"Ms. Salinger?"
Andy's voice snapped her back to the present. He was looking at her with a mix of confusion. "You've been staring at my stapler for two minutes with a terrifying grin on your face. Are you planning to murder it?"
Louise jumped, smoothing her skirt. "Sorry. Just... thinking about the wedding. It's going to be... expensive."
Andy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure."
Louise hesitated. She looked at this man—her boss.
The Moon Goddess had said her Fated Mate was wealthy, handsome, and devoted. Andy Finch was certainly wealthy and handsome.
And today... in the hallway... he had protected her. He had stood between her and David like a shield. For a moment, she had felt safe.
Could it be? Louise wondered, a tiny spark of hope igniting in her chest. Could the jerk boss actually be the one?
She needed to test the waters. She needed to know if that gentleness was real, or if it was just him being a controlling Alpha protecting company property.
"Mr. Finch," Louise ventured, standing up. "Since you're the CEO, and David respects you so much... I was wondering if you'll be attending the wedding?"
Andy stiffened. The pen in his hand stopped moving. "I'm afraid my schedule is quite packed, Louise. I generally avoid... employee nuptials. It blurs the lines."
"Oh," Louise said, trying to hide the hurt. "That's a shame. We would have loved a gift from the company."
Andy looked at her, his jaw tightening. "I will have Evelyn send a standard registry gift. A blender, perhaps."
"Actually," Louise took a step closer to the desk, her heart pounding. She decided to gamble. "I'm not really a blender person. But I love flowers. If you were going to send something... I'd love a bouquet of purple tulips."
She watched his face closely.
Purple tulips were rare. They were her favorite. That's a hint given by the Moon Goddess. If he's her fated mate, he'd definitely have a say about these flowers.
Andy froze. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch. His knuckles turned white around the pen.
For a second, silence hung heavy in the room.
Then, Andy let out a short, derisive scoff.
"Tulips?" Andy sneered, his lip curling in distaste. "A bit pedestrian, isn't it? I would have pegged you for a roses woman. Or perhaps lilies. Tulips are for... Dutch tourists and roadside motels."
He shook his head, looking back at his papers with a dismissive wave. "If that's your taste, Ms. Salinger, perhaps a blender is the safer bet."
Louise felt the spark of hope extinguish instantly. It was like dousing a match in ice water.
Of course, she thought, feeling foolish. He doesn't care. He mocked my taste. He thinks I'm pedestrian.
The protection in the hallway wasn't love. It was just management. He was the CEO, and she was a screaming liability he had to calm down. That was all.
"You're right, Mr. Finch," Louise said, her voice hollow. "You probably have better taste than I do. After all, I'm the one marrying David."
The double meaning hung in the air, but she didn't wait for him to catch it.
"You should go, Ms. Salinger," he muttered without looking up. "I have work to do."
"Goodbye, Mr. Finch," Louise said.
She turned and walked out of the office, closing the heavy glass door behind her. So much for the Fated Mate theory, she thought as she walked away. Back to square one.
Inside the office, the silence was deafening.
Andy Finch sat perfectly still for ten seconds.
Then, he moved.
He swept his arm across the desk in a violent arc.
CRASH.
The stack of files, the tablet, and the expensive crystal stapler went flying, crashing into the wall.
He slammed his fists onto the mahogany desk, his head dropping between his shoulders.
"Tulips," he growled, his voice a ragged whisper of agony. "She asks for purple tulips."
He reached under his desk and pulled out a long, rectangular delivery box. He ripped the lid off.
Inside lay two dozen perfect, deep purple tulips. He had ordered them this morning, the moment he woke up with a strange, inexplicable urge to see her smile.
He stared at the flowers, feeling like the universe was playing a cruel joke on him. He had panicked. He couldn't let her know he knew. He couldn't let her see how obsessed he was. So he mocked her.
"Damn it!" he roared, kicking his chair. "I am an idiot."
Knock. Knock.
The door opened tentatively.
Andy whipped around, his eyes blazing. "I said I have work to do!"
It wasn't Louise.
A young woman stood in the doorway. She looked to be about twenty-two, with messy hair, oversized glasses, and a hoodie that said 'I Code, Therefore I Am.' She was clutching a thick binder to her chest.
This was Mia Finch. His younger sister. The bane of his existence, and currently, an unpaid intern in Product Development because their father insisted she learn the value of hard work.
No one in the company knew they were related. Andy preferred it that way. It kept the nepotism accusations to a minimum, and it kept Mia humble.
"Bad time?" Mia squeaked, eyeing the stapler on the floor.
"Terrible time," Andy snapped, running a hand through his hair. "What is it, Mia? Did the coffee machine gain sentience again?"
"No," Mia said, stepping into the room and closing the door. She marched up to his desk and slammed the binder down on top of the tulip box, oblivious to the flowers. "I have a proposal. A real one."
Andy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Mia, you're an intern. Your job is to debug the legacy code and fetch donuts."
"I'm a genius, Andy, and you know it," Mia huffed. She flipped the binder open. "Look. I've been working on the quantum displacement algorithms. The theoretical physics holds up."
Andy glanced at the title page.
PROJECT CHRONOS: The Time Button.
Andy stared at it. Then he laughed. It was a harsh, barking sound.
"Time travel?" Andy scoffed. "Mia, this is a tech company, not a sci-fi convention. We make apps that help people find dog sitters. We don't break the space-time continuum."
"It's not sci-fi!" Mia argued, her face turning red. "It's possible! If we can harness enough energy from witches—"
"It's ridiculous," Andy cut her off, his patience at absolute zero. "It's a waste of resources. It's childish. Grow up, Mia. Focus on something realistic."
He pushed the binder back at her, knocking it off the desk.
Mia stared at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're just like Dad. You have no vision. You're just a... a corporate suit!"
"And you," Andy sneered, taking his frustration with Louise out on the easiest target, "are delusional."
"You're a horrible brother!" Mia shouted.
She grabbed her binder and turned on her heel, sprinting for the door.
She threw it open and blinded by tears, ran full tilt into the hallway.
SMACK.
"Oof!"
Mia collided with a solid body just outside the door.
Papers flew everywhere. The binder hit the floor, spilling its contents. Schematic drawings of a silver button with a red center scattered across the carpet.
Louise, who had been lingering near the water cooler trying to calm her nerves, stumbled back, catching the sobbing girl before she fell.
"Whoa, easy there," Louise said gently, steadying the intern.
Mia looked up, sniffling, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I'm... I'm sorry. I wasn't looking."
Louise looked down at the papers at their feet.
Her eyes locked onto a drawing. It was a technical sketch of a small, silver device.
Louise's heart stopped. She looked from the drawing to the crying girl, and then to the open door of the CEO's office where Andy was fuming.
"Are you okay?" Louise asked, her voice trembling.
"No," Mia sobbed. "My boss... he's a monster. He said my idea was trash."
Louise bent down and picked up a page. The header read: Phase 1: Time Reversal Prototype.
Louise looked at Mia with wide, realizing eyes.
This wasn't just an intern. This was the architect of her salvation.
"He said it was trash?" Louise whispered, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Well... maybe he just needs a little convincing."