He entered quietly, pouring a glass of chilled water from the carafe she always kept on her credenza, and placed it on her desk without a word. It was a small ritual they'd developed over years of working together—water, not coffee or tea, when the moment required clarity.
Victoria didn't turn, but he saw her shoulders relax slightly, acknowledging his presence.
"You handled that perfectly," he said finally, breaking the silence.
"I know," she replied, but without her usual edge. Something in her tone made him look more closely. Victoria appeared subdued, almost vulnerable—a side of her so rarely seen that James sometimes forgot it existed.
He wanted to say more, to acknowledge the strange intimacy of having their professional relationship publicly scrutinized, to thank her for defending him and those secretly in a corporate relationship so ardently. But the words caught in his throat.
Part of him had flinched when she'd so definitively stated their relationship was purely professional. It was true, of course—they had never crossed that line, never acknowledged the current that sometimes ran between them or quiet moments of shared triumph. Hearing her dismiss the possibility so completely had stung in a way he hadn't anticipated. But at the same time he was visibly glad she also left a possibility of them being together.
"The merger timeline remains on track," he said instead, retreating to the safe ground of business. "Next called to confirm they're still committed to the original schedule."
Victoria nodded, finally turning from the window. "Good. We can't afford delays, especially now."
For a moment, they just existed together in the quiet space. No power dynamics, no titles, no strategic calculations. Just silence and the fading afternoon light casting long shadows across her office.
"Connect a video call to Guillermo Vasquez in Madrid," Victoria said suddenly, her voice regaining its customary authority. "It's time for our meeting."
James looked up, surprised. "I wasn't aware you had scheduled a call with Meridian Technologies."
A small smile played at the corners of Victoria's mouth. "There are still some things I keep to myself, James." The familiar confidence was back in her voice. "Set it up in here, please. And stay for the call—I want you to take notes."
Ten minutes later, the large screen on Victoria's wall flickered to life, revealing Guillermo Vasquez's office in Madrid. The patriarch of the Vasquez Empire sat behind a massive desk of dark wood, his silver hair and sharp features projecting authority even through a digital connection.
"Victoria," he greeted warmly. "It's been too long."
"Guillermo," Victoria replied with genuine affection. "Thank you for making time for me. I hope your health is improving?"
The older man waved dismissively. "The doctors exaggerate. I have never been more robust."
As they exchanged pleasantries, James noticed a figure in the background of Vasquez's office—Elena Vasquez, standing near a bookshelf, her posture rigid with barely contained fury. The realization hit him suddenly: Victoria had never intended to discuss business with Guillermo. This meeting was a strategic move aimed directly at Elena.
"I was concerned when you mentioned you urgently needed to speak with me about a possible business collaboration between our companies," Guillermo was saying. "But you seem well, Victoria. Not like someone facing a business emergency."
Victoria's smile didn't waver. "No emergency at all. I simply wished to reconnect with my old mentor and discuss some potential opportunities. Perhaps I expressed myself too urgently in my message."
Before Guillermo could respond, his assistant appeared at his door. "Sir, the Minister of Finance has arrived for your meeting."
Guillermo frowned. "We'll have to continue this another time, Victoria. My apologies."
"Of course," Victoria replied graciously. "Please don't let me keep you."
As Guillermo rose and left the frame, Elena stepped forward, her eyes blazing. Victoria motioned for James to close the office door, ensuring their privacy.
"That was quite a performance, Victoria," Elena said, her voice dripping with venom. "Luring me to Madrid with talk of business collaboration."
Victoria leaned back in her chair, a look of smug satisfaction spreading across her face. "I'm surprised it worked. You used to be sharper than that, Elena."
"You bitch," Elena hissed. "You knew exactly what you were doing."
"I saw your moves coming from miles away," Victoria replied calmly. "The tabloid leak was clumsy, even for you. Did you really think questioning my professional ethics would derail the Next merger? Or were you just being petty?"
Elena's jaw tightened. "I don't know what you're—"
"Save it," Victoria interrupted. "We've known each other for nine years. Obviously, I know how you think and act. I've always been light years ahead of you with your petty plans."
She leaned forward, her expression hardening. "Let me save us both some time. I know you're planning to poach our clients during the integration period. I know you have accelerated development on a competing algorithm to match Next's development. Neither will work."
James watched Elena's face, seeing the flicker of shock quickly masked behind a sneer. Victoria had hit her marks precisely.
"And one more thing," Victoria continued, her voice dangerously soft. "Keep my assistant out of this. The war is between us, Elena. Fight it yourself instead of using a spy and tabloids. Don't push me to sue you."
Elena's laugh was cold and brittle. "You always were protective of your toys, Victoria. But this isn't over—not by a long shot." She leaned closer to the camera, her expression transformed by rage into something almost feral. "I'm going to burn your kingdom to the ground."
Victoria laughed outwardly, but James noticed her fists clenching under the table, knuckles white with tension. "I won't let it happen," she replied evenly, then terminated the call.
The silence that followed was electric. Victoria remained motionless, staring at the black screen as though still seeing Elena's threatening face.
"You knew Elena Vasquez was behind the tabloid story," James said finally, the realization dawning.
Victoria turned to him, her expression unreadable. "I suspected. Elena has always been threatened by what we've built at Sharp. The timing was too convenient—right when we've finalized the Next deal."
James shook his head, a mixture of admiration and frustration washing over him. "All this time, I thought we were responding to a crisis. But you were three steps ahead, weren't you?"
Victoria's lips curved in a slight smile. "Four steps, actually. I also needed the public declaration to neutralize any external doubts about our company's stability."
James nodded, professional instincts taking over. "I'll review our client contracts, shore up any vulnerabilities. And I'll accelerate the integration timeline with Next—the faster we consolidate, the harder it will be for Meridian to disrupt the partnership."
"Good," Victoria said, her gaze fixed on the skyline again. "And James? Be careful. Elena Vasquez is ruthless when she feels cornered."
He paused at the door, struck by the genuine concern in her voice. "You know her better than anyone. What will she do next?"
Victoria was silent for a long moment. "Something unexpected," she finally replied. "Something designed to hurt me personally rather than professionally." She turned to face him fully. "Elena doesn't just want to defeat me; she wants to destroy me. And she's just getting started."
As James left Victoria's office, he felt a chill that had nothing to do with the building's air conditioning. The tabloid story had been just the opening move in a larger battle between two brilliant women with nine years of shared history and accumulated resentments.
The painting Sophia had given him that morning seemed to flicker in his memory—"Desire in Denial." How strange that on this day of all days, when his professional relationship with Victoria was under such scrutiny, Sophia would choose to reveal her feelings. Two women, both seeing something in him he wasn't sure was really there.
Whatever happened next, one thing was clear: the war between Victoria Sharp and Elena Vasquez was just beginning, and James was caught firmly in the middle of it.