I barely slept.
My dreams circled around the elevator, replaying his voice on a loop. No one touches what is mine. The words sink beneath my skin, impossible to ignore, impossible to categorize. I tell myself he meant it in terms of control. Possession. Contractual ownership, not anything personal.
But the truth is, nothing about the way he said it felt contractual. He said it like a claim.
All morning I try to shake the thought, tossing it aside every time it resurfaces, but my mind keeps picking it up again. It unsettles something in me. Not attraction. Not fear. Something stranger. Something I do not want to name.
When I step into the office, Damian is already at his desk. Sleeves rolled. Jaw tight. He glances up briefly, and for the first time since I started working here, he avoid
