Chapter 1
"don't get too close, i'll turn you into poetry." 🐚✨
Designing with heart, soul, and a lot of caffeine. 📐🎨
🏎️Sunsets, salty hair, and blueprints that actually have a pulse. 🌅
🌊"I love you, I thought. But I didn't say it." 🕊️
CHAPTER 1
Maya
The smell of stale espresso and rain-dampened wool was supposed to be comforting. To me, it just smelled like the exact moment my hard work went to die. I stood in front of the massive mahogany desk in the corner office, my knuckles turning white as I practically choked the leather strap of my messenger bag. On the left side of the desk sat my portfolio—three years of grueling architectural drafting, endless sleepless nights, and designs that I had literally poured my soul into. On the right side sat Julian Vance. And Julian wasn’t even looking at me.He didn't look up when I walked in. He didn't look up when I purposely let the heavy oak door click shut with a sharp, echoing snap. He just kept flipping through a structural blueprint, his long, elegant fingers smoothing down the edges of the paper with a calculated precision that made my stomach twist into a tight, angry knot.
God, he was infuriating. From the pristine, unwrinkled collar of his charcoal suit to the sharp, aristocratic line of his jaw, Julian Vance looked exactly like what he was: a man who had never been told "no" a day in his life. He was the firm’s golden boy, the untouchable prodigy. And as of ten minutes ago, he was my newly appointed co-lead on the Waterfront Restoration Project. The one I had spent six miserable months pitching. "You’re late," he said. His voice was low, smooth, and entirely devoid of warmth. It was the kind of voice that belonged in a courtroom, cutting through the room like a scalpel. "The meeting was scheduled for three," I replied, forcing my voice to remain tightly controlled as I stepped closer. "It is currently 3:01. I am not late, Julian." He finally raised his eyes. They were a piercing, stormy gray, completely cold, and they locked onto mine with a smug indifference that made my blood instantly boil. He slowly closed the blueprint folder, leaning back in his expensive leather chair. "In my office, one minute past the hour is late, Maya. It shows a lack of discipline. And looking at your initial structural concepts for the south pier, discipline is exactly what you’re lacking." A wave of heat rushed up my neck. I took a step forward, slamming my palms flat onto his pristine desk, leaning in so he couldn't ignore me. "Excuse me? Those concepts won us the bid. The client loved the fluidity of the organic lines. They want something human, Julian. Not the sterile, concrete monoliths you usually copy and paste into the skyline because you lack the imagination to do anything else."
He didn't even flinch. He just tilted his head, his gaze dropping to my hands on his desk, then tracking slowly, deliberately up my arms. There was a faint, mocking curve at the corner of his mouth that made me want to punch him."The client loves ideas that look beautiful on paper," he murmured, his tone dripping with condescension. "My job is to make sure your pretty little drawings don't collapse into the Atlantic Ocean the first time a storm hits. You design with your feelings. I design with math. And frankly, your feelings are messy." "I would rather be messy than a literal machine," I snapped, my chest rising and falling with sharp, angry breaths. Julian stood up. He was a full head taller than me, his broad shoulders instantly blocking out the light from the window behind him. He stepped around the desk, invading my personal space until I was forced to tilt my head back just to look him in the eye. He stopped just inches away, radiating an arrogant composure that I desperately wanted to shatter."We have to work together for the next six months," he said, his gray eyes narrowing as he looked down at me. "So let’s draw a line right here. You stay on your side of the blueprint, and I’ll stay on mine. Don't question my methods, and I won't have to remind management why they put me in charge to fix your mistakes." "Our project," I whispered fiercely, refusing to step back or give him the satisfaction of seeing me intimidated. "And if you think I'm just going to roll over and let you erase my vision, Julian, you have absolutely no idea what you're up against." That smug smirk returned, sharp and entirely unbothered. "I guess we’ll find out tomorrow morning. 8:00 AM. Sharp. Try not to be late this time, Maya."I spun on my heel and marched out of his office, slamming the door behind me. My heart was hammering against my ribs, fueled by pure, unadulterated hatred. He was arrogant, he was insufferable, and I thoroughly loathed him. If he thought this was going to be an easy takeover, he was dead wrong. This was war.
