Chapter Four. Lines You Can’t See.

The conference room smelled faintly of citrus and steel. Elsie sat quietly at the far end of the glass table, taking notes, while Loe stood near the screen presenting quarterly figures to a small group of board clients. His sleeves were rolled up again, his tie loosened just enough to look human.

Every word he spoke was clear. Crisp. Measured.

Elsie admired that about him.She scribbled down a figure, glanced up and saw her.

The woman. Tall. Blonde. Perfectly polished. A silk blouse a little too tight, red lips a little too bold. She was seated to Loe’s right, but her attention wasn’t on the presentation.It was on him.

Elsie tried not to react. Not when the woman leaned in just a little too close to whisper something. Not when her hand casually brushed Loe’s forearm as she reached for her water. Not even when she laughed softly just for him.

Loe didn’t react. His face remained professional. Focused. But he didn’t pull away either.

Elsie’s pen slipped. Ink streaked the page.

She looked down quickly, wiping it away with her thumb, pretending it didn’t matter. Pretending she didn’t feel something sharp in her chest that wasn’t supposed to be there.

You’re not supposed to care, she reminded herself.

You’re supposed to seduce him, not fall for him.

But that voice, the one she used to silence so easily was starting to crack.

The meeting ended with handshakes and polite smiles. Loe nodded to her, signaling it was time to collect the files. As she moved around the table, the blonde woman turned to Loe again.

“We should get drinks sometime,” she said lightly, her hand brushing his wrist again. “Just us. You and I haven’t caught up in ages.”

Loe’s voice was cool. “I don’t mix business with drinks.”

She pouted. “You used to.”

“I used to do a lot of things.”

He walked away before she could say more.

Elsie swallowed her smile before it could rise too far.

Later that night,The restaurant was dimly lit and overpriced. Elsie had never stepped foot in a place where the menu didn’t show the prices, which meant one thing: she couldn’t afford a single sip of water there.

Aria sat across from her in a deep blue dress, hair swept back into a knot so perfect it made Elsie’s ponytail feel like a crime.

“I hear you’ve made quite the impression already,” Aria said, sipping her wine slowly. “Loe didn’t fire you after one day. That’s… promising.”

Elsie kept her voice neutral. “I’m just trying to do the job well.”

“I don’t care if you do it well,” Aria said flatly. “I care if you do what I paid you for.”

Elsie looked down at her untouched plate.

“Something wrong with the food?” Aria asked. “Or is guilt starting to taste bitter?”

“I’m trying,” Elsie murmured.

“Try harder.” Aria leaned in, her voice dropping. “He’s vulnerable right now. I know that man. When he starts trusting someone, he lets his guard down. You need to be there when he does.”

“I don’t want to hurt him,” Elsie said before she could stop herself.

Aria blinked slowly. “Oh, sweetheart. You think you can play this game without drawing blood?”

Elsie said nothing.

Aria sat back, swirling her wine. “You’re not the first girl to fall for a man who wasn’t hers. But be careful, Elsie. You’re not playing for love. You’re playing for survival. And if you lose, you lose everything.”

A long silence stretched between them.

Then Aria’s smile returned sharp and dazzling. “I’ll expect progress by the end of the week.”

She rose and left without another word.

Elsie sat alone at the table, the candle flickering in front of her like a silent warning. Somewhere between the boardroom and the restaurant, she had started to forget which side she was really on.

But tonight reminded her.She wasn’t Loe’s right hand.She was the knife behind his back.And she was running out of time.