Location: Conference Room, Umbra Operations HQ.Dallas, Texas, USA
Time: 11:35 am
Sounds casual, but his eyes betrayed the glint of pride behind every word.This wasn't just a walk, it was a carefully curated unveiling.
He led her out of the conference room, down a secure corridor lined with reinforced glass walls and biometric access panels. Behind the walls: armories, weapons vaults, live tactical drills, and the ever-buzzing operations center with maps glowing in red and blue.
"This right here is our latest tactical sim chamber," he gestured, stepping aside so she could take in the view. "Recently upgraded. Capable of replicating twenty extreme weather scenarios and four combat terrains, desert, urban, jungle, and snowfield."
His tone was composed, his pace steady, but his pride practically radiated from every syllable.Yes, he was a commander. Yes, he was a gambler.
But right now, he was just a man hoping to impress the one woman who had managed to rattle his entire centre of gravity.
Lyra glanced at his profile, a knowing smile ghosting her lips.She saw through the performance for exactly what it was, and she didn't mind.She never had an issue with a man showing off, so long as he had the substance to back it up.
She paused in front of the tactical simulation chamber, gazes following the soldiers moving through a snowstorm scenario inside. Dressed in white camo gear, they advanced with precision and calm, navigating simulated winds and frost.
Lyra smiled, clearly impressed, her voice as smooth as silk:"Very creative training methods, Commander."She turned her head slightly to glance at him, her tone curious but composed: "So, which terrain is your personal favourite?"
Arthur studied her profile for a second longer than necessary. He knew it was a simple question, but coming from her, it felt like something more. A test. A tease. Maybe even an invitation.
He let out a soft chuckle, voice low and rough at the edges:"Urban warfare."He paused, gaze dipping toward her face with a flicker of heat in his eyes.
"Cramped. Complex. Enclosed environments. Forces a man to rely on instinct, split-second judgment... and",his lips curved into a deliberate, slow smile,"willpower."
Then he turned and began walking again, as if the comment meant nothing at all. But Lyra raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly as she followed.
Oh, she heard him loud and clear.She nodded slightly, her gaze still fixed on the simulator. Her tone was composed, but laced with the faintest hint of teasing.
"I've read your file, Sir."Then she turned to face him, her lips curved in a knowing smile, voice smooth as ever: 'Urban warfare specialist,' 'Red Zone Dominator',those titles are quite legendary."
She paused, letting the moment hang before adding, just a touch of mischief in her eyes:"Especially when you go in alone. You do have a reputation for being... quite the daring player under pressure."
She didn't raise her voice or wink, but the phrase "going in alone" landed with a subtle impact, like a match flicked near an open flame.
The moment she said, "I've read your file," he nearly laughed. Oh? So we're done pretending now, darlin'?
He should've guessed. With her level of precision and poise, there was no way she was just a financial expert. Not only had she memorised the contracts, she'd clearly studied his combat history like it was her final thesis.
He flashed a grin, turning to glance at her with a look that was part amused, part… unapologetically intrigued.
"You've read my file? Sounds like... someone's been doing some serious home-works." His tone was casual, but he subtly slowed his pace so they were walking perfectly in step.
"Did you make any personal notes? Something like, 'This Commander exhibits reckless tendencies and approaches with caution'?"
Then he tilted his head slightly, smile deepening."Or was it more like,'lone wolves are dangerously attractive'?"
"Of course, Sir," she replied calmly, her gaze steady as ever."At WindCore, we take intelligence gathering and detail analysis very seriously.
Anyone we choose to partner with has gone through a full-spectrum evaluation,360 degrees, no blind spots."
She glanced at him, eyes twinkling ever so slightly, not flirtatious, but precise, like a scalpel.
"So, no offence," she continued, voice smooth as silk but carrying weight, "but from your battlefield records, tactical preferences, shooting scores and physical metrics… down to the cologne you wear, the whiskey you drink, and the type of women you're drawn to, I know all of them."
Arthur didn't respond right away.Instead, he tilted his head slightly, brows lifting, just enough to betray a flicker of something deeper: surprise, sharp and quick.
And then… a flash of something else entirely, disbelief? Amusement? A spark of thrill?
He felt it burn under his skin: the sting of being read like a book, dissected and catalogued like an enemy target.And the worst part?He didn't hate it.
He should've seen it coming, from the moment she opened her mouth, from her calculated calm, from the precision with which she'd steered the entire negotiation room like a chessboard.
This woman hadn't come unprepared. She had studied him.Thoroughly. He exhaled through his nose, and the corner of his mouth curled into a slow, crooked smile.
A gambler's smile.The kind he wore when he realized the other player across the table might actually be worth raising the stakes for.
"Goddamn, sweetheart…"His voice dropped an octave,gravelly, low, almost intimate."You did all that digging... and still got on a plane to Dallas by yourself?"He leaned in a touch, not enough to crowd her,but just enough for the air between them to tighten.
"You weren't afraid you might be walking into a trap? That the man you just described,your so-called 'bold solo player',might be a fucking lunatic?"
"A ghost with a body count, a headache even the Pentagon can't cure?" He paused, studying her face. Not accusing, just deeply, genuinely curious. Then his voice turned softer… but not safer:"Or was that the plan all along?"
"To find every crack in my armor… and fire straight through?"His gaze dipped to her lips for a split second before locking back onto her eyes."Tell me, Lyra, why'd you investigate me?"
He waited half a breath, then gave her a grin that was more challenging than a smile. "Was it for the deal? Or were you looking for… your type of man?"
He kept walking beside her, steps unhurried but deliberate, as if this was his kingdom, and he was letting her see every corner.
They passed the tactical planning room, its walls still glowing with digital overlays. Then the sand table, half-covered in terrain projections and marked-up coordinates.
The gym, where a few shirtless operators nodded as they passed. The shooting range, echoing faintly with distant gunfire.
And finally, the armory. Rows of locked steel cases. Glass panels revealing military-grade precision. It was the heart of Umbra.And the one place he brought no one unless he had a reason. She stopped in front of it, smiling, calm and unbothered.
Turning slightly to look at him, voice laced with that same gentle certainty that always made him feel like she'd already won the next five rounds of whatever game they were playing.
"To answer your earlier question…" She paused, just enough to let the silence tease him. "I came alone because I knew you were a true gentleman."
She tilted her head, eyes bright, lips curled in a playful curve."A man like you doesn't hurt a woman without a reason. Especially not one who just gave you nearly two million dollars in discount and rebates. I believe you'd take good care of me."
She had barely finished speaking when Arthur let out a low chuckle. It wasn't loud, but it was genuine, touched with amusement,a flicker of disbelief, and something softer, almost indulgent.
Arthur leaned back slightly against the steel door beside him, arms folded across his chest. His head shook once, slow, like he couldn't decide whether to be impressed or absolutely done with her , probably both.
"You know," he added, voice quieter now, almost amused, when you say things like that… you really do sound like you're giving orders." A pause. Then he looked at her fully, eyes warm with something deeper. "And the worst part is, I don't even feel like resisting."
Without another word, he turned and pressed his palm against the biometric panel behind him. A soft click. A low mechanical hiss.The heavy vault door began to unlock, slowly sliding open.