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Short filmTranscript
00:00Cassian Holt walks into the boardroom like he already owns gravity.
00:04The sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows glints off his cufflinks,
00:07sharp enough to slice through my dignity.
00:10All twelve executives straighten.
00:12Phones lower.
00:13Air stops moving.
00:14I do not.
00:16Mostly because I'm too busy panic-calculating the price of rent
00:18versus the cost of bottled water I've been surviving on for the past two days.
00:23My life is a crooked Jenga tower,
00:25and this meeting is supposed to be the wooden block that keeps everything from collapsing.
00:28But then Cassian's gaze lands on me.
00:31And, yeah.
00:33The tower tips.
00:34It's not fair that anyone's eyes look engineered.
00:37His are cold amber,
00:38like whiskey poured over ice that hasn't melted yet.
00:41The man looks like he beats billionaires for cardio.
00:44Which is exactly why I should keep quiet.
00:47I don't.
00:48Excuse me,
00:49I say as he begins talking over the project proposal I spent three months building.
00:53Are you going to let me finish?
00:55Or are we holding open auditions for Interrupting Champion of America?
00:59The room freezes.
01:00Twelve executives inhale at once.
01:02It sounds like a vacuum turning on.
01:05Cassian's brow lifts one millimeter.
01:07Marley Quinn, right?
01:09My heart hits the speed of a washing machine.
01:12Last time I checked.
01:14He steps closer,
01:15slow and deliberate,
01:16like a lion humoring a stray house cat that wandered into the wrong savannah.
01:21His cologne trails behind him,
01:22crisp cedar and quiet threats.
01:25He stops directly in front of me.
01:27I wasn't interrupting,
01:29he says.
01:29I was correcting.
01:31I blink.
01:33With my own presentation,
01:34that I wrote?
01:35While you were probably out buying another island?
01:38A few executives cough to hide their laughter.
01:41Cassian doesn't bother hiding his reaction.
01:44His lips curl,
01:45just slightly,
01:46like he's impressed I'm dumb enough to poke the bear and brave enough to enjoy it.
01:50Continue,
01:51he says.
01:52No.
01:53I fire back before my common sense can gag me.
01:56You go ahead,
01:58since you clearly know everything about the project I've been losing sleep over.
02:02Cassian's gaze sweeps over me like he's reading footnotes I didn't realize were printed on my skin.
02:07His voice drops to something quieter,
02:09but heavier.
02:11You're bold.
02:12I am annoyed.
02:14Same thing in my world.
02:16He turns to the table.
02:18Everyone out.
02:18The executives scatter so fast one guy leaves his laptop behind.
02:22It feels like the universe is clearing the stage so I can ruin my life in peace.
02:26When the glass door shuts and it's just the two of us,
02:29sunlight spills across the polished table like a spotlight.
02:32My palms sweat.
02:34Cassian sits.
02:35Doesn't ask me to.
02:36Just waits.
02:37I sink into the chair without meaning to.
02:40He steeples his fingers.
02:42Tell me why you think your department's budget increases matter to me.
02:46Because if you don't approve them,
02:47the program tanks,
02:48I say.
02:49And if the program tanks,
02:51300 employees lose their jobs.
02:53You know.
02:54Actual humans.
02:56Not pieces on your billionaire chessboard.
02:59His eyes narrow.
03:00Not offended.
03:01More like analyzing a puzzle piece that doesn't fit where he expected.
03:04You care too much.
03:06Someone has to.
03:08And you assume I don't?
03:09That seems like your brand.
03:11He pushes the file I made toward me.
03:14Show me.
03:15My pulse jumps.
03:16You want the presentation?
03:18I want you.
03:19He says.
03:20Then clarifies before my brain combusts.
03:23To present.
03:23Not the deck.
03:25You.
03:26Heat winds around my ribs.
03:28I stand and pull the project folder open because if I sit here any longer,
03:31I'll forget how English works.
03:32I start explaining.
03:35I trace numbers across the table,
03:37sketching the future of the company through charts and timelines.
03:40He watches me with the kind of focus that should be illegal in daylight.
03:44And somewhere between page six and page eight,
03:47something shifts.
03:48He leans back,
03:49arms crossed,
03:50expression unreadable except for the flicker of fascination he tries to bury.
03:54My voice trembles.
03:56Not from fear,
03:57but from the feeling that this man sees more than he should.
