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00:00I stared at the termination letter in my trembling hands,
00:03the ink smudged from the rain that had started falling the moment I stepped out of Voss Technologies.
00:08My job as a junior analyst, the anchor of my new life in New York City,
00:13had been severed in a sterile boardroom meeting.
00:15At twenty-eight, I had poured everything into this role,
00:19leaving behind the suffocating quiet of my Vermont hometown where rules governed every breath.
00:23Church every Sunday. No unchaperoned dates.
00:27A vow of purity that became my shield after a high school boyfriend spread lies about our innocent kisses.
00:33That betrayal taught me trust was fragile.
00:36So I built my life on independence, guarding my heart as fiercely as my body.
00:40Sex was a distant promise, reserved for a bond I could believe in, one I hadn't yet found.
00:47Moving to the city was my rebellion, my proof I could survive without anyone's help.
00:52Now, with one letter, that dream was unraveling.
00:55The city streets blurred as rain soaked my thin coat.
00:59I had no umbrella. It was still in my desk drawer, now someone else's.
01:05My savings wouldn't cover next week's rent, and my shared apartment with two strangers felt like a cage.
01:11I couldn't call my parents. They'd only lecture me on abandoning their world for this one.
01:16Panic clawed at my chest as I ducked into a coffee shop to escape the downpour,
01:20my sneakers squeaking on the tile.
01:21The barista glanced at me with pity, and I hated it.
01:25I ordered a black coffee I couldn't afford and sat by the window.
01:28The letter crumpled in my pocket, my mind racing with what-ifs.
01:32Eviction.
01:33Failure.
01:35Returning to Vermont.
01:36Defeated.
01:38That's when I saw him.
01:39He stood outside under the awning, his tailored navy suit untouched by the rain,
01:44speaking into a phone with a voice that cut through the storm, low, controlled, impatient.
01:50He was older, maybe early forties, with sharp cheekbones and dark hair flecked with silver at the temples.
01:56His presence commanded the space, though he seemed oblivious to the pedestrians scurrying around him.
02:01I didn't know why I kept staring.
02:04Maybe it was the way his jaw tightened or how his free hand flexed as if restraining something deeper.
02:09Then his eyes met mine through the glass.
02:12Gray, piercing, unreadable.
02:14I looked away, heat rising in my cheeks.
02:17But when I glanced back, he was crossing the street toward the shop.
02:21The bell above the door chimed as he entered, shaking rain from his coat.
02:25He scanned the room, then walked straight to my table.
02:29You're Eleanor Tate, he said, not a question.
02:32I froze, my coffee cup halfway to my lips.
02:35How do you...
02:36Daniel Voss, he interrupted, sliding into the seat across from me without asking.
02:42I own Voss Technologies.
02:43I saw you leave the building.
02:45You looked... lost.
02:47His tone wasn't kind, but it wasn't cruel either.
02:50Just direct, like he was stating a fact.
02:53I bristled, my pride stung.
02:56I'm fine, I lied.
02:58Though my damp clothes and shaking hands betrayed me.
03:01You're not, he said, leaning back, his gaze assessing.
03:07I reviewed the layoffs.
03:09Your work stood out.
03:10Highest accuracy rate in your department.
03:12They made a mistake letting you go.
03:15His words were a lifeline.
03:17But his delivery was cold, like he was diagnosing a problem, not offering sympathy.
03:22I didn't know whether to feel flattered or insulted.
03:25Why do you care?
03:26I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
03:29He didn't flinch.
03:31I don't like waste.
03:32Talent like yours shouldn't be on the street.
03:35He pulled a card from his pocket and slid it across the table.
03:38I have a project.
03:39A sensitive one.
03:40Off-books analysis, short-term.
03:42You'd work directly for me.
03:44No office.
03:45Just my penthouse office uptown.
03:46It pays enough to cover your rent for a year.
03:49I stared at the card.
03:51His name embossed in stark black letters.
03:53Daniel Voss, CEO.
03:56The offer was a rope thrown to a drowning woman, but it came with a catch I couldn't name.
04:01Why me?
04:02I pressed, searching his face for motive.
04:05His eyes didn't waver, but something flickered in them.
