Sebastian Wolfe's mansion was quiet when he returned home.
Too quiet.
The large front doors closed behind him with a dull, echoing sound that travelled through the enormous entrance hall. His footsteps crossed the polished marble floor as he loosened the tie around his neck.
Another long day.
Normally that wouldn't bother him.
Work had always been simple.
Predictable.
Numbers made sense.
Deals made sense.
People were complicated, but business was not.
Tonight, however, his mind wasn't on business at all.
It was on Lillian.
Sebastian frowned slightly at the thought.
That alone was irritating.
He moved through the mansion slowly, switching on a few dim lights as he passed. The place looked exactly the same as always—perfectly organized, perfectly quiet, perfectly empty.
For years he had liked it that way.
Silence meant control.
Control meant focus.
But tonight the quiet felt… different.
He poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen, leaning slightly against the counter.
His mind replayed the evening at Sovereign.
Lillian sitting across from him at his desk.
Her hair falling slightly forward as she worked.
The way she spoke when she explained the projections—confident, calm, intelligent.
Sebastian rubbed his forehead.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
Because he had noticed every single detail.
That had not been part of the plan.
Sebastian finished the water and set the glass down.
"Ridiculous," he muttered quietly.
He walked upstairs toward his bedroom.
The long hallway was silent except for the faint sound of his footsteps.
A week ago, Lillian had been unconscious in that very room.
A week ago, he had been sitting beside her all night, watching her breathe and refusing to sleep.
He paused outside the bedroom door for a moment.
Then pushed the thought away and stepped inside.
The room was large and dimly lit.
Everything exactly where it should be.
He removed his jacket and placed it neatly over the chair near the bed.
Tie next.
Watch next.
Routine.
Order.
Control.
Sebastian lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
For a few seconds, his mind was quiet.
Then it started again.
Lillian's voice.
Lillian's laugh.
The way she had looked at him tonight when he asked why she came back.
Sebastian closed his eyes briefly.
This was becoming a problem.
A very inconvenient problem.
He had always kept work and personal matters separate.
Employees were employees.
Nothing more.
Simple.
Efficient.
Professional.
Then Lillian Parker had arrived at Sovereign.
At first she had just been another secretary.
Capable.
Organized.
Sharp.
He appreciated competence.
But that was all.
Or at least that's what he had told himself.
Sebastian turned slightly onto his side.
His mind replayed another memory.
The moment he found her in Ethan's apartment.
The ropes around her wrists.
The fear in her eyes.
Something in his chest tightened.
His hands clenched slightly against the sheets.
He had been furious that night.
Not just angry.
Furious.
Cold, controlled Sebastian Wolfe had nearly lost complete control.
And he had not cared.
The thought unsettled him.
Sebastian rarely lost control.
But when it came to Lillian…
Apparently the rules changed.
He stared at the ceiling again.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
Then another memory surfaced.
Lillian in the office tonight.
Sitting in the chair while he leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen.
He had been close enough to hear her breathing.
Close enough to notice the faint scent of her perfume.
Close enough that he could have—
Sebastian stopped that thought immediately.
Absolutely not.
He exhaled slowly.
Focus.
Rational thinking.
Let's review the situation.
Lillian Parker was his secretary.
She was intelligent.
Efficient.
Organized.
She improved his work environment significantly.
These were logical reasons to appreciate her.
Nothing unusual.
Except…
He remembered the moment she stood in the elevator tonight.
The way she looked back at him before the doors closed.
"I'm glad I came back."
The words echoed clearly in his mind.
Sebastian frowned slightly.
That moment had felt… important.
Too important.
He shifted slightly in the bed.
This was getting dangerously close to territory he preferred to avoid.
Relationships complicated things.
They distracted from work.
They introduced unnecessary emotional variables.
Sebastian Wolfe did not deal in emotional variables.
Except apparently…
When it came to Lillian Parker.
He sighed quietly.
This was absurd.
He turned onto his side again, staring toward the dark window across the room.
The city lights flickered faintly in the distance.
His thoughts returned to something Chloe had once said in the office.
"You know he's completely crazy about you, right?"
Sebastian frowned.
Ridiculous statement.
Completely exaggerated.
But…
He had broken down a door to rescue her.
He had fought Ethan while still recovering from surgery.
He had driven across the city with a concussion.
And he had stayed awake all night making sure she was safe.
Sebastian stared at the ceiling again.
When you listed the facts like that…
It sounded suspicious.
Very suspicious.
He sat up slightly against the pillows.
"Unbelievable," he muttered.
Sebastian Wolfe—the man who negotiated billion-dollar deals without hesitation—was currently being outmaneuvered by his own emotions.
This was not acceptable.
He ran a hand through his hair.
Think logically.
Why was Lillian different?
She challenged him.
She argued with him.
She refused to be intimidated.
And she treated him like a human being instead of a walking bank account.
Sebastian paused.
That last one lingered in his mind.
Most people approached him carefully.
Politely.
Respectfully.
Fearfully.
Lillian did none of those things.
She simply treated him like Sebastian.
Not the CEO.
Not the billionaire.
Just a man who occasionally needed to stop working and drink water.
Sebastian slowly leaned back against the pillows again.
That realization felt… strange.
Comfortable.
Dangerous.
He stared at the ceiling one last time.
Then the truth finally formed clearly in his mind.
Sebastian Wolfe liked Lillian Parker.
Not just as an employee.
Not just as a capable secretary.
But as a woman.
The realization landed with surprising weight.
Sebastian was quiet for several seconds.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"Well," he murmured.
"That's unfortunate."
Because liking Lillian Parker would complicate everything.
Work.
Boundaries.
Control.
All of it.
And yet…
Despite all of those logical objections…
Sebastian felt something else.
Something rare.
Something warm.
Something that had been missing from his perfectly controlled life for a very long time.
He turned off the bedside lamp.
The room fell into darkness.
But for once…
Sebastian Wolfe did not feel like the mansion was empty.