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00:00I didn't mean to cry in the elevator of the sterling and cupboard financial tower,
00:04but the universe has never cared much for my timing.
00:08By the time the door slid open onto the 42nd floor,
00:12tears were already slipping down my cheeks,
00:14silently, stubbornly, as if they'd been waiting their turn all morning.
00:18I kept my head down, the cardboard tray of lattes balanced against my chest,
00:23trying to blink myself back into some version of composure.
00:26Deliveries are next floor up, a woman's voice snapped as she brushed past me,
00:32except my order slip very clearly read, 42F, Sterling Capital, Executive Division,
00:39and the coffees had cost more than I made in two hours at my barista job.
00:43I'm—I'm actually supposed to be here, I murmured.
00:46The woman didn't bother responding.
00:48Her heels clicked down the corridor, vanishing around a corner.
00:52I exhaled shakily.
00:53Today was supposed to be my turning point, or at least a not-crying-in-public point.
00:58But instead, it had started with a notice taped to my apartment door,
01:01informing me that my rent was increasing.
01:03Again.
01:04I was already three days late.
01:06I'd skipped breakfast.
01:08My metro card was down to its last ride.
01:11And if I messed up this corporate delivery,
01:13my manager would quietly remove me from the schedule.
01:16He'd already done it to three other baristas this month.
01:18So when I pushed open the heavy glass door to Sterling Capital's executive office,
01:23I tried to look like someone who definitely belonged.
01:26But the atmosphere immediately told me I didn't.
01:30Everything inside gleamed.
01:31The marble floors.
01:33The chrome fixtures.
01:34The towering windows overlooking the financial district.
01:37Men and women in tailored suits moved like polished machinery.
01:41Not one of them looked like they'd ever held down two part-time jobs
01:44or eaten instant noodles for dinner.
01:45I swallowed and headed to the nearest reception desk.
01:50A woman with perfect hair looked up at me with the polite disdain
01:53usually reserved for people who tried to return used underwear.
01:57I have an order for Mr...
01:58I checked the slip again.
02:00Brentwood.
02:01Oliver Brentwood.
02:02She froze.
02:03Then she picked up her phone and pressed a button.
02:05Mr. Brentwood?
02:07Your, uh, package is here.
02:09She stared at me as if
02:10unsure-weather package was the correct classification
02:13for a trembling twenty-three-year-old carrying overpriced caffeine.
02:18Deep voice crackled through the speaker.
02:20Send it in.
02:21Her eyes widened.
02:22Then flicked to me.
02:24Don't spill anything.
02:26She hissed.
02:27I walked toward the frosted glass doors she pointed to.
02:30They slid open soundlessly,
02:32revealing the most intimidating office I had ever seen.
02:35Floor-to-ceiling windows washed the room in bright morning light.
02:38A wall of screens showed market fluctuations in real time.
02:43And behind a massive desk stood a man who looked carved out of authority itself.
02:47Oliver Brentwood.
02:49Forty years old.
02:50Wall Street's most whispered-about broker.
02:53He wasn't handsome in the boyish, charming way I'd grown up seeing in movies.
02:58He was striking.
02:59All sharp lines.
03:01Cool presence.
03:02And an intensity that made the air feel thinner.
03:04His suit was charcoal, perfectly cut across broad shoulders.
03:09His hair was the kind of dark blonde that probably cost nothing to maintain,
03:13yet still looked expensive.
03:15And his eyes, icy blue, locked onto me the moment I entered.
03:22It felt like being scanned, measured, and understood all at once.
03:27I stiffened.
03:28Um, your coffees?
03:30He didn't look at them.
03:31He looked at me.
03:32Where's Jeremy?
03:33He asked.
03:34Who's Jeremy?
03:35My assistant.
03:36Oh.
03:37I blinked.
03:38I-I don't know.
03:39I just deliver the drinks.
03:41Brentwood stepped closer, his expression tightening.
03:44Let me see the order slip.
03:46I passed it to him with a shaking hand.
03:48He glanced at it.
03:50Then at me.
03:51Then back at it again.
03:52This is the wrong office.
03:54My stomach dropped so fast I almost gasped out loud.
03:57No, it's not.
03:58The address said,
04:00Sterling Capital.
04:01He said sharply.
04:02You're in Sterling & Co.
