Ethan stared at her across the boardroom table, trying to suppress a smirk. Lena had the audacity to question his strategic decisions during a high-stakes investor meeting. Every word she said dripped with intelligence and subtle defiance.
And it irritated him. Delightfully.
"You're good," he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for his assistant to raise an eyebrow.
Lena's gaze flicked to him, and for a heartbeat, he saw surprise—before she masked it with a smirk.
"Good or dangerous?" she asked quietly, leaning slightly forward, as if daring him to answer.
Both, he thought. Always both.
By the end of the meeting, he'd laid down a challenge. Not in words, but in action. Every deal, every interaction would test her limits—and his patience. He wanted to see how far she'd go. And she wanted to see if he would break first.
The game had begun.