04:08Guarded, almost haunted.
04:10Because you're precise, discreet, and have nothing to lose, he said.
04:14I need someone who won't ask questions I can't answer.
04:17The air between us thickened.
04:19I needed the money.
04:21The stability.
04:22But his world.
04:23Penthouse offices.
04:25Private projects.
04:26Felt like stepping into a lion's den.
04:29My upbringing screamed caution.
04:31Men like him, powerful and enigmatic, were dangerous.
04:35Yet the alternative was eviction.
04:36Failure.
04:37Crawling back to Vermont defeated.
04:39My independence, the one thing I'd fought for, hung in the balance.
04:42I thought of the nights I'd spent studying.
04:45The sacrifices to prove I could stand alone.
04:47Losing that hurt more than the job itself.
04:50What's the project?
04:51I asked, my voice steady despite the churn in my gut.
04:55Due diligence for an acquisition, he said.
04:58Confidential.
04:59You'll sign an NDA.
05:00You start tomorrow, or you don't start at all.
05:03He stood, his height looming over the table.
05:06My driver will pick you up at eight.
05:08Address is on the card.
05:10He didn't wait for my answer.
05:12As if he knew I had no choice.
05:15I sat there long after he left.
05:17The card heavy in my hand.
05:19His confidence unnerved me.
05:21But so did the way his gaze had lingered.
05:24Not predatory, but searching.
05:26Like he saw something in me I didn't.
05:29My mind replayed his words.
05:31His face.
05:33The weight of his offer.
05:35My parents' voices echoed.
05:37Beware men with power.
05:38Guard your heart.
05:39But I had no one else to turn to.
05:42I thought of the city outside.
05:44Vast and indifferent.
05:45Ready to swallow me whole.
05:47I'd come here to escape dependence.
05:49To carve my own path.
05:51This job, however strange, was a way to keep that promise to myself.
05:54That night I barely slept.
05:56My mind tangled in doubts.
05:58Was I walking into a trap?
06:00Could I handle working for someone like him?
06:03Someone who seemed to see through my defenses?
06:05I stood at my apartment window.
06:07Watching the city's lights flicker like stars I couldn't reach.
06:10By morning, I was outside.
06:12Clutching my bag as a black car pulled up.
06:14The driver opened the door and I slid inside, my pulse racing.
06:17I was choosing this, I told myself.
06:20Not because I trusted Daniel Voss, but because I trusted myself to survive him.
06:25The car wove through Manhattan's glittering chaos toward an uptown address that screamed
06:29wealth.
06:31His penthouse office awaited.
06:33A place where I'd be alone with him.
06:35Analyzing numbers, yes.
06:37But also navigating whatever lay behind those gray eyes.
06:40I gripped the card tighter, my resolve hardening.
06:44I'd do the job, take the money, and keep my walls intact.
06:47He could control the project, but he wouldn't control me.
06:54The penthouse office was a world of glass and steel, perched high above Manhattan's chaos.
07:00Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city like a painting, but the space felt sterile, untouched
07:05by warmth.
07:05Daniel's desk, a slab of polished oak, dominated the room, while my temporary workstation, a
07:13smaller table with a laptop, was tucked against a wall.
07:16I arrived each morning at eight, the driver's silence during the commute as heavy as the
07:21NDA I'd signed.
07:23The project was exactly as Daniel described, due diligence for an acquisition, poring over
07:28financials, cross-referencing data, flagging discrepancies.
07:32The work was meticulous, familiar, but the man overseeing it was anything but.
07:39Daniel was a constant presence, yet distant.
07:42He worked across the room, his focus razor-sharp, issuing instructions in clipped tones.
07:48Check the Q3 projections again, he'd say, not looking up from his screen.
07:53I'd nod, my fingers flying over the keyboard, hyper-aware of his every movement.
07:57The way he loosened his tie at noon, the faint crease between his brows when a call didn't
08:02go his way.
08:04I hated how much I noticed.
08:06My vow, my walls, depended on staying detached, but proximity made that impossible.
08:11His scent, cedar and something sharper, lingered when he leaned over my shoulder to review a
08:16spreadsheet.
08:16I'd freeze, my breath catching, then force myself to focus on the numbers.
