The car rose up the on-ramp, engine humming like a warning. Eden stared at the blur of glass and steel outside, arms folded so tight her knuckles ached. She hadn’t spoken since she’d slammed the door. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She wouldn’t look rattled. Yet every time the car dipped over a seam, her fingers dug deeper into her palms.Her phone buzzed once. Then twice. Then again.On the fourth vibration she answered without looking. “Yes?”“Ms. Rivera,” Adrien said, voice clipped. “Mr. Vane requests your immediate return to the office.”Eden’s jaw flexed. “Is that so?”“He—he insists it’s urgent.”She pressed the phone against her temple. “Paul,” she said to the driver, “pull over.”The Lexus hugged the shoulder. Horns blared. Eden didn’t flinch. She ended the call, flipped through contacts, hit Raya’s name.“Eden, are you at the bar?” Raya’s laugh was brittle. “Because if he actually fired you, I’m posting a million TikToks about misogyny until they ban me.”“He wants me back.”There was a crackle of disbelief. “He what?”“He says it’s urgent.”“No. No way. Eden, you don’t walk back into a lion’s den because he got bored.”“I’m not going back for him.”“Oh? For who then? God? Karma?” Raya’s voice rose as if speaking into a void. “He destroyed you once—if you go back, he’ll do it again.”Eden leaned back. Through tinted glass she could already see the black shard of Vane Capital looming overhead. “This time I’m not the intern,” she said softly.“Jesus, Eden.”She clicked off. “Paul. Turn around.”---Cassian Vane was at his window when she stepped through the door—shoulders squared, stance alert. He didn’t turn until the click of her heels ceased to echo.“Thank you for coming,” he said, without warmth.She stood just inside the threshold, arms uncrossed now, weight even. “Your assistant called it urgent. Let’s make this quick.”He folded his hands behind his back. “I want you to come back.”Eden’s brow rose. “Is this a joke? I demolished your deck, set off a breach clause—and now you want me back?”He didn’t smile. “I reviewed your file.”She let that hang. “So you read my name.”“I didn’t—” He paused, his voice rough. “I meant, I—”“You didn’t know who I was when you had me escorted out like a liability,” she said, stepping closer until the smell of his cologne—warm cedar and musk—hovered between them. “Don’t insult us both.”Cassian inhaled. “I wasn’t trying to humiliate you.”“But you did.”He closed the distance without breaking stride. Eden braced herself as he stopped a foot away, the fabric of his charcoal suit nearly brushing her skirt. He met her eyes. “I was wrong.”Eden’s lips curved. “About everything?”He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like a second chance.”“Hmm.” She folded her arms. “Penance isn’t my style.”“I’m not asking for penance. I’m offering terms. Double your rate. No—triple.”Her mouth went dry. “Triple?”Cassian’s gray eyes held hers. “You told me I ignored risk flags. I ignored you. That was my mistake. I won’t make it twice.”She folded her arms tighter. “You think money erases the five years you stole from me? You think re-hiring me can fix that?”He shook his head. “Fix? No. But it’s a start. We both get something—your expertise and the chance for me to not screw this up again.”Silence settled in a fine dust around them. Then Eden let it out in a breath. “You sure you want to invite me back into your world?”He leaned forward, voice low. “More than I want anything else.”She swallowed. “What about my autonomy? My boundaries?”“Your call. You run your department. Full veto over any decision that involves you. You ask and I’ll back you. No exceptions.”Her heart hammered. A bargain that sweet felt dangerous. “Sounds ideal.”“Then let’s draw it up.”Eden closed her eyes for the briefest second, tasting the irony of trusting the man who crushed her career. When she opened them, they were clear. “I’ll do it—under those terms. But understand this: I’m not here for gratitude. I’m here to keep you honest.”Cassian studied her, as if mapping her scars. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”She turned to the door. “I’ll have my lawyer and a draft contract by tomorrow morning.”He watched her back recede. Then he said quietly, “Eden—”She paused, hand on the handle. He held up a folder. “Details.” He placed it on a side table. “Read. Sign. Then we start.”She glanced at the manila cover, blue Post-its peeking from the edges. “I’ll read it.”She left without another word. The door swung shut, muffling the low hum of the city beyond.---In the smoked-glass corridor, Marcus Calloway leaned against the wall, arms folded. He’d seen her exit before she reached the lobby’s glare. He straightened, jaw hard.“She walked right back in,” he muttered, as though confessing a crime.He glanced down the hall to where security officers hovered. “She should’ve stayed gone.”Touching his phone, he murmured into the receiver, “I brought her down once. I’ll do it again—by any means necessary.”