04:00When I finish,
04:02the silence stretches.
04:03Then he stands,
04:05walks to the window.
04:06Sunlight spills across his shoulders like he summoned it.
04:10You argued with me,
04:11he says quietly.
04:13You dismissed me.
04:15You challenged me in a room where no one challenges me.
04:18That sounds like a you problem.
04:21He lets out a soft,
04:23stunned laugh.
04:24The kind a man makes when someone surprises him after years of nothing surprising him.
04:28He turns,
04:30and now he's close enough that my breath stutters.
04:33Marley Quinn,
04:34he says.
04:35Congratulations.
04:37I blink.
04:38For what?
04:40You just got promoted.
04:41My brain cartoon screeches.
04:44I what?
04:45Head of strategy.
04:47He doesn't smile.
04:48He pronounces it like a verdict.
04:50No,
04:51I say immediately.
04:53Absolutely not.
04:54You can't just
04:55promote me because I annoyed you.
04:58He steps closer.
05:00I promoted you because you refused to bend,
05:02and because you're the only person in this building who said what needed to be said.
05:06That's not a qualification.
05:08It is in my world.
05:09He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a sleek silver business card,
05:12sliding it across the table.
05:14His personal contact.
05:16Personal.
05:17My fingers stay frozen.
05:20Is this supposed to bribe me?
05:22No.
05:24It's so you can answer when I call.
05:26I swallow.
05:28Why would you call me?
05:29Because you're heading a department now,
05:31he says.
05:32But there's a dangerous softness underneath.
05:35And we'll be
05:35working closely.
05:38The air between us tightens.
05:40He moves toward the door,
05:41then stops.
05:42One more thing.
05:44I'm afraid to ask,
05:45but my mouth betrays me.
05:48What?
05:49You don't get to argue with me in public again.
05:52I cross my arms.
05:53Then don't be wrong in public.
05:55His laugh is brighter this time.
05:57Almost warm.
05:58You really don't know when to stop.
06:01I'm aware.
06:03He opens the door.
06:04Daylight pours around him like he owns the sun, too.
06:07Your promotion starts now,
06:08he says.
06:10And Marley?
06:11Yeah?
06:12You're not going anywhere.
06:14My pulse tumbles into a free fall.
06:17This is the moment.
06:18The point where logic should flip the fire alarm
06:20and drag me out of the building.
06:22Instead,
06:23I stand rooted to the floor,
06:25holding the card of a Mafia Don
06:26I didn't know was a Mafia Don,
06:28feeling like he just rewired the path of my entire life.
06:31Cassian Holt walks away,
06:33and for reasons I don't want to name yet.
06:34I already know I'm not escaping him.
06:37Not today.
06:39Maybe not ever.
06:40If anyone had told me that being promoted
06:41by the most intimidating man in the city
06:43meant I'd spend the next three days
06:45breathing the same air as him,
06:46I'd have worn better perfume.
06:48Or maybe a parachute.
06:50Something appropriate for free fall.
06:52Because that's exactly how this feels.
06:55Falling.
06:56Except the ground is nowhere in sight,
06:58and Cassian Holt is the one holding the rope.
07:01By day three,
07:02the office looks like a sunlit command center.
07:05Glass walls gleam.
07:06Floors shine.
07:08And employees move like they've been electrified
07:10by the rumor that the billionaire boss
07:11has suddenly taken a personal interest
07:13in some new department head.
07:15Me.
07:16My inbox is a Hydra.
07:18Every time I handle one email,
07:20two more appear.
07:22My brain is sweating,
07:23which I didn't think was possible.
07:25And yet,
07:26I'm thriving.
07:28Mostly.
07:29Partially.
07:30Okay.
07:31Fine.
07:31I'm one cappuccino away from crying
07:33in a bathroom stall,
07:35but Cassian keeps showing up unannounced,
07:37leaning against my doorway
07:38like a crime scene waiting to happen.
07:40And somehow that short circuits the panic.
07:43Not helps it.
07:44Just
07:45distracts me from it.
07:48Like emotional whiplash
07:49with expensive cologne.
07:51Today, he's early.
07:53Earlier than sunlight.
07:54Earlier than my sanity.
07:55He steps into my office,
07:57a folder in hand,
07:58wearing a light gray suit
07:59that probably has its own mortgage.
