The conference room froze.
The assistant's round eyes moved between Ethan and Vivian.
Then she lowered her head and took a quiet step back.
A fight between people at this level was not a place for a small assistant to stand in the middle.
Vivian reacted at once.
She had been too excited.
She had forgotten that her relationship with Ethan was nowhere near close enough for her to take a formula like this for granted.
Vivian inhaled slowly and forced her professional smile back into place.
"This formula is extremely important to West Group," she said. "Name your price. Any condition within my ability, I can consider."
"Price?" Ethan turned the chair slightly.
Then he stood.
He closed the distance between them before Vivian could decide whether to retreat.
The pressure coming from him made her heart stumble.
Her usually cold face warmed faintly, a blush so light even she did not notice it at first.
She stepped back.
The sound of her heels against the floor became quicker.
Then her back met the wall.
No more retreat.
Ethan placed one hand beside her head.
Not touching her.
Not trapping her completely.
But close enough that the air between them changed.
Vivian was caught between the wall and his chest, with only a narrow distance separating them.
Close enough to hear his breathing.
Close enough to see the dark line of his lashes.
"What are you doing?" Vivian asked.
Her voice was softer than she wanted.
"This is West Group's conference room. My employees are outside. Don't get reckless."
She lifted her chin, trying to keep the posture of a business queen.
Ethan looked at the beautiful woman in front of him and smiled badly.
"My purpose has been the same from the beginning."
"What purpose?"
Vivian regretted asking the moment the words left her mouth.
Ethan did not answer immediately.
His gaze lowered.
Vivian followed his eyes without thinking.
Then she understood.
Her hands came up at once, crossing over her chest as she glared at him.
"Scoundrel. Where are you looking?"
The scolding should have sounded cold.
Instead, it carried a softness that made the assistant near the table stare at the floor with heroic determination.
Vivian West had suitors lined up across Northbridge.
No one had ever crossed her two-meter safety line.
Now this man had pushed her to the wall, looked at her like that, and all she did was call him a scoundrel?
The assistant had only one thought.
This really was a face-based society.
If a man like Ethan put her against a wall, she would probably forget how legs worked.
Vivian pushed at Ethan's chest.
It did not move him.
She gave up quickly.
"Not that," she said through gritted teeth. "Choose something else."
"Something else?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"If Miss West has so little sincerity, perhaps there is no need to discuss anything. You can find another formula."
He withdrew his hand and turned as if to leave.
"Wait."
Vivian reached out before she could stop herself and caught his wrist.
If West Group lost this formula now, the damage would be catastrophic.
And if she was honest with herself, spending more time with a man who looked exactly like her taste and had abilities bordering on monstrous did not seem unbearable.
"We can start as friends," Vivian said.
Her voice was low.
It carried the awkward softness of a woman making a concession she had never made before.
Ethan turned back, amusement in his eyes.
"Miss West, I don't think you've fully understood the value of this formula."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Once this product enters the market, it could easily become a hundred-billion-dollar business. Maybe more. You want a formula like that for friendship?"
Vivian was silent.
He was right.
Annoyingly right.
"Then what do you want?" she asked.
Ethan stepped forward again.
This time, Vivian saw him move and did not step away.
His right arm slid around her waist and drew her closer.
The movement was bold, but slow enough to give her time to refuse.
She did not.
Their bodies met.
Her breath caught.
The strength in his arm, the warmth through his jacket, the faint clean scent of him after the fight and the dinner, all of it pressed into her composure at once.
"At least a girlfriend," Ethan said.
Vivian's mind went blank for half a second.
If another man had demanded that, she would have slapped him.
But facing Ethan, she felt something more complicated than anger.
Interest.
Danger.
A strange, almost shameful thrill at being challenged by someone she could not easily crush.
"Fine," she said at last. "I agree."
Ethan's smile deepened.
"Since we're boyfriend and girlfriend, there should be some practical expression, right?"
Vivian narrowed her eyes.
"Don't push your luck."
"Call me darling."
Her eyes widened.
This man.
He really did not know when to stop.
But Vivian also knew that if she wanted the formula smoothly, she needed to let him win at least one round today.
She took a breath.
Her face warmed.
"Dar... ling."
The word came out stiff, broken, and sweet in spite of herself.
The assistant made a strangled sound.
Vivian's head snapped toward her.
"Maya."
"Yes, Miss West?"
"Take the sample and data to the patent office. Now."
"Yes. Right away."
Maya grabbed the materials.
At the door, she could not help smiling.
"I won't disturb your private time, Miss West. You two... talk slowly."
She ran out and closed the door behind her.
The click of the lock was very clear.
Vivian finally exhaled.
She looked back at Ethan, half angry and half helpless.
"Satisfied?"
Her hand rested against his chest, trying to create a little space.
Being held like this was strange.
Unfamiliar.
Too controlled.
And, most troubling of all, not unpleasant.
Then Vivian remembered something important.
After all this, she still did not know his name.
She took the chance to change the subject.
"I don't even know your name."
"Ethan Cole."
Vivian's expression froze.
"Ethan Cole?"
She repeated the name, brows drawing together.
It sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Like a memory she had heard many times but had never bothered to look at directly.
Author's Note:
This story will continue updating here.
If you want to read the full story without waiting, you can unlock it here:
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Thank you for reading.