08:22He wasn't cruel, but he wasn't kind either.
08:25His control was absolute, from the project's pace to the room's temperature.
08:29Yet I caught glimpses of something else, moments when his guard slipped.
08:34Once, I found a dog-eared novel on a shelf, its pages worn from re-reading, a stark contrast
08:40to the man who seemed carved from stone.
08:43Another time, he paused mid-sentence, staring out the window at the city below, his expression
08:48raw, unguarded.
08:50I wondered what haunted him, but I never asked.
08:53Questions felt like a violation of the unspoken rules between us.
08:57My own defenses weren't as steady as I'd hoped.
09:00The work was intense, but it was the quiet moments that unraveled me, when he'd bring me
09:05coffee without comment, setting it beside my laptop, or when our hands brushed, passing
09:10a file, his fingers lingering a heartbeat too long.
09:13I'd pull back, my heart pounding, reminding myself of the boy who'd betrayed me, the lies
09:19that had taught me to trust no one.
09:21But Daniel wasn't that boy.
09:23He was a man carrying his own burdens, and I began to see strength in his restraint.
09:28A kind of honor in how he never pushed.
09:31Never pride, one evening, a storm rolled in.
09:33The sky darkening as thunder rattled the windows.
09:36I was still at my desk, cross-referencing a final data set when the power flickered.
09:40The room plunged into shadow, lit only by the city's glow.
09:44Daniel cursed under his breath.
09:46The first crack in his composure I'd seen.
09:48Stay there, he said, moving to a panel on the wall.
09:52I ignored him, grabbing my phone's flashlight to check the laptop's battery.
09:56He turned, his silhouette sharp against the storm.
09:59Eleanor, I said stay.
10:00I'm not helpless, I snapped, surprising myself.
10:06His eyes narrowed, but he didn't argue.
10:08Instead, he crossed the room, his steps deliberate, and handed me a candle from a drawer.
10:13Our fingers brushed again, and this time, neither of us pulled away.
10:17The air felt charged, not just from the storm.
10:20You don't listen, he said, his voice low, almost amused.
10:25You don't explain, I countered, holding his gaze.
10:30For a moment, he looked like he might say something.
10:33But he turned away, lighting another candle.
10:36The silence stretched, heavy with what neither of us would say.
10:41That night, he drove me home when the storm didn't let up.
10:44The car was warm, the city blurred by rain.
10:47Why do you live like this?
10:49He asked suddenly, glancing at my building's crumbling facade.
10:53You're smarter than most of my executives.
10:55I stiffened, my pride flaring.
10:58I live like this because I earned it.
11:00On my own.
11:01My voice shook, betraying the fear I'd buried.
11:05The fear of losing that independence.
11:07He didn't respond.
11:09But his hands tightened on the wheel.
11:10The next day, he was colder, more distant, as if punishing me for that glimpse into my truth.
11:18I hated it, hated how much I cared.
11:21I started noticing his habits.
11:23The way he avoided personal questions.
11:26The tension in his shoulders when his phone buzzed with certain names.
11:30I overheard a call once, his voice sharp.
11:33I told you, I don't want to talk about her.
11:36Her.
11:37The word lodged in my chest.
11:39A reminder that he had a past I knew nothing about.
11:43Midpoint came on a late night, the city quiet below us.
11:47I was exhausted, my eyes burning from hours of data.
11:51Daniel was still there, reviewing my latest report.
11:54You missed something, he said, pointing to a discrepancy I'd overlooked.
11:59I bristled, ready to defend myself, but he held up a hand.
12:03You're pushing too hard, Eleanor.
12:05You'll burn out.
12:06I can handle it, I said, my voice tight.
12:09He looked at me, really looked.
12:12And for the first time, I saw something like concern in his eyes.
12:16I know you can, he said softly.
12:18But you don't have to.
12:20The words hit harder than they should have.
12:22I stood, needing air, and walked to the window.
12:25The city sparkled, indifferent to my turmoil.
12:28You don't know me, I said, my back to him.
12:31You don't know what I've carried to get here.
12:34Then tell me, he said closer now.
12:37I turned, startled to find him just steps away.
12:40His face was open, unguarded, and it terrified me.
