"Veil of Thorns"

###Chapter 5: Boundaries Blurred

The familiar buzz of the office filled Lisa’s ears as she reviewed yet another stack of reports. But her mind wasn’t on the numbers—it was still caught up in the events of the past few days. Her meeting with Adrin Blackstone lingered like a shadow she couldn’t shake. His words, his presence, the unspoken tension between them—everything seemed more intense now, more dangerous.

The door to her office swung open, jolting her from her thoughts. Megan stepped in, her face alight with excitement. "Lisa, you won’t believe this," she said, waving a folder in the air. "We’ve just received an offer. A huge one."

Lisa sat up straighter, pushing thoughts of Adrin to the back of her mind. "From whom?"

"Rutherford Enterprises. They want to partner with us on the new project." Megan dropped the folder onto Lisa’s desk, her enthusiasm contagious. "If we land this, it’ll be a game-changer."

Lisa’s eyes scanned the papers inside, her heart beating a little faster. Rutherford Enterprises was one of the biggest players in the market—if they partnered with Sterling Industries, it would solidify her position as a formidable force in the business world. It would also give her an edge over Adrin.

But something didn’t sit right. "This seems…too easy," Lisa murmured, tapping her finger against the edge of the folder. "Why would they come to us?"

Megan shrugged. "Maybe they’ve seen the potential. Or maybe they want to align themselves with a rising star."

Lisa wasn’t convinced. She had learned the hard way that nothing in business came without a catch. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowing. "I want a full background check on Rutherford’s current ventures. I need to know why they’re interested in us now."

Megan nodded, sensing Lisa’s caution. "I’ll get on it right away."

As soon as Megan left, Lisa turned her chair to face the window, staring out at the city skyline. There was always a price to pay in deals like this. And in her world, nothing was ever as straightforward as it seemed.

---

Later that evening, Lisa found herself in the same restaurant where she had met Adrin a few nights before. This time, though, she wasn’t here to meet him—at least, not intentionally.

As she sipped her wine and waited for her client to arrive, she couldn’t help but glance around, half-expecting to see Adrin walk through the door. The thought unsettled her. She had spent so much time trying to outmaneuver him, to stay one step ahead, but now it felt as if he was always there, in the background, lurking just beneath the surface of her thoughts.

And then, as if summoned by her very thoughts, the door opened, and there he was.

Adrin Blackstone stepped into the restaurant, his eyes sweeping the room until they landed on her. For a moment, neither of them moved. It was as if the world around them had frozen, leaving only the two of them in the center of it all.

Lisa’s heart raced, but she forced herself to remain calm. She wasn’t going to let him rattle her—not tonight.

Adrin crossed the room with that same confident stride, his gaze never leaving hers. When he reached her table, he inclined his head slightly, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Fancy seeing you here, Sterling."

"I could say the same for you," Lisa replied coolly, setting her glass down. "What brings you to this side of town?"

Adrin pulled out a chair and sat across from her without invitation, his smirk widening. "Business, of course. But now that I see you here, I think my evening just got more interesting."

Lisa raised an eyebrow, her guard immediately going up. "I’m not here for games, Blackstone."

"And yet, here we are," Adrin said, leaning forward slightly. "Caught in the same web, circling each other like two predators."

Lisa’s pulse quickened. There was something intoxicating about the way he spoke, the way he always managed to turn everything into a challenge. But she wasn’t going to let him get under her skin—not this time.

"You seem awfully confident for someone who’s been losing ground," Lisa said, her voice sharp. "I thought you’d be busy trying to recover from your recent setbacks."

Adrin’s eyes darkened, the playful glint replaced by something more dangerous. "Setbacks are temporary. You, of all people, should know that. But what intrigues me, Lisa, is how you seem to be waiting for me to stumble. Almost as if you enjoy the idea of me falling."

Lisa’s breath caught. For a brief moment, the mask she always wore slipped, and the truth of his words hit too close to home. There was a part of her that wanted to see him fall—to see him vulnerable. But there was another part, a deeper part, that feared what might happen if he ever did.

"You’re projecting," Lisa said, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "I’m not waiting for anything. I’m just focused on winning."

Adrin leaned back in his chair, studying her for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Maybe. But be careful, Sterling. In this game, sometimes the lines between winning and losing blur."

He rose from the table, his gaze lingering on her for just a moment longer before he walked away, leaving Lisa alone with her thoughts.

---

Hours later, as Lisa lay in bed, her mind still raced with everything that had happened. Adrin’s words echoed in her head, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that their rivalry was spiraling into something else—something more dangerous, more personal.

The lines between them were blurring, just as Adrin had said. And for the first time, Lisa wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop it.

---

The moonlight filtered through her bedroom window, casting soft shadows on the walls. Lisa stared up at the ceiling, her heart heavy with unspoken emotions. There was a part of her that craved the simplicity of their rivalry—the clear-cut battle for dominance. But now, the stakes felt different. The boundaries she had worked so hard to maintain were slipping, and the tension between her and Adrin was no longer just about winning or losing. It was something deeper, something unsettling that tugged at the corners of her carefully controlled world. As she drifted into an uneasy sleep, she knew one thing for certain—this was no longer just a game.