04:03This is a different firm.
04:05I felt the blood drain from my face.
04:07No, no, please.
04:08I can't.
04:09I stopped myself.
04:12Too desperate.
04:13Too pathetic.
04:14But panic clawed up my throat.
04:16I'm sorry.
04:17I can take them back.
04:18I'll redo the order.
04:19You won't make it in time.
04:21He checked his watch.
04:23I needed these fifteen minutes ago.
04:25The humiliation hit me like a slap.
04:27I closed my eyes for half a second.
04:30I saw my manager's disappointed sigh.
04:33The schedule screen with my name quietly erased.
04:36My rent notice.
04:37The crushing sense of failure.
04:39I'm really sorry.
04:40I whispered.
04:41When I opened my eyes again,
04:43something in his expression had changed.
04:45Not softened.
04:47But shifted.
04:48What's your name?
04:49He asked.
04:50Lena.
04:50Lena Hart.
04:51He nodded once.
04:53Clipped.
04:54Decisive.
04:55Sit.
04:55I'm working.
04:56I have to get back.
04:57I said sit.
04:59The tone held no threat.
05:01Just authority.
05:02Undeniable.
05:03Immovable.
05:05My legs obeyed before my brain did.
05:08I sat in a leather chair across from his desk,
05:11clutching the coffee tray like a life raft.
05:14Brentwood studied me for a moment.
05:16You're trembling.
05:18No, I'm not.
05:19I was.
05:19He leaned against his desk, arms crossed.
05:22You look like someone who's been running from a fire.
05:25The words hit too close.
05:27Far too close.
05:28I spilled coffee on my way here.
05:30I lied.
05:31Just stressed.
05:32His gaze sharpened,
05:34as if he could see straight through the flimsy explanation.
05:37Do you always lie this badly?
05:39I swallowed.
05:41Hard.
05:42Then, unexpectedly,
05:44he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,
05:45as if the situation was more exhausting than infuriating.
05:50Jeremy quit this morning, he said.
05:52Left a three-sentence resignation email and disappeared to Mexico.
05:56Oh.
05:57My meetings are stacked back to back until evening.
06:00I have no assistant, no time, and apparently no caffeine.
06:04He eyed the tray.
06:05And you walked into the wrong office with more determination than my last three interns combined.
06:11I blinked.
06:12What are you saying?
06:13I'm saying, he said slowly, that I need someone right now.
06:17Someone who can follow directions and stand upright without explaining their entire life story.
06:22His eyes held mine.
06:24Can you do that?
06:25My heart stuttered.
06:26Was he...
06:27Offering me a job?
06:28Not really.
06:29I mean, I don't know.
06:30I'm not qualified.
06:32I make coffee.
06:33You showed up on time, he said.
06:35That alone puts you ahead of half this building.
06:38I stared at him, speechless.
06:41You want me to be your assistant?
06:43Temporary, he said.
06:45For the day.
06:46Maybe longer, if you don't set something on fire.
06:49My lips parted.
06:50But why me?
06:52He considered me for a long moment.
06:54Because you look like you need someone to give you a chance.
06:56Something in my chest cracked open.
07:00Then...
07:00The office phone rang, loud and urgent.
07:04Brentwood grabbed it.
07:06Brentwood.
07:06Pause.
07:07What?
07:08No, move the trade to eleven.
07:10Tell them if they can't wait, they can take their money elsewhere.
07:13He hung up, already reaching for a stack of files.
07:16If you're taking the job, start by handing me the blue binder on that table.
07:20The binder was three feet away, but my hands wouldn't move.
07:24Not yet.
07:26Because the shock was still spreading through me.
07:29Wild and disbelieving.
07:31Just ten minutes ago, I'd been crying in an elevator.
07:36Now a Wall Street titan was offering me a position I'd never even dreamed of stepping close to.
07:41Lena.
07:43His voice pulled me back.
07:44Decision.
07:45Now.
07:46I stood so quickly the chair legs screeched.
07:49I...
07:49I'll do it, I said.
07:51For the first time,
07:52something that almost looked like approval flickered in his eyes.
07:57Good.
07:58Then welcome to Sterling Capital.
08:01I managed a breathless nod.
08:04But before I could take a single step toward the binder,
08:07the door to his office burst open,
08:09slamming against the wall.
