felt like a kid sitting at the adult table. Terms, numbers, stuff way above my head."

"I wonder why you were called in," Amelia said.

"I don't know," I said. "Apparently Anotta wanted me there."

"I'd count myself lucky if I were you," she said. "That means Anotta trusts you."

"You just told me she gives you bad vibes," I chuckled, taking another drag. "I don't know if I'd call that lucky."

Her lips curled, just barely, into the faintest smirk. "Yeah," she said. "Guess you're right."

Huh. I still had that quest, didn't I? Inviting Amelia to the penthouse.

The thought lingered in the back of my mind as I stared out at the city, cigarette burning slowly between my fingers. Amelia and I weren't close. We talked, sure, but there was a clear distance she kept with everyone. Inviting her over could easily be misunderstood. She might think I was trying to push things somewhere personal, and while that wouldn't be entirely wrong, it wasn't something I wanted to rush or force. The last thing I wanted was to creep her out.

I decided to sit on it. The quest wasn't going anywhere. I could afford to wait.

We stayed quiet for a while after that, just drinking our coffee and smoking. People rotated in and out of the balcony. Some faces I recognized, others I didn't. At one point it got crowded enough that we had to stand a little closer to the railing. Still, it was tolerable. The air was cool, and at least the weather wasn't as bad as the forecaster had threatened that morning.

"I should go," Amelia said eventually. "Unlike you, Mr. Marlowe, I don't know my boss well enough to slack during work hours."

I chuckled. "Yeah, fair enough."

She took one last drag, stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, and adjusted her glasses. "Thanks for the talk, Evan. I'll talk to you later."

"Mm." I nodded. "See you in a few hours."

She gave a small wave and headed back inside.

I took another drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs, then exhaled slowly.

"Excuse me."

I glanced back. A man standing a few steps away cleared his throat and gave me a polite nod. He looked mid-thirties, casual office wear, holding a coffee cup like he'd forgotten about it.

I nodded back. "Yeah?"

"Sorry to bother you," he said. "I just… I don't think I've ever seen Amelia talk with anyone like that before."

I blinked. "Like what?"

"Casual," he said, shrugging. "Actually standing around and talking. I'm Marco, by the way."

"Evan," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." He hesitated, then added, "She's always been kind of… withdrawn."

"That so?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've been here about three years now," Marco said. "When she first joined, we talked a few times. Work stuff. She was polite, sharp, but distant. Never stayed longer than necessary. After a while, she just stopped engaging unless she had to."

"I didn't know that," I said honestly.

He nodded. "Most people don't. She keeps to herself. Doesn't gossip, doesn't join lunches. Doesn't even complain, which honestly makes her more intimidating than the rest of us."

I snorted softly. "Yeah, I can see that."

"She's not rude," Marco added. "Just… closed off. Seeing her out here, laughing a bit? That was new."

I shrugged. "Guess I caught her on a good day."

"Maybe," he said with a small smile. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Well, I should get back. Nice talking to you, Evan."

"You too," I said.

He nodded once more and headed inside.

I finished my cigarette, crushed it out, and took the last sip of my now-cold coffee. I set the cup in the used-glass area inside the coffee room and walked back into the hallway.

The office felt quieter than before. The hum of work, keyboards clacking, muted conversations. I made my way back to my desk and sat down, rolling my shoulders to loosen the tension I hadn't realized I was holding.

When I glanced to my right, Anotta was still in Nala's office. The glass door was shut, and the two of them were deep in conversation. I couldn't hear anything, but the body language alone was enough. Focused. Serious. Calculated.

I shook my head and exhaled.

Whatever that meeting was about, I had a feeling it wasn't something small.

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