"I… hired you to renovate this building… not to turn it into some kind of game."
> "I graduated in architecture. Every design here follows the proper principles and proportions. You're just an engineer… so please, don't overstep."
My voice cut through the air—sharp, precise, like the tip of the pen jabbing into the blueprint in my hand.
He paused for a moment, eyes locked onto mine without a flicker of hesitation, then spoke in a tone so calm it made my nerves fray more than the sound of concrete being drilled.
> "If your lines were really right, the structure wouldn't have tilted starting from the first floor… Ms. Architect."
That cold tone, laced with "Ms. Architect," was clearly meant to get under my skin.
Did he really think I would let him humiliate me here in front of the team?
> "It tilted because the old frame sank under the weight of the reinforced steel when you had the columns changed! I already fixed it!"
> "And your new design… can it handle shear forces in the stairwell?"
He shot back, tossing a folder onto the old wooden table with a loud thud.
His eyes were sharp and commanding, like a military general—not like an engineer who should be standing beside me on this project.
I pressed my lips together, forcing myself not to shout across the construction site.
I knew he was the co-client, and the front-facing owner of the construction company…
But the truth behind him?
> "Lucas Ray Calvello."
The man rumored to have built secret tunnels for old Sicilian mafias,
The man who never let any female architect raise her voice against him.
And here I was.
Anjali Vechanan.
A woman who would never back down,
Especially not to a man who believed that "beauty is nothing compared to steel."
> "Excuse me, Engineer Lucas," I said calmly,
"But since you hired me to design, not to teach engineering… please don't override my lines with commands that don't come from my vision."
He smiled—for the first time in over an hour—but it wasn't a kind smile.
It was the kind of smile that made it clear: the game had just begun.
And a man like him… didn't just play the game well.
He built the playing field.