The rain had just stopped when Elara D'Amour arrived at the glass-walled tower of Leclair Holdings. Her reflection stared back at her from the mirrored doors — a woman dressed neatly, but with a calm she didn't really feel. It was her first day at the most powerful company in the city, and she had earned her place through sleepless nights and sheer determination. But what she didn't know was that the man she would meet that morning would rewrite the rhythm of her life.
Inside the top-floor office, the air smelled faintly of cedar and ink. A man sat behind the desk, his black hair slightly tousled, a file open in front of him. He looked up briefly, gray eyes unreadable.
"You're late," he said simply.
"I — the elevator stopped between floors for a few seconds," Elara replied carefully.
He hummed. "Excuses are expensive here."
Elara straightened her shoulders. "And efficiency is expected. I understand."
A flicker of something — amusement, perhaps — passed through his gaze before he returned to the papers.
"You're Elara D'Amour. Marketing department. First day."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't call me sir." He stood, the movement smooth, controlled. "Adrian Leclair will do."
Adrian Leclair. The name that held half the city's weight.
He walked past her, hands in his pockets, looking every bit the careless heir people whispered about — the one too lazy to take responsibility, too cold to care. But as he spoke to his assistant in low tones, Elara caught something strange — the precision in his words, the authority in his posture. There was nothing lazy about it.
Later that morning, while organizing files, she overheard two employees whispering near the printer.
"They say he never attends meetings unless his mother forces him."
"Or that he doesn't even know what's going on in the company. The board just keeps him there for the name."
Elara kept her eyes on her work but her thoughts spun. The man she had met moments ago wasn't detached. He was calculating, deliberate — as if watching a game only he could understand.
At lunch, she found a quiet spot by the windows overlooking the city. The clouds had cleared, leaving the streets shining below. She should have felt relieved, but her mind kept returning to those gray eyes — and the feeling that Adrian Leclair was hiding far more than anyone imagined.
When the day ended, she stepped into the elevator, only for the doors to pause halfway. Adrian Leclair walked in.
For a moment, the space felt smaller. He didn't look at her, yet she could feel his awareness.
"Your first day," he said after a pause.
"Yes."
"Did you learn anything useful?"
"That the higher you go, the quieter people speak," she said before she could stop herself.
A corner of his mouth lifted. "You're observant."
The elevator opened. He stepped out first, then turned slightly. "Don't let the noise fool you, Miss D'Amour. In this building, silence is the loudest weapon."
And then he was gone — leaving her standing there with his words echoing in her mind, sharp and cryptic.
That night, Elara lay awake, thinking about the man everyone called useless — and wondering why his presence felt anything but.
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