Chapter 2 THE MEETING.

The elevator chimed as it opened on the top floor of the Imperial Crest Hotel.

Sasha stepped out slowly, her palms damp against the black clutch in her hand. She was dressed modestly-knee-length dress, dark heels, barely-there makeup-but she still felt exposed. Not because of the outfit.

Because of where she was going.

And who was waiting.

A hotel staff member led her through a gold-lit hallway to a private lounge suite. Heavy doors opened silently to reveal a long mahogany table under a chandelier of crushed glass and crystal.

Xavier was already seated at the head.

He didn't rise.

He didn't speak.

He only watched.

His black suit blended with the shadows behind him. His hair was slicked back, revealing a forehead smooth and unlined, a jaw set in stone. He looked like wealth in human form-impossibly handsome, brutally silent, and dangerous to be close to.

Sasha approached slowly.

"You're late," Xavier said, without looking at his watch.

"I apologize, sir."

He nodded toward the empty seat beside him. "Sit."

She obeyed, quietly, folding her hands in her lap.

A few seconds later, the doors opened again. Two sharply dressed men entered-members of the board, judging by their swagger. Mid-fifties. Confident. One of them smiled at Sasha too quickly.

"Ah, Xavier," the shorter one said. "Glad you brought a little beauty with the brains this time."

Sasha stiffened.

Xavier didn't respond. Didn't smile. Just opened a leather folder and handed it forward. "Numbers."

The meeting began.

They spoke of acquisitions. Mergers. International licensing. Sasha barely breathed, scribbling notes when Xavier instructed her to. But she could feel it-the man on her left kept glancing at her.

Then, eventually, he leaned toward her during a pause in conversation.

"Have we met before?" His voice was low. "I swear you look familiar."

Sasha flinched slightly. "I-I don't think so."

Xavier didn't say a word.

But the silence that followed was thick. Cold. And when Sasha glanced at him, his jaw was tight, his fingers clenched against the table.

The man smiled again. "Well, maybe I'll see you around the building sometime."

"She won't be attending board meetings regularly," Xavier said suddenly, voice like steel.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Shame."

The conversation moved on-but Xavier's silence deepened.

When the meeting ended, the two board members stood. Handshakes. Hollow laughs.

And then-

The man who'd been watching Sasha leaned in again. "You headed out now?"

Sasha opened her mouth, but he beat her to it. "I've got a car waiting. I could drop you-"

She froze.

Xavier said nothing.

But when she looked at him, his eyes were already on her-dark, dangerous, unreadable. A warning sat in that stare. Something furious and restrained.

Sasha swallowed.

"I-okay," she said softly. "Thank you."

Xavier didn't move.

The man grinned and extended his arm. Sasha followed him out without looking back.

But as the doors closed behind them, Xavier's hand tightened so hard around his glass that it cracked at the rim.

He didn't speak.

Didn't react.

Just sat alone at the table.

Eyes cold.

Jaw locked.

Breath silent.

            
            

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