12:43I wanted to tell him.
12:45About the rules that had shaped me.
12:47The betrayal that had scarred me.
12:49The vow that kept me whole.
12:51But the words wouldn't come.
12:53Instead, I said,
12:54Why do you keep everyone at arm's length?
12:57What are you afraid of?
12:58His jaw tightened, and I thought he'd shut down.
13:00But he stepped closer, his voice low.
13:03I lost someone.
13:04Someone I should have protected.
13:06I don't trust myself anymore.
13:09The admission was raw.
13:10A wound laid bare.
13:12I wanted to reach for him.
13:14To bridge the space between us.
13:16But my own fears held me back.
13:18We stood there, inches apart.
13:21The candlelight flickering.
13:23His hand lifted.
13:24Hesitating, as if to touch my face.
13:26Then dropped.
13:28The moment broke, and he stepped back.
13:30Finish the report tomorrow, he said, his voice rough.
13:33Go home.
13:34I left.
13:35My heart pounding.
13:37His confession echoing in my mind.
13:39He'd shown me a crack in his armor, and I'd shown him mine.
13:42But as I stepped into the elevator, a new fear settled in.
13:46I was starting to want him.
13:48Not just his approval, but him.
13:50And that was a line I'd sworn never to cross.
13:54The days following our late-night confession were a tightrope walk.
13:59Daniel's demeanor hardened, his instructions sharper, as if he regretted letting me see his pain.
14:05I buried myself in the project, my fingers flying over the keyboard, but my mind replayed his words.
14:12I lost someone.
14:14I don't trust myself.
14:15They haunted me, mirroring my own fears of trusting too much, too soon.
14:20Yet the space between us crackled with unspoken truths.
14:23Every glance a question.
14:25Every silence an answer.
14:26I told myself to focus, finish the job, secure my future, keep my walls up.
14:32But my resolve was fraying.
14:34The crisis came on a Tuesday, two weeks before the project's deadline.
14:39I arrived at the penthouse to find Daniel pacing, his phone pressed to his ear, voice low and furious.
14:45No, you don't get to dictate terms, he snapped, then ended the call abruptly.
14:51He didn't acknowledge me, but the tension in his frame was new, raw.
14:56I sat at my desk, pretending to work, but my eyes kept drifting to him.
15:01He looked like a man on the edge of breaking.
15:03That afternoon, he called me over to review a final data set.
15:08His hand brushed mine as he pointed to the screen, and I froze, the contact searing.
15:13He didn't pull away, his fingers lingering, and when our eyes met, his were stormy, conflicted.
15:20Eleanor, he started, then stopped, his jaw tight.
15:24Before I could speak, his phone buzzed again.
15:26He glanced at it, and his face darkened.
15:28I have to go, he said, grabbing his coat.
15:31Finish the report.
15:32Don't wait for me.
15:34He didn't return that day.
15:35Or the next.
15:36The driver still picked me up, but the penthouse felt hollow without him.
15:41I worked in silence.
15:42The city's hum my only company.
15:44By the third day, worry gnawed at me.
15:46Was he avoiding me?
15:47Had I pushed too far, asking about his past?
15:50I hated how much it mattered.
15:51How his absence felt like a hole in my chest.
15:54On the fourth day, I found a note on my desk.
15:57His handwriting sharp.
15:59Meeting out of town.
16:00Project Due Friday.
16:02Don't contact me.
16:03The coldness stung.
16:05But worse was the realization that I missed him.
16:07Not the job.
16:09Not the money, but him.
16:10Friday came.
16:11And I submitted the final report to his assistant.
16:14A curt woman who barely looked at me.
16:16I should have felt relief, but instead I felt adrift.
16:19The project was done.
16:20My rent secured.
16:22But the thought of leaving his world, of never seeing him again, tightened my throat.
16:28I lingered in the penthouse, tracing the edges of his desk, the novel on his shelf.
16:32I was losing something I hadn't meant to want.
16:35That night, a knock on my apartment door startled me.
16:39It was nearly midnight, and I was alone, my roommates out.
16:43I opened it to find Daniel, his suit rumpled, eyes bloodshot.
16:47Eleanor, he said, my name, a plea.
