Wilson didn't remember leaving the boardroom. One moment he was standing at the head of the table, soaking in Evelyn's reluctant nod, Mia's quiet relief, Luna's unreadable smile the next he was back in his glass office, door shut behind him, city rain tapping the window like it wanted in.
He pressed his palms to his desk. For a second, the silence was almost blissful.
Then a voice broke it.
"You got lucky in there."
Mia stood just inside the door. She hadn't knocked. She didn't have to. She never did.
Her arms were folded across her chest, blazer still sharp, eyes locked on him like he was another quarterly report to pick apart.
Wilson forced a smirk. "Luck? I thought I dazzled them."
In her mind, her words ran sharper.
Dazzle them all you want. Doesn't work on me. Not forever.
She took a step closer. He caught the faint trace of her perfume again subtle, clean, a note of something he could never quite name.
"Next time, don't forget your pitch notes at whatever café you crawl out of," she said. "You keep gambling on charm. One day it won't save you."
In her head, the truth slipped out, soft but pointed.
One day you'll trip too far and I won't be there to catch you.
He almost told her then. About the noise. About the thoughts he couldn't shut out. About how her mind was the loudest in the room but somehow the one he wanted to listen to anyway.
But he didn't. He couldn't.
Instead, he shrugged. "Admit it you love saving me."
She didn't blink. "I love my job. You just happen to come with it."
Her mind whispered a different confession.
God, stop looking at me like that. It makes it worse.
He swallowed. His throat felt dry.
Mia moved closer, until she was standing on the other side of his desk, too close, close enough that if he reached forward he could touch her sleeve, feel how real she was.
"What's gotten into you lately?" she asked. "You've been off since Monday."
Wilson leaned back against the desk, casual on the outside, wrecked inside.
"You worried about me, Hamilton?"
She didn't smile. She didn't have to. He could hear it in her mind anyway.
Maybe. Idiot.
He almost laughed. Almost. But before he could say another word, there was a soft knock on the glass wall behind Mia.
Luna stood there, framed by the hallway light. She didn't wait for an invitation either she slipped inside, gaze flicking between Wilson and Mia like she'd walked into something she wanted to break.
"Sorry," Luna said sweetly. "Am I interrupting?"
Her thoughts curled around Wilson like smoke.
So this is what she's guarding. Cute. Let's see how long that lasts.
Mia stepped back so fast her heel bumped the desk. Wilson caught her glance the wall snapping back up behind her eyes.
"Nothing to interrupt," Mia said. Her voice was flat. "We're done here."
She shot Wilson one last look no smile, no hint, but her mind buzzed.
Pull yourself together, Carter.
Then she was gone, heels clicking down the hall, spine straight, secrets locked away.
Luna shut the door behind her, alone with him now. She took her time crossing the room, hips swaying slightly, smile a little too soft.
"Rough day, Wilson?" she asked.
Her mind was louder than her voice.
Time to play.
Wilson leaned back in his chair, mind screaming, mouth curved in a grin he didn't feel at all.
He was in trouble. Big trouble. And he'd never wanted to hear more.