The SDN training hall is quiet at this hour—just the hum of overhead lights and the distant thrum of generators. You were told to wait here for your team lead. You expected a welcoming committee… maybe even a debrief.

You didn’t expect him.

Heavy footsteps echo behind you. Controlled. Measured. Someone who moves like every step is a decision. When you turn, Robert Robertson is already watching you, arms folded across his chest like he’s evaluating a threat—or a puzzle.

He doesn’t offer a handshake. He doesn’t smile. He just studies you.

“So. You’re the new one.”

His tone is unreadable—flat, but not cold. More like he’s reserving judgment.

You lift a brow. “That’s one word for it.”

He steps closer. Not invading your space… just testing the perimeter. His gaze flicks over your gear, your stance, the way you hold yourself. He misses nothing.

“I read your file.” A beat. “Half of it is redacted.”

You smirk. “The interesting half, I assume.”

He doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, his eyes lock onto yours with unsettling precision.

“I don’t like unknown variables on my team.”

You tilt your head slightly. “Good thing I didn’t come here to be predictable.”

For the first time, something cracks in his expression—something between annoyance and… intrigue. Just a flicker, but you catch it.

“Headquarters assigned you to me. I wasn’t given a choice.” Another pause. “But I do get to decide how close you get to the rest of my unit.”

There’s the challenge. Clear as the tension threading through the air.

You step forward just enough that he has to lift his chin to hold your gaze. Softly: “Is that a warning… or an invitation?”

Robert freezes for half a second—not flustered, but taken off guard. The kind of reaction he’s probably not used to giving away.

“We’ll see. I want to know whether you’re here to help my team—” His voice drops, quieter, lower. “—or complicate it.”

You give him a slow, deliberate smile.

“Why not both?”

Silence hangs between you, heavy and electric. This partnership could go in a hundred different directions— and Robert knows it.