Byron finally let out a sigh of relief. Clearly, having Eleanor step in was far more persuasive.

If he'd been the one to submit the report, who knows-he might've had to deliver a stack of paperwork the size of a hay bale.

Faye shot Eleanor a sharp look, while Decker glanced at her with open gratitude.

If it hadn't been for Eleanor, everyone in that conference room would've caught hell today. In a worse-case scenario, they might've even lost an engineer or two on the spot.

When the meeting wrapped up, people filed out one after another.

As Eleanor gathered her files, lan's low voice cut through the air. “Stay."

At the door, Faye overheard him. She turned back, eyeing Eleanor curiously.

Ever since Eleanor had joined Meridian Dynamics, Faye couldn't shake the feeling that she was always-whether intentionally or not-drawing lan's attention. Or was it just her imagination?

Eleanor paused, her hands stilling on her paperwork. Her voice was frosty. "If you have something to say, make it quick. I'm busy."

"Keep your distance from Xavier for a while," lan said coolly. "His father just passed, and there's a power struggle brewing. You don't want to get tangled up in unnecessary trouble."

Eleanor looked up at him, her gaze unreadable. Without a word, she gathered her files and turned to leave.

Suddenly, a strong hand seized her wrist. The grip was so forceful that she lost her balance, stumbling straight into lan's chest.

lan, still seated, clearly hadn't expected her to be so unsteady. He caught her instinctively, steadying her before she could topple onto him.

At that very moment, Faye-pretending to have forgotten something-doubled back and was stunned by the scene unfolding inside.

Just as she'd suspected.

With no one else around, Eleanor was using every trick in the book to cozy up to lan.

From Faye's vantage point, Eleanor's face was buried against lan's shoulder, while his hands gripped her shoulders as if trying to keep her at arm's length.

Faye's eyes flashed with contempt. Eleanor really had no shame.

Didn't she realize Mr. Goodwin was saving himself for Vanessa? Throwing herself at him was pointless.

Faye couldn't be bothered to watch any longer. She figured Eleanor would just get brushed off-there was no way she'd get anything out of lan.

But the truth was-Eleanor had twisted her ankle.

Pain shot through her leg, leaving her trembling and drawing a sharp breath. Beads of sweat broke out instantly across her forehead.

On reflex, she grabbed lan's shoulder, her fingers digging almost painfully into the fabric of his shirt.

"Let go of me," she hissed through clenched teeth.

lan reached out to steady her, and Eleanor braced herself against the cool marble

of the conference table before crouching down, unable to put weight on her throbbing leg.

lan's brow furrowed as he glanced at her ankle. "You hurt your foot?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

Eleanor ignored him. If he hadn't yanked her so suddenly, she wouldn't have ended up like this.

Without warning, lan bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

"Put me down!" Eleanor struggled, seething.

lan didn't even acknowledge her protest. He strode out of the conference room, carried her straight to her office, and gently set her down on the sofa.

Along the way, every passing coworker witnessed the scene.

Faye, sitting at her desk, caught sight of them as well. Immediately, she got up and headed to Eleanor's door, just in time to see lan kneeling to examine Eleanor's injured leg.

First she throws herself at him and fails, now she's pretending her leg hurts? Give me a break.