08:11A man in a navy suit rushed in.
08:13Face pale, breath uneven.
08:15Oliver.
08:16He said urgently.
08:17You need to see this.
08:18Right now.
08:19Brentwood's posture went rigid.
08:20What is it?
08:22The man handed him a tablet.
08:24Brentwood looked down.
08:26His jaw clenched so tightly I heard it click.
08:29This can't be happening today.
08:31He muttered.
08:32What's going on?
08:34The man asked.
08:36Brentwood didn't answer.
08:37He lifted his gaze to mine.
08:39And the calm, composed, untouchable broker I'd met five minutes ago was gone.
08:44In his place stood a man staring at a disaster unfolding right in front of him.
08:50Lena, he said quietly.
08:53Stay close.
08:54My entire career may be about to collapse.
08:57And just like that, the floor seemed to tilt under me.
09:01The coffee shook in my hands.
09:03The room buzzed with tension.
09:04And I realized.
09:06I had stepped into a world I was wildly unprepared for.
09:09But it was too late.
09:11I was already in it.
09:13And whatever storm had just hit Oliver Brentwood.
09:16I was now standing in the center of it.
09:21The slow unfolding of an earthquake.
09:24Everything.
09:25Shifting underneath me while I pretended.
09:27The ground was steady.
09:29The moment Oliver's eyes hardened over the...
09:32Tablet.
09:32Whatever disaster he was.
09:34Seeing.
09:35Something electric pulsed through the...
09:37Room.
09:38Urgency.
09:38Anger.
09:39Fear.
09:40Though he hid it well.
09:41He handed the tablet back to the man.
09:44Get the legal team in Conference Room A.
09:46Five minutes.
09:48Yes, sir.
09:49The man left as quickly as he'd arrived.
09:52Then Oliver looked at me again.
09:54The storm still in his eyes.
09:56Come with me.
09:58Don't say anything unless I ask you to.
10:01I nodded.
10:02Even though my pulse was sprinting.
10:04I followed him through the office.
10:06Weaving between employees who parted like water around him.
10:09He didn't walk.
10:11He cut through space.
10:12Decisive and direct.
10:14And I hurried to keep up.
10:16Inside the conference room.
10:17Half a dozen executives sat waiting.
10:19Lawyers.
10:20Analysts.
10:21People in suits worth more than my entire yearly income.
10:25The tablet was placed in front of Oliver.
10:28But from where I sat.
10:30At the edge of the room.
10:31Pretending to be invisible.
10:32I saw just enough.
10:35A headline.
10:37A government seal.
10:38The words, SEC Investigation Launched Into Sterling Capital Trading Activity.
10:43My breath hitched.
10:45The Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating him.
10:48Not just him.
10:49His entire firm.
10:50Oliver's face stayed unreadable as he listened to the lawyer's rapid-fire explanations.
10:55Allegations of insider trading.
10:57Anonymous whistleblower.
10:58If the press gets a deeper story.
11:01A possible temporary freezing of assets.
11:04My vision blurred for a moment.
11:06I didn't understand all the jargon, but I understood enough.
11:10His world.
11:11This gleaming.
11:12Glass and steel empire.
11:14Was at risk of collapsing.
11:15And I was sitting in the middle of the room like an extra in a movie I had no business starring in.
11:20Who leaked the data?
11:22One lawyer asked.
11:23No idea.
11:25Another replied.
11:25But they submitted internal reports tied to your division, Oliver.
11:29My stomach twisted.
11:31They were talking about him.
11:33Attacking him.
11:34Testing him.
11:35And through all of it, Oliver stayed impossibly calm.
11:39When the meeting finally ended, everyone filed out except me.
11:43Oliver remained still for a moment.
11:46Hands braced on the table.
11:48Head bowed as if absorbing impact after impact.
11:51I wasn't supposed to speak.
11:52But the silence stretched too long.
11:56Are you okay?
11:57His head lifted slowly.
11:59His eyes were cool steel again.
12:01No, he said.
12:02But I don't have the luxury of falling apart.
12:05I swallowed.
12:06Is it really bad?
12:08It depends on whether the whistleblower has evidence.
12:11He straightened.
12:13And whether they fabricate more.
12:15He walked toward me then.
12:16Not aggressively, but with the kind of presence that made the air change temperature.
