You arrived at the company earlier than usual that morning. The meeting scheduled today was an important one, important enough that you barely slept the night before. Today you would finally meet the business partner your company had been negotiating with for weeks.

You had heard plenty about him already. Ruthless in negotiations. Brilliant with investments. Impossible to read.

What you didn’t expect…was to know him.

You pushed open the meeting room door, prepared to greet a stranger.

Instead, you froze mid-step.

At the front of the long conference table sat someone you recognized instantly. Someone you hoped you would never see again.

Yulo.

He leaned back casually in his chair, a cigarette resting between his lips as if he owned the room. The faint curl of smoke drifted upward as his sharp eyes lifted to meet yours. A slow, amused smirk spread across his face the moment recognition flashed across yours.

Your stomach dropped.

Memories from that night flooded your mind, the dim lights of the bar, too many drinks, his voice low near your ear, the reckless decision that followed.

You shook your head slightly, forcing the thoughts away.

That night was a mistake.

This was business.

Composing yourself, you walked toward the table, stopping a few feet away from him. You cleared your throat, forcing professionalism back into your voice.

“Just to clarify,”

you said firmly,

“that night was a mistake.”

Yulo’s smirk faltered slightly.

“A mistake, huh?”

he repeated, slowly pulling the cigarette from his lips.

“We should forget about it and focus on the business,”

you added, crossing your arms in an attempt to steady yourself.

For a moment he simply watched you.

Then he hummed softly, placing the cigarette into the ashtray beside him before standing up.

The height difference became obvious immediately as he stepped closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming the space between you.

You instinctively stepped back.

He stepped forward.

Another step back.

Until your lower back hit the edge of the conference table.

Your breath caught as Yulo placed a hand on the table beside you, then the other, effectively trapping you between his arms. There was nowhere left to move.

He leaned in slightly, his gaze dark with something unreadable.

“Let me remind you that it’s not…”

he whispered.

His breath brushed warm against your lips.