The meeting room was too clean for Nyra's liking.
Glass walls. White boards. A long table polished to the point of arrogance. She sat back in her chair, legs crossed, hoodie unzipped just enough to annoy the people who thought professionalism was a personality trait.
Adrian Vale stood at the head of the table.
Perfect suit. Perfect posture. That calm, detached expression men like him wore when they assumed they were the smartest person in the room. Nyra clocked it immediately.
She hated that look.
"Alright," Adrian said, tapping the screen behind him. "This assignment will determine who stays on the advanced track. No hand-holding. No excuses."
A few interns straightened in their seats.
Nyra didn't move.
Elias glanced at her briefly, nervous. She gave him a lazy nod, like relax.
Adrian's eyes landed on her laptop. "Nyra, right?"
She looked up slowly. "Depends who's asking."
A few interns stiffened. Elias inhaled sharply.
Adrian ignored the tone. "Your previous work was… interesting. But this task requires discipline. Structure. Consistency."
Nyra tilted her head. "You saying I don't have those?"
"I'm saying," he replied coolly, "raw talent isn't enough in environments like this."
Ah. There it was.
Nyra leaned back, folding her arms. "Good thing I don't rely on talent."
Adrian's jaw tightened just slightly the kind of micro-reaction rich boys thought nobody noticed. "You'll be working in teams. Try to keep distractions to a minimum."
His gaze flicked briefly to her cigarette pack peeking from her bag.
Nyra smiled.
Elias cleared his throat. "Sir, if I may Nyra's already identified a vulnerability in the system architecture"
"That won't be necessary," Adrian cut in. "Let's see if she can follow instructions first."
The room went quiet.
Nyra felt it , the familiar burn. Not anger. Fuel.
She didn't argue. Didn't snap. Didn't perform for him.
She just turned back to her screen.
Hours later, code bled across her laptop like poetry.
Nyra moved fast, fingers flying, mind sharp. She rebuilt structures Adrian assumed were untouchable. Found inefficiencies he hadn't even considered. The system bent under her logic.
Elias watched in awe. "You're… insane."
She didn't look up. "Focus."
By the time Adrian returned to review progress, Nyra had already compiled a live demo.
Adrian stopped mid-step.
"What's this?" he asked.
Nyra finally met his eyes. "Your system. Fixed."
"That's impossible."
She shrugged. "So is assuming."
Silence.
Adrian stepped closer, scanning the screen, his confidence cracking line by line. He said nothing for a long moment.
Then, quietly ."Who helped you?"
Nyra smiled sweetly. "You did. By underestimating me."
Elias bit back a grin.
Adrian straightened, masking his irritation with composure. "We'll… discuss this later."
Nyra closed her laptop with a soft click. "Looking forward to it."
As she stood, she caught his gaze not flirty, not submissive. Defiant. Untouchable.
For the first time since she'd met him, Adrian Vale wasn't looking at her like a student.
He was looking at her like a problem.
And Nyra loved that.