12:21You're still here.
12:23He said quietly.
12:25You told me to stay close.
12:27I said, trying to steady my voice.
12:29I don't break orders easily.
12:32Something flickered across his mouth.
12:33The ghost of a smile, maybe.
12:35Or maybe I wanted it to be.
12:37Good.
12:38He murmured.
12:39I need someone who doesn't run.
12:41I wasn't sure if he meant in this moment or in a bigger sense.
12:44Either way, I didn't run.
12:47The next hours blurred into non-stop motion.
12:50I sat outside his office.
12:52Answering calls I barely understood.
12:54Sorting documents by color coding he explained in a 30-second crash course.
12:58Trying not to embarrass myself.
13:01But every time I glanced through the office window, I found him.
13:04Tall.
13:05Controlled.
13:06Working like a man determined to hold back a tidal wave with his bare hands.
13:10He never raised his voice.
13:13Never panicked.
13:14Never lost command.
13:15And I couldn't look away.
13:18Late in the afternoon, he stepped out of his office.
13:21Loosening his tie just a fraction.
13:23His gaze found me instantly.
13:26Walk with me.
13:28I followed him down a quieter hallway lined with abstract art and floor-to-ceiling windows
13:33overlooking the Hudson River.
13:35The sunlight was soft now.
13:37Melting into early evening.
13:39He stopped near the glass, hands in his pockets.
13:41His reflection looked almost like a stranger.
13:45Broader.
13:46Sharper.
13:47Harder.
13:48You're doing well, he said.
13:50I blinked.
13:51I've messed up at least twelve times.
13:55Seventeen, he corrected.
13:57But you fix things fast.
13:58That's more than I can say for most of my staff.
14:01A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
14:04He looked at me then.
14:05A real look.
14:06Not one of evaluation or authority.
14:09You remind me of someone, he said.
14:11Who?
14:12Myself, he said simply.
14:14I stared.
14:15You?
14:15No, you're...
14:16Perfect.
14:17His jaw tensed.
14:18I'm far from perfect, Lena.
14:20You just haven't seen the damage yet.
14:22The words hung between us.
14:24Heavy and raw.
14:25Then he turned.
14:27Gazing out the window.
14:29When I was your age, I was working two jobs, too.
14:31Not delivering coffee, but close enough.
14:33You?
14:34Struggling?
14:35I wasn't always Oliver Brentwood, he said.
14:38Just a kid from Pittsburgh trying to escape circumstances that didn't care whether I survived.
14:43I didn't breathe.
14:44Because this wasn't the man from financial news headlines.
14:49This was someone human.
14:50Someone bruised under the armor.
14:52What changed?
14:53I asked softly.
14:54He met my eyes again.
14:56And his answer was unexpected.
14:58Someone gave me a chance I didn't deserve.
15:01The words sank into me.
15:03Because earlier today...
15:05He'd done the same for me.
15:07Suddenly, the hallway felt too quiet.
15:10Too intimate.
15:11Too charged.
15:12I stepped back instinctively.
15:13My pulse unsteady.
15:15You don't have to tell me things like that.
15:18I whispered.
15:19Maybe not.
15:20He said.
15:21But I wanted to.
15:23My heart thudded loud enough that I was sure he heard it.
15:26Then his phone rang.
15:28Snapping the moment in half.
15:30He swore under his breath and answered it.
15:33After a short exchange, he looked at me with a shift in his expression.
15:37Something darkened.
15:38Wary.
15:39That was our compliance team.
15:41He said.
15:42The whistleblower leaked a second statement.
15:45They claimed to have met with someone.
15:47Inside my office.
15:48My breath froze.
15:49Inside.
15:50His office.
15:51He stepped closer.
15:52Voice dropping to a low, calm edge.
15:55The only people in my office today were the investigators.
15:58And you.
15:59My pulse started pounding.
16:01Oliver.
16:01I didn't even know what the SEC was until an hour ago.
16:05I know.
16:06He said.
16:07I know.
16:08But his eyes held something like conflict.
16:10Not suspicion.
16:11Fear.
16:12Fear of trusting the wrong person.
16:14I don't think you did anything.
16:16He said.
16:17But they'll question you.
16:19Hard.
16:20Question me?
16:21Yes.
16:22They'll dig into your past, your finances, your movements.