08:02Sunlight pours behind him,
08:04bright enough to make a halo
08:05around a man who definitely
08:06should not have one.
08:08You're coming with me,
08:09he says.
08:10I swivel in my chair.
08:12To where?
08:13I have 57 emails I haven't...
08:16He lifts a brow.
08:17Marley,
08:18that wasn't a question.
08:19Okay, but
08:20you can't kidnap people in daylight.
08:22That feels...
08:23unsubtle.
08:24He smirks.
08:25I don't kidnap my own employees.
08:28You did promote me against my will.
08:30That's like...
08:31emotional abduction.
08:33He pauses.
08:34Looks mildly delighted.
08:36Which is worrying.
08:37Is that what you call it?
08:39I didn't have time to Google a better term.
08:43His eyes warm just a fraction.
08:45A fraction that shouldn't count
08:46but absolutely does.
08:48Bring your notes,
08:49he says.
08:50And walk with me.
08:51When Cassian walks,
08:52the world moves for him.
08:55Hallways clear.
08:56Conversations stop mid-sentence.
08:58Phones pretend they were never ringing.
09:01I trot after him,
09:02praying I don't trip
09:03and somersault into his spine.
09:05We exit through a private elevator
09:06that requires a fingerprint scan,
09:08a key card,
09:09and probably a blood oath.
09:11As the elevator hums upward,
09:12he studies me.
09:14Really studies me.
09:15The kind of studying that strips excuses
09:17and leaves only truth.
09:19You're adjusting,
09:21he says softly.
09:23I'm trying.
09:24No,
09:25he corrects.
09:26You're adapting.
09:27Quickly.
09:28Is that your polite way of saying
09:29I look like I'm one spreadsheet
09:30away from a breakdown?
09:32One corner of his mouth tilts.
09:35If you were breaking,
09:36you'd hide it better.
09:37My stomach flips.
09:39Like literal gymnastics.
09:41The elevator doors sweep open
09:42to a rooftop deck
09:43glowing with brutal bright morning light.
09:46The skyline stretches around us,
09:48wide and unapologetically golden.
09:51New York looks like it's showing off.
09:54At the far end of the roof,
09:55a round glass table is set with files,
09:58iced coffee,
09:59a tiny vase of sunflowers,
10:00and exactly two chairs.
10:03My brain hiccups.
10:04Are we...
10:05having a meeting outside
10:06like rich people in TV shows?
10:08Cassian nods toward the table.
10:11I prefer sunlight.
10:13Darkness hides too much.
10:15That feels like a confession
10:16disguised as a weather preference.
10:18We sit.
10:19He hands me a folder labeled
10:21Rival Acquisition Proposal.
10:23I flip it open.
10:25Ten seconds in,
10:26I feel my pulse trip.
10:28Cassian,
10:28I whisper.
10:30This proposal is a trap.
10:32He leans back,
10:33watching me with calculated stillness.
10:35Explain.
10:36They're undercutting the price.
10:39It looks generous,
10:39but the assets listed
10:40don't match the valuation.
10:42They're baiting you into an acquisition
10:43that gives them access
10:44to your logistics chain.
10:47I shake my head,
10:48heat rising.
10:50This isn't a business offer.
10:52It's a setup.
10:53His jaw flexes.
10:55Go on.
10:56I point to a section.
10:58This clause right here.
10:59This is practically
11:00an engraved invitation
11:01for them to bury you in lawsuits,
11:03then force arbitration.
11:05You'd lose millions.
11:06Maybe more.
11:07Cassian doesn't move.
11:10He doesn't blink.
11:11And then slowly,
11:12he smiles.
11:13But it isn't a happy smile.
11:15Or a relieved one.
11:16It's the kind of smile
11:17a wolf makes
11:18when another predator
11:19tries to steal
11:19from his territory.
11:20I knew it.
11:23He murmurs.
11:24I told Mateo
11:25they were testing my defenses.
11:27Your defenses?
11:29I repeat.
11:30Or you.
11:32He studies me again,
11:33like he's peeling back
11:34a layer I didn't realize
11:35I was wearing.
11:36Both,
11:37he says.
11:38I press the folder closed.
11:40So what now?
11:42We counter.
11:43With what?
11:45You.
11:45His voice slices
11:47through the wind.
11:48You'll lead
11:48this strategy meeting.
