Friday morning arrived exactly as promised, washing over the sleek skyscrapers of Eldlyria in a wave of crisp, autumn gold.
Aurora had barely taken her first sip of morning coffee when her office door swung open.
Amaya marched inside, a triumphant, vibrant smile stretching across her face. Without saying a single word, she placed the newly revised contract from Ravencrest Holdings directly onto the dark wood of the executive desk.
Aurora picked it up, skipping the introductory legal definitions and flipping straight to the financial appendix she had aggressively contested on Wednesday.
She blinked in utter surprise, her eyes scanning the neat black ink.
Adrian Blake hadn't just adjusted the figures slightly to compromise; he had completely met every single one of her specific demands.
The corporate funding timeline was streamlined, the overhead costs were significantly lowered, and the risk parameters were cleaned up perfectly to protect her firm.
"They didn't even try to counter-argue?" Aurora asked, looking up at her assistant with a raised eyebrow.
"Not a single bit," Amaya replied, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Their lead courier dropped it off at exactly nine o'clock. Their legal department even attached a private note stating that Ravencrest Holdings values your flawless judgment above all open-market statistics."
Aurora closed the heavy folder, a profound wave of immense professional satisfaction washing over her chest.
"Send this straight to our internal legal department for the absolute final stamp. If they clear the fine print, we sign first thing on Monday morning."
"On it, boss!" Amaya cheered, snatching the folder back up and marching out of the room with an extra bounce in her step.
Left entirely alone in the sudden quiet of her office, Aurora leaned back against the plush leather cushions of her chair. The major corporate victory was exhilarating, but as she looked down at the empty space on her desk, her mind unexpectedly drifted far away from architectural blueprints, concrete structures, and multi-million dollar investments.
She reached into her designer handbag, her fingers tracing the edge of her phone.
Before she could rationally talk herself out of it or let her corporate pride get in the way, she pulled the device out, clicked on his contact name, and pressed dial.
The phone didn't even get the chance to ring twice before the line clicked open.
"Rora?"
Felix's voice came through the speaker, sounding slightly breathless and a little raspy, but entirely bright.
"Hi, Felix," Aurora smiled, automatically spinning her chair around to face the massive glass window.
"Wait, am I interrupting your session on the ice?"
"Never," he replied instantly, without a single second of hesitation.
In the background, she could hear the faint, echoing sound of metal blades cutting sharply through hard ice, followed by the distant, deep hum of a Zamboni machine smoothing out the rink.
"I actually just stepped off the ice for a brief breather. To be completely honest, I was literally just staring at my phone, debating whether it was too early to call you."
"Really? Or are you just saying that to make a hard-working CEO feel special?" she teased, her tone turning warm and playful.
Felix let out a low, rumbling chuckle that sent a familiar, thrilling flutter straight to her stomach.
"I would never dare lie to a high-powered corporate mogul, Miss Aura. I mean it entirely. How is your Friday going?"
"Incredibly well, actually. I just locked in a massive corporate expansion contract with Ravencrest Holdings," she shared, unable to keep the sheer triumph out of her voice.
"Wow. Full congratulations, Rora. I always knew you were 'that' girl," Felix said softly, his tone dropping into a layer of genuine, unfiltered admiration.
"I guess this major victory means you're definitely footing the bill for that second date we talked about?"
"Absolutely. A deal is a deal," Aurora laughed, her heart skipping a beat at the phrase second date.
"But what about you? How is the qualifier preparation going today?"
Felix let out a small, exhausted sigh on the other end of the line, though his tone remained completely lighthearted.
"It's brutal, if I'm being honest. Coach Vance is turning into an absolute drill sergeant as the days count down. The national qualifiers are drawing incredibly near, so he's not letting me slide on a single movement or a single landing. My ankles are completely killing me."
"Don't push yourself past your breaking point, Felix," Aurora said, her voice dropping into a much softer, gentler cadence. "You're already breathtakingly amazing on the ice. Just remember to take a second and breathe."
There was a sudden, brief pause on the other end of the line. The distant noise of the ice rink faded out completely as Felix stepped into a quieter, private corridor.
"Thanks, Rora," he said quietly, his voice suddenly heavy with an intense, quiet emotion that made her pulse race. "Hearing that from you... it actually helps a lot more than you know."
They stayed on the phone for another fifteen minutes, sharing effortless, lighthearted banter and checking in on the heavy demands of their respective schedules.
There was no pressure to rush their conversation, nor any awkward silence; simply hearing each other's voices felt like a steady anchor, grounding them both through the intense stress of their high-pressure worlds.
By the time she finally hung up and slipped her phone back into her bag, Aurora's cheeks were completely flushed a brilliant shade of pink.
The radiant smile on her face refused to fade as she stared out at the sprawling, glittering city of Eldlyria.
…