Xi Corporation's Headquarters, 13:35;
Xi Yuan sat in the conference room, eyes fixed on the endless slides flashing across the screen.
The only betrayal of his fraying patience was the sharp tick in his jaw and the subtle chill rolling off him, a quiet storm cloaked in composure.
Every stuttered word, every languid sip of water, every delayed answer from the employees across the table scraped against his nerves like sandpaper.
His gaze kept flicking from his watch to the glass-paneled door, as if sheer willpower might conjure her silhouette beyond it—her wandering down the corridors of his empire, fingertips grazing the vases and railings with that curious mischief of hers.
But he knew better. She wasn't coming just yet. She was in the cafeteria, eating quietly.
When her message had popped up earlier, saying she was in his office, he'd nearly dismissed the entire boardroom.