11:50My heart stops.
11:52Leaves.
11:53Books a flight
11:53to anywhere else.
11:55Cassian,
11:56I barely survived
11:57the first meeting with you.
11:59And I wasn't even in charge.
12:00You are now.
12:02That's not encouraging.
12:04Marley.
12:05I look up.
12:07He holds my gaze
12:07with a gravity
12:08that pulls something
12:09inside me forward.
12:10If anyone can
12:11outmaneuver them,
12:13he says,
12:13it's you.
12:15The words hit my chest
12:16with a warmth
12:17I don't know how to carry.
12:19No one has ever said
12:19something like that to me.
12:21Not my ex.
12:22Not my old boss.
12:24Not anyone.
12:26You trust me?
12:28I whisper.
12:29No,
12:30he says plainly.
12:31But I trust your mind.
12:34My cheeks heat,
12:35but not because of embarrassment,
12:37because of something sharper.
12:38How dangerous
12:39are these people?
12:40I ask.
12:42His expression shifts,
12:43tightening.
12:44Dangerous enough.
12:45They're not just
12:46rival executives.
12:48Let me guess,
12:49I say,
12:50dry.
12:51Your world is more
12:52than spreadsheets
12:52and boardrooms.
12:54Yes.
12:55He doesn't elaborate.
12:56And you're stepping
12:57into it now.
12:59A breeze lifts my hair.
13:01Sunlight glints
13:01off the table,
13:02warm and sharp.
13:04You don't have to stay.
13:06He adds quietly.
13:07Something in my chest
13:08answers before my brain does.
13:10I want to.
13:12I'll stay,
13:13I say.
13:14The approval in his eyes
13:15is subtle,
13:16but it lights something
13:17inside me anyway.
13:18We work through strategies
13:19for an hour.
13:21His brain is all
13:21precision and restraint.
13:23Mine is messy,
13:24connective logic.
13:26Somehow we meet
13:27in the middle,
13:28building a counteroffer
13:29that's elegant and lethal.
13:31By the time we return
13:31to the office,
13:32employees scatter again.
13:34Not from fear.
13:35From the awareness
13:37that Cassian Holt
13:37doesn't walk beside people.
13:40He leads.
13:41Always.
13:42Except now.
13:43He's walking next to me.
13:46Inside the strategy room,
13:47sunlight blasts
13:48across the glass walls.
13:50The executives shuffle in,
13:51glancing nervously
13:52at the proposal
13:53in my hands.
13:55Cassian takes the seat
13:55beside mine.
13:57Not at the head
13:57of the table.
13:58Beside me.
13:59Which is bizarre enough
14:01that the CFO
14:02looks personally offended.
14:04Marley will present.
14:05Cassian announces.
14:07Dead silence.
14:08I start.
14:09My voice remains steady,
14:11even if my lungs
14:11file complaints.
14:13I break down the deal,
14:14the trap,
14:15and the counterattack.
14:16The room shifts
14:17as I speak.
14:19Fear turns into shock.
14:20Shock into grudging respect.
14:23When I finish,
14:24Cassian's voice
14:25lands like a gavel.
14:26We go with her plan.
14:28The table erupts.
14:29Protests.
14:30Questions.
14:31Nervous coughing.
14:33Cassian raises one hand.
14:34Silence slams back down.
14:36You will follow her,
14:38he says.
14:39Or you will find
14:39employment elsewhere.
14:41I stare at him,
14:42stunned.
14:43He didn't defend me gently.
14:45He armored me.
14:46After the meeting,
14:47I step into the hallway.
14:48Adrenaline buzzing.
14:50Cassian follows.
14:51You did well,
14:53he says.
14:54I didn't pass out.
14:55That's an improvement.
14:57I choke on a laugh.
14:59Was this your plan
14:59all along?
15:01Throw me to the wolves
15:01and see if I bite back?
15:03He steps closer.
15:05Way closer.
15:06The kind of clothes
15:06that makes light
15:07thicken around us.
15:09No,
15:10he says softly.
15:11My plan was to see
15:12if you could keep up.
15:14And?
15:15I whisper.
15:16His gaze lowers to my mouth
15:17for one impossible second.
15:19You're keeping up.
15:21My breath stutters.
15:22Then a voice shouts
15:23from down the hall.
15:24Cassian!
15:25We have a problem.