16:50I need to explain.
16:51I let him in, my heart pounding.
16:53He stood in my cramped living room, looking out of place, vulnerable.
16:57The call, he said, his voice low.
17:00It was about the acquisition.
17:02Someone leaked details, someone I trusted.
17:04I had to fix it.
17:06He ran a hand through his hair, silver strands catching the dim light.
17:10I've been burned before.
17:11My sister, she trusted the wrong person, got caught in a deal that went south.
17:16I couldn't save her.
17:18I swore I'd never let anyone close again.
17:20His confession cracked something in me.
17:22I stepped closer, my voice steady.
17:25I'm not her, Daniel.
17:26And I'm not fragile.
17:28I paused, my next words terrifying.
17:30I've never let anyone in either.
17:32Not after what happened to me.
17:33I was seventeen, betrayed by someone I thought cared.
17:37I vowed I'd wait.
17:39For someone who'd see me.
17:41Not just what I could give.
17:43I'm still waiting.
17:44His eyes softened, searching mine.
17:47You're not like anyone I've known, he said.
17:49You're strong, Eleanor.
17:51But you don't have to carry it all alone.
17:53He reached for my hand, his touch gentle, deliberate.
17:57I want to be that person.
17:59If you'll let me.
18:00The air stilled.
18:01My vow.
18:02My walls.
18:03My fear.
18:04They all collided with the truth of his words.
18:06I'd spent years guarding myself, but standing there, his hand in mine, I saw safety, not danger.
18:14I've never...
18:15I started, my voice trembling.
18:18I've never been with anyone.
18:19Not like that.
18:20It's not just a rule.
18:21It's who I am.
18:23He didn't flinch.
18:24Didn't look surprised.
18:25Instead, he stepped closer, his thumb brushing my knuckles.
18:29I don't want to take anything from you, he said.
18:31I want to give you everything.
18:33Time.
18:34Trust.
18:35Whatever you need.
18:37His voice was steady.
18:38A promise.
18:40You set the pace.
18:41Always.
18:42Tears stung my eyes.
18:44Not from fear, but from relief.
18:46I'd expected judgment, but he offered understanding.
18:49I leaned into him.
18:50My forehead against his chest.
18:52His heartbeat steady under my touch.
18:55He held me.
18:56Not tightly, but like I was something precious.
18:58The world faded, the city, my past, my fears.
19:01There was only us.
19:03Two people choosing to trust, despite everything.
19:06We didn't cross that line.
19:08Not then.
19:09But in the quiet of my apartment, his arms around me, I felt a shift.
19:13My vow wasn't broken.
19:15It had evolved.
19:17Rooted now in a bond we were building.
19:19Not a barrier to keep him out.
19:21We stayed like that.
19:23The rain starting again outside.
19:25A soft rhythm to our silence.
19:27The next morning, he was still there.
19:31Making coffee in my tiny kitchen.
19:33We talked.
19:35About his sister.
19:36My hometown.
19:37The fears we'd both carried.
19:39He told me he'd cancelled the acquisition.
19:41Choosing instead to rebuild his company's trust.
19:44Starting with himself.
19:46I told him I was staying in the city.
19:48Not for the job.
19:49But for me.
19:51And maybe for us.
19:53We moved slowly in the weeks that followed.
19:55Learning each other's rhythms.
19:58He'd hold my hand in public.
19:59His grip a quiet claim.
20:01But he never pushed.
20:03I began to see my vow not as a shield.
20:05But as a choice.
20:07One I could make with him when the time was right.
20:10Each moment we shared.
20:12Late night talks.
20:13Walks through the park.
20:15His rare smiles.
20:16Built a foundation stronger than my fears.
20:18One evening.
20:20As we stood on his penthouse balcony.
20:22The city glittering below.
20:24I looked at him and knew.
20:26I wasn't the girl from Vermont anymore.
20:28Hiding from pain.
20:29I was Eleanor.
20:30Whole and unafraid.
20:32Choosing love not because I needed it.
20:34But because I wanted it.
20:36He turned to me.
20:37His gray eyes soft.
20:39And I saw the same truth in him.
20:41We had transformed each other.
20:43Not into possessions.
20:44But into partners.
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