16:25They'll assume you've been planted.
16:27I felt the blood drain from my face.
16:30I barely exist on paper.
16:31I don't even have a credit card.
16:33That.
16:34He said quietly.
16:36Makes you even more suspicious in their eyes.
16:39A chill ran through me.
16:41He exhaled sharply.
16:43Raking a hand through his hair.
16:44I shouldn't have pulled you into this.
16:46I should have let you go the moment you walked in.
16:49No.
16:50I said before I could stop myself.
16:52Don't say that.
16:53His eyes snapped to mine, and something in the air shifted, like gravity tightening.
16:59Why not?
17:00I don't know, I whispered.
17:02But I'm still here.
17:05For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke.
17:07Then, softly, almost painfully, he said.
17:11I noticed.
17:12The moment broke when another executive rushed toward him.
17:16Oliver, press is calling.
17:17They want a statement.
17:19He nodded once.
17:20I'll handle it.
17:21The executive darted away.
17:23Oliver looked at me one more time, and it felt like a question neither of us was brave
17:27enough to ask.
17:29Lena, he said quietly.
17:31Go home for today.
17:33Home.
17:34The word hit me like a bruise.
17:35He softened just slightly.
17:37You look exhausted.
17:39I can keep working.
17:40I said quickly.
17:41Too quickly.
17:42I know you can, he said.
17:44But right now.
17:45You need to leave before the SEC decides to speak to you without counsel.
17:49Counsel?
17:51Yes, he said.
17:52My counsel.
17:53My throat tightened.
17:55You're going to protect me?
17:57His jaw flexed.
17:58I brought you into this.
18:00I'll make sure you don't get destroyed by it.
18:03I didn't know what to say to that.
18:05Gratitude felt too small.
18:07Fear felt too large.
18:08And underneath it all was something else.
18:11Something dangerous and warm.
18:12You'll come back tomorrow, he said, his voice lower now.
18:18If you want to.
18:19If you want to.
18:21The words curled through me like a forbidden promise.
18:24Before I could answer, he stepped past me, heading back toward the chaos waiting for him.
18:29But I heard his voice behind me, soft and quiet.
18:34Be careful tonight, Lena.
18:36I turned.
18:38He wasn't looking at me.
18:39But his hands were clenched, his shoulders tense.
18:42As if letting me walk away cost him something.
18:45I left the building.
18:47Stepping into the cool Manhattan evening with my heart tangled in a hundred knots.
18:51I wasn't just intertwined in Oliver Brentwood's crisis.
18:55Somehow.
18:56Slowly.
18:57Inevitably.
18:58I was becoming intertwined in him.
19:01And that terrified me more than anything the SEC could have done.
19:08I barely slept that night.
19:10Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Oliver in the hallway.
19:14Tie loosened.
19:15Shoulders tense.
19:16Eyes holding something almost like fear.
19:19Not of the SEC.
19:21Not of the investigation.
19:22Of trusting the wrong person.
19:24Of trusting me.
19:25By morning, my stomach was twisted into knots.
19:30I almost didn't go back to the Sterling Capitol Tower.
19:33Almost turned around at the entrance.
19:35Telling myself this was too big.
19:37Too dangerous.
19:38Too far beyond the girl who delivered coffee.
19:41But I remembered his voice.
19:44You'll come back tomorrow.
19:46If you want to.
19:48And I did want to.
19:49More than I could explain.
19:52So I forced myself through the rotating doors and up the elevator.
19:55Though my palms were sweating and my heart wouldn't slow down.
19:59When I stepped onto the 42nd floor.
20:02The atmosphere was worse than the day before.
20:05Tense.
20:06Frantic.
20:07Buzzing with whispers as people rushed between offices.
20:10I spotted Oliver's door open.
20:12He wasn't inside.
20:13A few feet away.
20:15Two investigators were speaking with one of the junior analysts.
20:18She was here yesterday.
20:19Yes, the girl with the coffees.
20:21Did anyone verify her identity?
20:23My breath caught.
20:24They meant me.
20:27Before panic could take over, a deep voice said behind me.
20:31She's with me.
20:32I turned.
20:34Oliver stood there.
20:35Coat in hand.
20:36Eyes sharp but focused entirely on me.
20:39The investigators stiffened.