15:26The courier intercepted
15:27a package meant for us.
15:29It's from the rival group.
15:31He turns.
15:32Expression sharpening.
15:33Stay in your office,
15:35he tells me.
15:36Like hell.
15:37I shoot back.
15:38He actually stops.
15:40Blinks.
15:41Then laughs,
15:42low and disbelieving.
15:44You really don't listen.
15:46You're welcome.
15:48Sunlight floods the space
15:49between us like the world
15:49is trying to push us together.
15:52We'll talk,
15:52he says.
15:54When?
15:55When I know you're safe.
15:57He leaves with his team,
15:58moving fast.
15:59I stand alone,
16:01suddenly aware
16:01that I'm not just
16:02in the middle of a business war.
16:04I'm in the middle of his world.
16:06And daylight hasn't saved me yet.
16:08The building feels too bright.
16:11That's the first thing I notice
16:12as I stand in my office doorway,
16:14watching Cassian disappear
16:15down the hall
16:16with his security team.
16:17The sun slants through the windows
16:19like it's trying to expose
16:20every secret he's ever had.
16:22And maybe mine too.
16:24My pulse races
16:25like it's late
16:26for something important.
16:27I should stay put
16:28like he told me.
16:30Instead,
16:31I pace.
16:33Every inch of my body
16:34buzzes with that instinct
16:35I've been ignoring for days.
16:37The one that says
16:37I'm already too deep
16:38in all this.
16:39In him.
16:41In whatever gravitational weirdness
16:42exists between us.
16:44The courier intercepted a package.
16:46From the rivals.
16:47That's code for
16:48something big just shifted
16:49in his world.
16:51Which apparently I now orbit.
16:53I grab my phone.
16:54I draft three texts to Cassian.
16:57Delete all three.
16:58Then throw the phone
16:59onto my desk
16:59like it offended my ancestors.
17:02Five minutes pass.
17:03Then ten.
17:05Then fifteen.
17:06No Cassian.
17:07No update.
17:09No calm
17:09for the panic
17:10crawling up my spine.
17:12Screw staying put.
17:13I head down the hallway.
17:15Heels tapping
17:15like a countdown.
17:17Sunlight blasts
17:18across every polished surface,
17:20turning the office
17:20into a mirror maze
17:21of reflections and tension.
17:23I find Mateo,
17:24Cassian's second-in-command,
17:25near the security room.
17:27He stiffens immediately.
17:29Marley,
17:30he says.
17:31You need to go back
17:31to your office.
17:33I cross my arms.
17:35Yeah,
17:35that's not happening.
17:37He exhales like I'm
17:38an unexpected fire drill.
17:40Cassian.
17:42Cassian will get over it,
17:43I say.
17:44What's happening?
17:45A beat.
17:46He debates.
17:47Then he surrenders,
17:48which tells me things
17:49are worse than I thought.
17:51The rivals sent him a message,
17:53Mateo says.
17:54A very public one.
17:55He went downstairs
17:56to deal with it.
17:58Public.
17:59My stomach drops.
18:00I bolt for the elevator
18:01before he finishes
18:02shouting my name.
18:03The elevator zips down,
18:05gleaming with sunlight.
18:07I see my reflection
18:08in the mirrored panel.
18:09Wide eyes.
18:10Tense shoulders.
18:11A woman who thought
18:12she was stepping
18:13into a career move
18:14and somehow landed
18:14in a mafia power struggle
18:16disguised as corporate warfare.
18:18I sprint out into the lobby.
18:20That's when I see it.
18:22A silver briefcase
18:23sits in the middle
18:23of the marble floor.
18:25Untouched.
18:26A glaring centerpiece
18:27in the sunlit lobby.
18:29Security guards circle it.
18:30Tense and motionless.
18:32And Cassian stands
18:33in front of it.
18:34Expression carved from stone.
18:36He looks lethal in daylight.
18:38Beautiful, yes.
18:39Painfully so.
18:41But dangerous in a way
18:41that sunlight can't soften.
18:43His men part
18:44the moment I approach.
18:46Cassian turns sharply.
18:48Marley.
18:49His voice is low.
18:50Warning.
18:51Almost.
18:52Scared for me.
18:53You're supposed to be upstairs.
18:55You say that
18:56like it's ever stopped me.
18:58A flicker of something.
19:00Not amusement.
