"Is there anything else you require me to do, Sir?" a woman's voice inquired from the other end of the encrypted line.
"Nothing. Just monitor whatever decision she makes," he commanded, his tone low and chillingly detached. "I want to see exactly how far her analysis takes her."
"Understood, Sir. I'll keep you updated on every detail."
"Good."
"With your permission, I'll return to my duties."
The call disconnected with a soft click. Raymond's dark gaze shifted back to the document resting on his desk. A highly classified strategic partnership proposal. It was a calculated piece of bait, a corporate labyrinth designed to land on a specific desk, testing whether a certain woman possessed the ruthlessness to survive it.
On the other side of the city, that very woman was trying to bury herself in her work. Yet, her focus this morning was utterly fractured. Her mind kept drifting back to a single person, replaying the events of the previous night in an agonizing loop.
