The morning light in Dallas was too bright.
It slipped through the thin gap between the curtains and stretched across the quiet hotel suite, turning the glass table pale gold. The city below was already alive. Cars moved like streams of metal far beneath the window, horns distant and muffled.
Lillian Parker had been awake for almost an hour.
She sat at the small table in the living area, fully dressed, tablet open in front of her. Notes from yesterday's meeting filled the screen. Bullet points. Timelines. Follow-ups.
But she wasn't really reading them.
Her mind kept drifting back to the same moment.
The glass of water.
The dissolving tablet.
Sebastian drinking it.
Her stomach twisted again.
I drugged my boss.
Technically it was his own medication. Technically it was meant to help him sleep.
But still.
The thought made her chest tighten.
Every few seconds her eyes drifted toward the bedroom door.
Still closed.
Still quiet.
Which meant one thing.
He was still asleep.
Eight hours and seventeen minutes.
She had checked the clock three different times during the night because she didn't quite believe it herself.
Sebastian Wolfe sleeping that long felt almost impossible.
A soft creak came from the bedroom.
Lillian immediately straightened.
Footsteps followed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Then the door opened.
Sebastian stepped into the living area.
His dark hair was slightly disheveled, like he had run a hand through it too many times. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, and the sleeves were rolled up carelessly.
He looked… different.
Not polished.
Not perfectly controlled.
Just tired.
But not the bone-deep exhaustion she had seen yesterday.
His eyes lifted.
They met hers instantly.
And narrowed.
He remembered.
Of course he did.
Lillian stood up quickly.
"Good morning, Mr. Wolfe."
His gaze stayed on her for a moment longer before he walked toward the table.
His voice, when he spoke, was calm.
Too calm.
"How many milligrams?"
She blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
Sebastian stopped across from her.
"The tablet you dissolved in my water," he said flatly. "How many milligrams?"
The words landed like small stones in the quiet room.
Lillian hesitated.
"Ten."
He studied her face carefully.
There was no shouting.
No raised voice.
But the air between them felt suddenly colder.
"You drugged me."
"I used your medication."
"You administered medication to your employer without consent."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the tablet.
"Yes."
Silence settled over the room.
Sebastian slowly pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.
His movements were deliberate.
Controlled.
"You crossed a line."
"I know."
"That was extremely unprofessional."
"I know."
His fingers tapped the table once.
A small, sharp sound.
"Do you understand that I could terminate your employment immediately for something like that?"
Lillian felt her chest tighten slightly.
But she didn't argue.
"Yes."
The answer came quietly.
Sebastian watched her.
Waiting.
Maybe expecting a defense.
An excuse.
But she didn't offer one.
Which seemed to irritate him more.
"You seem very calm for someone who might be fired."
"I'm not calm."
"Then explain your decision."
Lillian took a slow breath.
"You haven't slept properly in days."
"That is not your responsibility."
"You were shaking during the meeting yesterday."
Sebastian's expression shifted slightly.
Only slightly.
"You were tapping the table every few seconds," she continued carefully. "Your hands were unsteady when you signed the contract."
His eyes narrowed.
She had noticed.
Of course she had.
"You were exhausted," she finished quietly. "And you weren't going to take the medication yourself."
The room went quiet again.
Sebastian leaned back in the chair.
Studying her.
"So you decided to take control of the situation."
"Yes."
"That was not your decision to make."
"I know."
"And yet you did it anyway."
"Yes."
Her honesty hung in the air between them.
Sebastian exhaled slowly and rubbed his temple with two fingers.
Then he said something that made her blink.
"I slept eight hours."
Her eyes widened slightly.
Eight hours.
That was longer than he had slept in weeks.
Maybe months.
"You look surprised," he said dryly.
"I didn't expect it to work that well."
His gaze sharpened immediately.
"So this was an experiment."
"No."
"Then what was it?"
She hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
"You looked like you were about to collapse."
Sebastian went very still.
Something flickered across his expression.
Gone almost instantly.
"You are my secretary," he said firmly. "Not my doctor. Not my caretaker."
"I understand."
"You will never do something like that again."
"I won't."
Another silence settled between them.
Sebastian stood.
The chair legs scraped softly against the floor.
He walked to the large window overlooking the city and crossed his arms.
Outside, the Dallas skyline shimmered under the rising sun.
Traffic flowed below like restless veins.
Behind him, Lillian remained standing.
Waiting.
"You were lucky," he said after a moment.
She frowned slightly.
"Lucky?"
"If that medication had interacted badly with something else I took yesterday, the consequences could have been serious."
Her stomach dropped.
She hadn't thought of that.
Not fully.
"I'm sorry."
He turned around slowly.
His voice was sharper now.
"You don't get to make decisions about my health."
"I won't again."
"You also don't lie to me."
She nodded.
"I won't."
Another pause.
Then Sebastian's voice dropped colder.
"If you ever do something like that again, Miss Parker…"
He let the sentence hang.
Heavy.
"…you won't be working for Sovereign anymore."
Her throat tightened.
"Understood."
The words came out steady.
But barely.
Sebastian studied her for another long moment.
Then turned away and walked back toward the bedroom.
Just before he reached the door, he stopped.
Without looking at her, he asked,
"How long did I sleep exactly?"
Lillian quickly checked the clock on her tablet.
"Eight hours and seventeen minutes."
A pause.
Then a small nod.
"Good."
And he disappeared into the bedroom again.
The door closed softly.
Lillian let out a slow breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly.
She wasn't fired.
But she was definitely standing on very thin ice.
Ten minutes later the bedroom door opened again.
Sebastian stepped out fully dressed now.
Black suit.
White shirt.
Tie perfectly straight.
The polished, controlled CEO had returned.
His hair was neatly combed again.
His expression unreadable.
As if the earlier conversation had never happened.
"Prepare the meeting notes," he said.
"I already have."
"Good."
He picked up his laptop bag from the chair.
"We're leaving in ten minutes."
Lillian grabbed her tablet and slipped it into her bag.
They moved around the suite quietly, gathering their things.
The tension between them lingered in the air.
Then Sebastian paused near the door.
"Miss Parker."
"Yes?"
He didn't turn around.
But his voice was quieter now.
"Despite your extremely questionable judgment last night…"
A brief pause.
"…the meeting today will probably benefit from the fact that I'm not half-delirious."
For a moment, Lillian almost smiled.
Almost.
But Sebastian opened the door before she could respond.
"Don't mistake that for approval."
And with that, Sebastian Wolfe stepped into the hallway.
Lillian followed him out.
Another long day of business waiting ahead.
But something had shifted between them.
Not softer.
Not friendlier.
Just different.
And neither of them quite knew what to do with it yet.