20:41Mr. Brentwood.
20:42One said.
20:43We need to ask her questions.
20:45And you will.
20:47He said evenly.
20:48But not without counsel present.
20:50And not without me.
20:52He stepped closer to me, lowering his voice.
20:55Come with me.
20:56I followed him down the hall into a small, private conference room.
21:00The moment the door shut, he exhaled sharply.
21:04As if he'd been holding his breath since I walked in.
21:07You shouldn't have come.
21:09He said quietly.
21:11I frowned.
21:12You told me to.
21:14I told you to come back if you wanted to.
21:16He said.
21:17Not to walk into an interrogation room without protection.
21:21My chest tightened.
21:22Are they going to arrest me?
21:24No.
21:25He said it instantly, firmly, without hesitation.
21:29Oliver.
21:30No.
21:30He repeated.
21:32I won't let that happen.
21:34He raked a hand through his hair, pacing once before turning back to me.
21:39Last night, the whistleblower released details they shouldn't have had access to.
21:44Data only a handful of people in this firm have ever seen.
21:47My throat went dry.
21:49So they think...
21:50They think the leak came from someone new, he said.
21:54Someone who slipped in unnoticed.
21:55Someone who appeared at my office door out of nowhere yesterday morning.
22:00Someone like me.
22:02He didn't say the words, but they filled the room.
22:05I swallowed hard.
22:07You don't believe that, do you?
22:08His gaze locked onto mine, intense and fierce.
22:12No, he said.
22:13I don't.
22:14My breath shook out in relief.
22:15But he wasn't finished.
22:17But that doesn't matter, he said.
22:19What matters is stopping them from tearing your life apart to prove a theory.
22:22He stepped closer, voice lowering.
22:27Because I brought you into this world, he said softly, and I'm responsible for getting you out of it safely.
22:33I blinked, and suddenly tears were stinging behind my eyes.
22:38Not from fear.
22:40From the realization that he wasn't protecting me because it was logical.
22:43He was protecting me because he cared.
22:46Oliver.
22:46Oliver, I whispered.
22:49But before I could say anything more, a sharp knock sounded.
22:53Mr. Brentwood, someone called.
22:55They're ready for her.
22:57I froze.
22:58Oliver didn't.
23:00His hand closed around mine, steady, grounding.
23:03Absolutely unwavering.
23:05She's not going in alone, he said through the door.
23:09He led me down the hall, his hand still gripping mine, his presence like a shield.
23:14The questioning room was small, harshly lit and too cold.
23:20I sat across from the investigators, Oliver standing behind me, tall, silent, watchful.
23:27They asked me everything.
23:29Where I lived.
23:30Where I worked.
23:31Why I came to this building.
23:33Why I'd walked into his office.
23:35Why Oliver had hired me.
23:37At one point, my voice broke when I admitted how desperate I'd been.
23:40How scared I was of losing my job at the cafe.
23:44How humiliating yesterday had been.
23:47Silence followed.
23:48Then one investigator leaned forward.
23:51We have camera footage from yesterday.
23:53It shows you entering the wrong building.
23:55You didn't appear to be meeting with anyone.
23:57I felt Oliver tense behind me.
23:59And, the investigator added, the whistleblower's claims don't match your timeline at all.
24:05I blinked.
24:06Meaning?
24:07You're cleared, she said.
24:09You can go.
24:11I exhaled so fast my vision blurred.
24:13Oliver placed a hand on my shoulder.
24:15Warm and steady.
24:17Thank you, he said curtly to the investigators.
24:20He guided me out before they could say another word.
24:25When the door closed behind us, I finally let myself breathe.
24:29But Oliver didn't look relieved.
24:31He looked furious.
24:31Someone did this intentionally, he said.
24:36Someone used your presence as a distraction.
24:38Why me?
24:39Because you're vulnerable, he said.
24:41And because I...
24:42He cut himself off.
24:44I turned toward him.
24:45Because you what?
24:46His jaw flexed.
24:47His eyes flicked away.
24:49Then back.
24:50Because I reacted when you walked in yesterday, he said quietly.
24:54More than I should have.
24:56And someone saw that.
24:58The confession lodged somewhere deep inside me.
25:01Warm and aching.
25:03Oliver, I whispered.
25:06I didn't mean to make your life harder.
