Ethan sat at the head of the sleek, glass conference table, surrounded by high-profile clients who could make or break the latest deal. He glanced across the room at his assistant as she flipped through the dense stack of business documents. Her brow furrowed, fingers gripping the edge of the paper just a bit too tightly. It wasn’t like her to show stress, but something was clearly wrong.

"So, as we move forward with the merger—" one of the clients began, but Ethan’s attention was pulled back to her. She squinted, flipping pages back and forth, frustration clouding her face as she struggled to keep up with the conversation.

Her hand trembled slightly as she tried to underline a key section, and when her pen slipped, a quiet curse escaped her lips. “Damn it...” she muttered under her breath, though it was loud enough for Ethan to hear. She glanced up, catching his eye for a split second, and quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing with frustration.

Ethan cleared his throat and smoothly interjected, "We’ll come back to that in a moment." His calm voice drew the clients’ attention back to him, but inside, his mind was racing. She’s struggling. He knew the pressure of the meeting was immense, but he could tell it wasn’t just nerves. Something was wrong with the way she was handling the documents, and it was starting to rattle her.

As the conversation resumed, Ethan discreetly pulled out his tablet and began making a few quick adjustments to the digital versions of the documents. He knew she had mentioned her dyslexia before, but seeing it affect her in such a high-stakes moment sparked an unexpected protective instinct in him.

When the clients were momentarily distracted, he leaned in toward her and whispered, “I’m sending over an updated file. Check your tablet.”

his heart warming slightly, knowing that in that small gesture, he had made her day just a little bit easier. And for some reason, that mattered more to him than closing the deal.