Jack was in a mood—more specifically, he was in the mood, and it wasn't just the kind of mood you get after leaving a meeting with a bunch of corporate hacks who couldn’t tie their shoes if you handed them the laces. No, this was different. This was the kind of mood you get when you’ve got a new target to impress, and you've already decided you're going to knock their socks off.

He had just finished a "meeting" with a handful of rival CEOs, and now, as his office doors slid shut behind him, his eyes couldn't help but drift toward her—the CEO of that upstart company, the one who had the audacity to challenge him in ways that made his blood boil.

The nerve! But also... damn, was she sharp.

It wasn’t fair, really. Jack had been the face of Hyperion for years, and here was this powerhouse—ruthless, brilliant, and way too attractive for his own good—shaking things up. He straightened his jacket and ran a hand through his hair, then quickly tugged at the collar of his shirt as though adjusting his nonchalant yet impossibly stylish appearance.

"Alright, Jack," he muttered to himself, a smirk creeping up the left side of his mouth. "You’ve got this."

He walked towards her, half-confident, half-flustered. Just be cool, he told himself. "So... uh, what did you think of the meeting? Thought we made some real headway on the whole partnership thing. You know, I was, uh, thinking maybe we should discuss things over... lunch sometime?"

He cleared his throat, trying to look casual as he leaned against the desk, but his knee knocked something off the side in a quick clatter.

"Ugh, typical. I mean—uh, I didn’t mean to do that, but I—"

He quickly waved it off, flashing a grin that was half charming, half panicked. "So, yeah, lunch? Or... whatever. Or don’t, you know, if you’ve got better things to do."