25:08You didn't, he said instantly.
25:11You made it chaotic.
25:13You made it inconvenient.
25:14But you didn't make it worse.
25:16His voice softened.
25:17You made it different.
25:19Different.
25:20I didn't know if I wanted to run or step closer.
25:23But he made the choice for both of us.
25:25Come on, he said gently.
25:28There's something you need to see.
25:30He led me to his office, closed the door, and handed me a printed report.
25:36The whistleblower, he said, was one of my senior partners.
25:40He doctored internal reports to make it look like I was manipulating trades.
25:44I stared at the page, heart pounding.
25:48Why?
25:48Because I refused to sign off on a deal he pushed, one that would have hurt thousands of
25:53smaller investors.
25:55So he framed you.
25:57Yes.
25:58And now?
25:59And now, Oliver said.
26:01He's been removed from the firm.
26:03And the SEC cleared me.
26:05It's over.
26:05I let out a long, shaky breath.
26:07And you?
26:08I asked softly.
26:10Are you okay?
26:11His answer wasn't words.
26:13It was the way he stepped closer.
26:15The way his voice dipped low.
26:16No, he said.
26:17Not until we talk about something else.
26:20Something else?
26:21He stopped in front of me.
26:23Too close.
26:24Far too close.
26:25His eyes held mine with an intensity that stole my breath.
26:28Lena, he said.
26:30Yesterday, you walked into my office and turned my entire world upside down.
26:35Yesterday, I delivered coffee to the wrong building, I whispered.
26:39And I hired you.
26:41His voice was rougher now.
26:43Not because I needed an assistant, but because I couldn't let you walk out.
26:48My heart stuttered.
26:50Oliver, I don't know what this is, he said.
26:53I don't know why I can't stop thinking about you.
26:55Why I worry when you leave.
26:57Why I look for you the second you're not in the room.
27:00My chest tightened painfully.
27:02But I know this, he said.
27:05You're not just some girl who walked in with lattes.
27:07You are someone who makes me want to be... more.
27:10The tears came before I could stop them.
27:13And this time, I didn't hide them.
27:16He reached up, slowly.
27:17As if giving me time to pull away.
27:19And brushed one tear from my cheek with his thumb.
27:23Tell me no, he whispered.
27:25Tell me to stop.
27:27Tell me this is a mistake.
27:29But I didn't.
27:30I stepped into him.
27:32Pressed my forehead against his chest.
27:34And let the truth fall out in a trembling breath.
27:38I don't want you to stop.
27:40He closed his eyes.
27:41Exhaling shakily as his arms wrapped around me.
27:45Careful at first.
27:46Then certain, warm, anchoring.
27:49For the first time since I met him,
27:52he wasn't the untouchable broker,
27:54the Wall Street titan.
27:55He was just a man.
27:57A man holding a woman he didn't want to lose.
28:01Later that evening,
28:03when the office finally emptied
28:04and the city lights began glowing over the river,
28:06we stood together in front of the window.
28:08What happens now?
28:10I asked softly.
28:11He looked at me with something both fierce and tender.
28:14Now, he said,
28:16I offer you a real job.
28:19Not because I need you,
28:20but because I want you here.
28:21In my world.
28:22In my life.
28:23And us?
28:24I whispered.
28:25His smile was small, genuine, devastating.
28:28Us, he said,
28:30is the part I'm not willing to lose.
28:32The city stretched endlessly beyond the glass,
28:35bright and alive.
28:37But for the first time in a long time,
28:39I wasn't looking for a place to belong.
28:41I had already found it.
28:43Right here.
28:45With him.
28:47Oliver pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead,
28:50his hand warm against my back.
28:52Lena, he murmured.
28:54You changed my life overnight.
28:56A quiet, breathless laugh escaped me.
28:59You changed mine first.
29:00And in that high-rise office overlooking New York,
29:04bathed in the glow of a city reborn,
29:06we stayed wrapped in each other.
29:08Choosing trust.
29:10Choosing hope.
29:11Choosing love.
29:12Choosing us.
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29:15make sure to subscribe
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29:20Comment your favorite part.
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29:25Break.
29:26Or melt.
29:27I read every single one.
29:28And share this story with someone who loves addictive,
29:32heart-gripping romance as much as you do.
29:34Your support means everything.
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