19:01Not annoyance.
19:02Something deeper.
19:03Moves through his eyes.
19:05The head of security
19:05hands Cassian a tablet.
19:08Scan shows no explosives.
19:10Cassian kneels beside the case
19:12and snaps it open.
19:14Inside is a stack of documents
19:15and one short note
19:16on crisp white paper.
19:17His jaw tightens as he reads.
19:19What is it?
19:20I ask.
19:21He doesn't answer immediately.
19:23So I step closer.
19:24Close enough to see
19:25the top page
19:26inside the briefcase.
19:27It's a contract.
19:28A forced acquisition agreement.
19:30Signed.
19:31By me.
19:32Except it's not my signature.
19:33Someone forged it
19:35with unsettling accuracy.
19:37My breath stutters.
19:38They're trying to frame me?
19:41Cassian stands.
19:42Closing the case
19:43with a sharp click.
19:44No.
19:45They're trying to get to me
19:46through you.
19:47Why me?
19:49Because you matter.
19:50The unspoken answer
19:51pulses between us.
19:52They believe you're a weakness.
19:56He says.
19:57Voice tight.
19:58A distraction.
20:00I try to laugh it off.
20:01But it comes out thin.
20:03Congratulations.
20:05Your new department head
20:06is a liability.
20:08His eyes flash.
20:09Don't say that.
20:11You're literally holding
20:12forged papers that say
20:13I sold out your company.
20:14And I know they're fake.
20:16How?
20:18Cassian steps closer.
20:19Not too close.
20:20Just close enough
20:21to cage the air between us
20:22with something unbearably real.
20:25Because you don't run.
20:26He says quietly.
20:27Not from me.
20:29Not from anything.
20:30And because when you lie,
20:31your left eyebrow twitches.
20:33I blink.
20:34It does not.
20:35It does.
20:36He softens.
20:37It's doing it now.
20:38My hand flies to my face.
20:40Great.
20:41I have tells.
20:42Fantastic.
20:44He almost smiles,
20:45but the moment cracks
20:46as security informs him
20:47the rivals have arrived.
20:49Down the street.
20:50Broad daylight.
20:51A challenge.
20:53Cassian's entire posture changes.
20:55Shoulders squared.
20:56Focus sharp.
20:57The kind of readiness
20:58that belongs to someone
20:59who survived too many battles
21:00to be fooled by sunshine.
21:02His team closes in around him.
21:05I grab his arm.
21:06You're not going alone.
21:08He looks down at my hand,
21:10then at me,
21:11and something heartbreakingly protective
21:13flickers across his expression.
21:15You shouldn't be here,
21:17he says softly.
21:18Tough, I say.
21:20I am.
21:21Mateo jogs over.
21:23Cassian.
21:23They're staging a confrontation outside.
21:26Cameras, too.
21:26They want to drag this out publicly.
21:29Cassian curses under his breath.
21:31Public confrontation in daylight.
21:33Exactly what you told me I'd get.
21:35He turns to me.
21:36Stay behind me.
21:37Like hell.
21:39But I follow anyway
21:40as we step out
21:40into the roaring brightness
21:41of the street.
21:43A small crowd gathers.
21:44Curious pedestrians.
21:46Workers on lunch breaks.
21:48The kind of people
21:48who film on their phones
21:49without understanding the danger.
21:52Across the plaza,
21:53three men in tailored suits wait.
21:55Their leader,
21:56a tall man with silver-streaked hair
21:57and a smug posture,
21:59smiles as Cassian approaches.
22:01Mr. Holt,
22:02he says,
22:03voice sunny and venomous.
22:05Lovely day.
22:07Cassian doesn't engage
22:08in pleasantries.
22:10End it.
22:11The rival boss
22:12holds up a folder
22:12identical to the one
22:13in the briefcase.
22:15Your new hire,
22:16he says,
22:17tilting his head at me,
22:18is quite ambitious.
22:20Shame you didn't vet her better.
22:22Cassian doesn't flinch.
22:24Her signature is forged.
22:26The man shrugs.
22:27Prove it.
22:28Cassian steps forward.
22:30His men tense.
22:31The rival's men tense.
22:33The whole plaza
22:33breathes electricity.
22:34I don't know what possesses me,
22:37courage or stupidity,
22:38but I step beside Cassian.
22:41Hi,
22:42I say,
22:43loudly enough for every camera.
