The silence Victoria left behind didn't fade.
It lingered.
Heavy.
Charged.
Lila Evans was very aware that Adrian Blackwood was still watching her like she had just become the most interesting problem in his day.
She refused to fidget.
Refused to look away.
But internally?
Her pulse had not yet forgiven her.
Adrian moved first, strolling back toward his desk with the unhurried confidence of a man who had never once doubted the ground beneath his feet.
"Sit," he said again, almost absently.
Lila's brow twitched.
"I am sitting."
For a brief second—
Adrian's mouth almost curved.
Marcus, still hovering near the door, very wisely pretended to be deeply fascinated by his tablet.
Adrian leaned against the edge of his desk, arms loosely crossed.
"You handled that better than most."
Lila tilted her head slightly.
"Was there a correct way to be threatened in your office? I must've missed the handbook."
Marcus choked. Loudly.
Adrian's gaze flicked toward him.
Marcus immediately straightened.
"Apologies, sir. Allergies."
Lila bit the inside of her cheek.
Adrian, however, looked almost… amused.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
His attention returned to her fully.
"Victoria Hale doesn't make empty warnings."
So.
Hale.
That confirmed it.
Family money.
Old alliances.
Probably the type who had known Adrian for years.
Lila kept her voice even. "Good thing I don't make empty projections."
A pause.
Then Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly—not in anger, but in assessment.
"You're aware Westbridge is already politically sensitive."
"I am."
"You're aware competing interests are already involved."
"I assumed as much."
His gaze sharpened further.
"And you still walked into this building this morning."
Lila leaned back in her chair, meeting his eyes directly.
"I didn't come this far to get scared off by expensive perfume and vague threats."
Marcus made another strangled sound.
Adrian went very still.
Then—
Very slowly—
He smiled again.
This time, it didn't look harmless.
"Good," Adrian said quietly.
Lila's stomach tightened.
That did not sound reassuring.
He pushed off the desk and moved toward the window, looking out over the city for a long moment before speaking again.
"Tell me, Miss Evans," he said, voice calm but edged with something sharper underneath, "how committed are you to winning this contract?"
The question hung in the air like a loaded wire.
Lila didn't answer immediately.
Because something in his tone had shifted.
This wasn't just business anymore.
This was a test.
Carefully, she said, "Committed enough to be sitting in this office."
Adrian glanced back over his shoulder.
"Not the answer I asked for."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And not the kind of question that usually comes without strings."
That—right there—earned her a full turn.
Now she really had his attention.
Adrian studied her for a long moment.
Then he said the words that would change everything.
"Work directly under me for the Westbridge project."
Silence.
Total.
Complete.
Marcus's head snapped up.
Lila blinked once.
Slowly.
"…I'm sorry?"
Adrian's expression remained perfectly composed.
"You heard me."
Oh, she definitely had.
Which was exactly why her brain was currently doing backflips.
Work… directly… under him?
That was not standard procedure.
That was not even remotely normal.
Her voice cooled several degrees.
"Stratagem was under the impression this was a consulting partnership."
"It is."
"Then why," Lila said carefully, "does this sound like a relocation order?"
Marcus subtly took one step farther away from the blast zone.
Adrian walked back toward the desk, stopping just across from her chair.
"Because," he said evenly, "Westbridge is no longer a small-scale evaluation."
Lila's fingers tightened slightly around her tablet.
"What changed?"
His gaze held hers.
"Competition."
One word.
But it landed heavy.
Victoria.
Her family.
Their 'long-standing understanding.'
Pieces clicked together in Lila's mind with uncomfortable speed.
Adrian continued, voice calm but firm.
"If Stratagem wants this contract, I need your projections refined in real time. That requires proximity."
Translation:
He wanted control.
Oversight.
And possibly—
Leverage.
Lila's chin lifted a fraction.
"And if I say no?"
The air in the office went very, very quiet.
Marcus stopped breathing entirely.
Adrian didn't hesitate.
"Then I proceed with other firms."
Clean.
Cold.
Direct.
It wasn't a threat.
It was reality.
And they both knew it.
For the first time since entering Blackwood Tower…
Lila hesitated.
Just for a second.
Because this was the moment.
The fork in the road.
Walk away—
Or step deeper into dangerous territory.
Adrian watched her carefully.
Waiting.
Measuring.
Calculating.
But beneath it all…
Something else flickered in his eyes.
Something that looked suspiciously like anticipation.
Lila exhaled slowly.
Then she stood.
The movement was smooth.
Deliberate.
And brought her just a little closer to him.
"Let me clarify something, Mr. Blackwood."
His brow lifted slightly.
"Oh?"
Her eyes were sharp as glass.
"I don't take orders well."
For a brief second—
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"I've noticed."
She stepped closer.
Close enough that the tension between them snapped tight.
"But," Lila continued calmly, "I do recognize opportunity when I see it."
Adrian's gaze darkened.
"And?"
Her lips curved—slow, dangerous, and fully intentional.
"I'll consider your offer."
Not yes.
Not no.
Consider.
For the first time that morning…
Adrian Blackwood looked genuinely caught off guard.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But Lila saw it.
And something fiercely satisfied sparked in her chest.
"Good," Adrian said at last, voice quieter now.
But there was a new edge to it.
Something more personal.
"Because if you accept…"
He leaned slightly closer.
Too close.
"…things are going to get very complicated."
Lila held his gaze without flinching.
"I had a feeling they already were."
Across the city—
Victoria Hale stared at the file now open on her screen.
Lila Evans.
Her eyes hardened.
Then she picked up her phone.
"It's me," she said coldly when the call connected.
"Dig into her background."
A pause.
Her lips curved slightly.
"Everything."