⋆ Chapter 46

Monday morning came too fast.

I was already at the office, halfway through my coffee and chatting with Georgia and Ralph by the printers. Georgia looked half-exhausted, half-heartbroken.

“So, the adoption didn’t go through?” I asked, frowning.

Georgia sighed. “They said he might not do well in an apartment. He’s part husky, part tornado.”

Ralph patted her shoulder. “Maybe that’s a sign. What if he pees on your houseplants and chews up your throw pillows?”

“They already look chewed up,” I added, trying to make her laugh. She smiled a little.

We were still huddled near the copier when I caught myself spacing out, my mind wandering—again—to the night before. More specifically, to Cillian’s cousin.

Friendly, chatty and a walking red flag wrapped in a smile. The way he joked about drinking my blood like he was asking for a sip of soda?

Then, like a ripple of energy through the floor, Oswald’s voice rang out.

“Conference room, everyone!”

We all glanced at each other. Georgia squinted. “Did I miss an email?”

“Are we getting fired?” Ralph whispered dramatically.

“No way. I bet it’s a team outing,” Georgia guessed. “Paintball? Escape room?”

I followed the flow of people into the conference room, doing my best to look like a normal employee and not someone who’d recently been to a secret vampire sex club, had her neck kissed by her undead boss, almost kissed him back, and spent the weekend fake-flirting with strangers online—on behalf of said boss.

Oh, I have been busy!

Wyatt was already at the front of the room. He grinned, straightening his tie.

“Good morning, team. We have a couple of announcements today. First, let’s all congratulate Oswald’s assistant. Candice is getting married and moving to Japan!”

A round of polite claps went around the room. Candice stepped up, looking a little tight around the eyes.

“I just want to say, thank you for everything—this wasn’t an easy decision,” she started, her tone sounding more like she was being politely forced to break up with us.

Oswald kept shifting next to her like he wanted to push her away already.

“I’ll miss you all—” she continued, and Oswald laughed too loudly.

“Alright, thank you, Candice!” he interrupted. “Now, moving on—”

But everyone had already started whispering. Through the glass walls of the conference room, we could see them.

Cillian was walking down the floor with one of his assistants. And beside him, another man.

Georgia leaned over. “Who is *that*?”

Ralph stared. “Did we just get a new department head? Is he the head of Hotness?”

I kept quiet.

Because I already knew exactly who that was.

And something told me this week was about to get a whole lot weirder.

Cillian entered the conference room first, dressed to kill as usual in a charcoal three-piece suit. Right beside him was *him*—the cousin.

His vibe was instantly different. Where Cillian was sharp angles and cold elegance, he was all warm grins and casual confidence. 

His midnight black hair made a striking contrast to Cillian’s silver, like night and frost standing side by side. He was in a fitted navy shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, paired with dark jeans and a pair of polished boots. Still sexy, still put-together.

Cillian was the first to speak.

“Thank you all for coming,” he said smoothly, his voice calm, commanding. His gaze swept across the room, pausing just a second too long on me. But then again, it kind of felt like he was doing that to everyone. Like he was reading the crowd and already calculating everyone’s productivity levels.

He continued, “As some of you may be aware, Valmont International has implemented structural adjustments to improve operational synergy during this period of transition.”

I swear, I heard Ralph whisper, *What the hell does that even mean?*

“To assist with this transition,” Cillian added, “we’ll be joined by a new member of the team—Soren Crowe.”

Cillian stepped back, and Soren took the floor.

Soren flashed a megawatt smile that probably caused three people to forget how to breathe. “And I’m Cillian’s cousin—lucky him, I know.”

The room chuckled. *Including* me. I hated that.

He continued, “I’m thrilled to be here. I’ve been in and out of Valmont’s global branches the last few years, but this is my first time really planting myself somewhere. I’m excited to get to know everyone, work with you all closely, and hopefully bring some fresh perspective.”

I glanced at Georgia and Ralph. Georgia was elbowing Ralph. Ralph just nodded slowly, clearly impressed—or in awe. Maybe both.

And then my eyes landed on Cillian.

He wasn’t smiling. At all.

If anything, he looked like he was counting backward from ten just to keep himself from throwing Soren out the window. It was subtle, of course. No one else probably noticed it. But I did.

Soren, meanwhile, was still riding the friendly train, shaking hands, and thanking people for the warm welcome like he was running for office.

And me? I just sank lower in my seat.

After Soren finished his little welcome tour of charm and charisma, Cillian took a step forward, effectively cutting the speech with a polite but final, “That will be all. Thank you.”

He turned to leave, but not before his eyes found mine again. This time, the look lingered. It wasn’t dramatic or even particularly intense. It was just long enough to say *I see you*, and then he was gone, his assistant following two steps behind like a shadow in a pencil skirt.

Soren, on the other hand, stuck around. Wyatt took over then, clapping a hand on Soren’s shoulder like they were old pals.

“Let’s all do our best to make Soren feel welcome,” Wyatt said with his usual cheerleader energy. “He’ll be helping us streamline operations and build synergy across the departments.”

There was that damn word again. *Synergy*.

Wyatt and Soren left together, with Wyatt leading him out to show him his new office. As soon as the glass door clicked shut behind them, Georgia sprang up from her chair and pointed at us like it was a code red.

“Break room. Now. I need caffeine and conspiracy theories.”

Ralph and I followed her out, and by the time we reached the coffee machine, Georgia was already mid-rant.

“Okay, first of all—why do I feel like we’re suddenly in a corporate mystery? Cillian’s extending his stay, then poof! Handsome cousin appears and now Candice is suddenly resigning? Getting married and moving to Japan? That woman didn’t even like sushi!”

“Maybe it’s just corporate restructuring?” Ralph offered, pouring himself what he claimed was coffee but looked more like battery acid.

Georgia gave him a look. “Corporate restructuring doesn’t usually come with that jawline.”

I stayed quiet. Stirring my tea.

“Tilly,” Ralph said. “You’ve barely blinked since the meeting. What’s going on with you?”

Georgia leaned in, squinting. “Wait… why do I feel like *you* know something we don’t? You went up to Mr. Ravenscroft’s again the other day.”

I looked up, froze for a second under their twin interrogation gazes, then gave them my most innocent shrug.

“What? He just… um, congratulated me on my progress,” I said, lying badly but committing to it. “You know, for showing up on time and dressing like I don’t hate my life.” I shrugged. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”

I was not about to admit that I already knew who Soren was, or that I had spent my Sunday evening hearing him casually ask to taste my blood.

Nope. Not sharing that.

Not yet, anyway.