22:45Marley Quinn here,
22:46unwilling participant
22:47in whatever scam
22:48you're trying to pull.
22:49Just to clarify,
22:50I didn't sell out this company.
22:52I've barely been here long enough
22:53to memorize everyone's coffee orders.
22:56A ripple of surprise
22:57passes through the crowd.
22:58The rival leader smirks.
23:00You're bold.
23:01She's honest.
23:03Cassian corrects,
23:04voice sharp steel.
23:05And you miscalculated.
23:07He takes the forged contract
23:08from the man's hand,
23:09holds it up to the sunlight,
23:11and then tears it cleanly
23:12down the middle.
23:14Gasps erupt.
23:16The rival boss's smile falters.
23:18Cassian steps closer,
23:19voice dangerously calm.
23:22If you come near her again,
23:23professionally,
23:24strategically,
23:25or otherwise,
23:25you won't enjoy the consequences.
23:28And what is she to you?
23:30The man snaps.
23:31An employee?
23:32The...
23:33Uh...
23:33Cassian cuts him off.
23:35Mine to protect.
23:37My heart doesn't just flip.
23:39It teleports.
23:40The rival boss stiffens,
23:42realizing he's lost the upper hand.
23:44This isn't over.
23:45It is,
23:47Cassian says.
23:48Walk away.
23:49The men retreat.
23:51The tension dissolves,
23:52replaced with murmurs
23:53and scattered applause
23:54from confused
23:55yet impressed bystanders.
23:56Cassian exhales slowly,
23:59adrenaline cooling.
24:00But not his eyes.
24:02They're on me.
24:03Only me.
24:05He steps forward.
24:06You shouldn't have come out here.
24:09You would have hated it
24:10if I didn't.
24:11He huffs a soft laugh.
24:13Fair.
24:14We stand there in full daylight,
24:16the city bright around us,
24:18everything exposed and unhidden.
24:20You said I'm not a weakness,
24:22I say quietly.
24:24You're not.
24:25Then what am I?
24:27Cassian Holt,
24:28the quiet storm of a man,
24:29the billionaire Don
24:30who commands fear with a look,
24:32swallows once.
24:34Important,
24:35he says.
24:36To me.
24:38My chest tightens.
24:40Say it clearer.
24:41He moves closer,
24:42close enough that sunlight
24:43outlines his jaw
24:44and shadows the space
24:45between our mouths.
24:46I choose you,
24:48he says simply.
24:49Over power.
24:50Over reputation.
24:51Over anything my world demands.
24:54The words detonate inside me.
24:56I step forward,
24:57closing the last inch.
24:59I choose you too.
25:01His hand lifts to my jaw.
25:03Gentle.
25:03Reverent.
25:04Like he's afraid I'll vanish.
25:06And then he kisses me.
25:08Not dark or desperate.
25:09Bright.
25:10Certain.
25:11Like daylight finally found
25:13something worth staying for.
25:14People cheer.
25:15Phones record.
25:17Mateo groans.
25:18Cassian ignores all of it.
25:20When he pulls back,
25:21he rests his forehead against mine.
25:23Marley.
25:25Stay in my life.
25:26Not just my company.
25:28I smile.
25:29Congratulations,
25:30Cassian Holt.
25:31For what?
25:32You just got promoted.
25:34To what?
25:36To someone I'm not running from.
25:38He laughs.
25:39Full.
25:39Real.
25:40Sunlight warmed.
25:41And just like that,
25:42we step back into the building together.
25:44Into whatever fierce,
25:45ridiculous,
25:46bright future we're about to build.
25:48If you want more dangerous daylight,
25:50more stolen glances across boardrooms,
25:52more billionaire tension that snaps like a rubber band pulled too far,
25:56hit like,
25:57subscribe,
25:58and turn on notifications so you never miss the next story.
26:01Tell me in the comments.
26:02Would you argue with a mafia boss in a meeting?
26:06Or would you fold like a lawn chair?
26:09And if you want their next chapter?
26:11The honeymoon heat?
26:12The power plays?
26:14The unexpected enemies?
26:15Or the moment Marley realizes Cassian's world is bigger than she ever imagined?
26:20Comment.
26:20Part two,
26:21and I'll write it.
26:23Your next obsession is waiting in broad daylight.
26:24Subtitled by
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