Nyra hated airports.
Too many eyes. Too many rules. Too many people pretending not to watch each other.
She stood near the check-in counter, dressed exactly the way Adrian had demanded tailored black trousers, a crisp white blouse, fitted blazer. No hoodie. No sneakers. Clean lines. Corporate silence.
She felt like she was wearing someone else's skin.
Adrian arrived five minutes late, of course. Calm. Unrushed. Like time bent around him.
He looked her over once. Slowly. Critically.
"Good," he said. "You followed instructions."
Nyra's jaw tightened. "Temporary."
He smiled faintly. "Everything is."
They moved through security with ease. Too much ease. Adrian barely slowed down. People stepped aside without being asked. Nyra clocked it all the quiet nods, the deference, the way doors opened faster for him.
Influence.
At the gate, Adrian handed her a slim folder. "Itinerary. Meetings. Expectations."
She flipped it open. "You scheduled my life in thirty-minute blocks?"
"Yes."
She laughed once. "You ever heard of breathing?"
"That's built in," he replied evenly. "After results."
They boarded first class. Nyra paused when she saw the seats wide, private, insulated from everyone else.
"Never flown like this," she muttered.
Adrian took his seat beside her. "You'll get used to it."
"I don't plan to."
As the plane taxied, Nyra felt it that strange pull in her chest. The Eastside fading. Shark's voice still echoing in her head. A week is a long time.
She stared out the window as the city shrank beneath them.
"You nervous?" Adrian asked.
"No," she said immediately.
He glanced at her. "Good liars hesitate."
She exhaled. "I don't like not having exits."
"You do," he said. "I'm one of them."
She turned to him sharply. "That's not comforting."
"It's honest."
Once airborne, Adrian opened his laptop. "We'll review strategy in an hour. Until then rest."
Nyra scoffed. "You really think I sleep on command?"
He looked at her calmly. "I think you're capable of discipline when it matters."
She leaned back, eyes half-lidded. "Careful. You're starting to sound impressed."
"I don't confuse competence with affection," Adrian replied. "But don't mistake this trip for punishment."
She smirked. "Feels like one."
"It's an investment," he said. "In you."
That made her still.
Outside the window, clouds swallowed the ground. Nyra felt the distance stretch between who she was and who she was being shaped into.
A week.
No streets. No Shark. No shortcuts.
Just altitude, pressure, and a CEO who thought he could manage her like a balance sheet.
Nyra closed her eyes, steadying herself.
Let him try.