Chapter 4 - The Morning After the MeltdownThe next morning, the corporate headquarters of Hawkins Enterprises hummed with its usual relentless, sterile energy.
I sat at my desk outside Ethan’s office, wearing a sharply tailored navy pencil skirt and a silk blouse that meant business. My coffee mug was filled to the brim with dark roast, my dual monitors were glowing with spreadsheets, and my heart was beating at roughly double its normal resting rate.
At precisely 7:59 AM, the private elevator chimed.
Ethan stepped out. He was dressed in a pristine charcoal three-piece suit, his silver-silk tie knotted to absolute perfection, carrying a leather briefcase in one hand and—to my utter astonishment—a custom paper cup from the boutique coffee shop down the street.
He walked across the polished marble floor, his long stride eating up the distance, until he stopped right in front of my desk.
"Morning, Alexa," he said smoothly.
"Good morning, Mr. Hawkins," I replied, raising an eyebrow as I gestured to the cup in his hand. "Is that for me? Because if you're trying to bribe your assistant after a minor professional breakdown last night, it's going to take more than a macchiato."
Ethan set the cup down gently on my blotter. Etched across the cardboard sleeve in neat handwriting was my exact order, followed by three handwritten words: Not just adequate.
A traitorous warmth flooded my cheeks. I looked up to find him watching me with an expression that was far too fond for a ruthless mafia boss.
"Drink your coffee, Miss Summers," Ethan instructed with a faint smirk. "Then pull up the dossier on the upcoming shipping merger in Boston. We have a lot of work to do."
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"Right away, boss," I murmured, taking a sip of the coffee. It was, annoyingly, the best macchiato I had ever tasted.
As Ethan turned and strode into his private office, leaving the glass door slightly ajar, I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face. The year of silence was over. The game had changed. And for the first time since I started working at Hawkins Enterprises, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged.
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