Temptation: Breaking Victoria Sharp

Victoria's eyes fluttered open, momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. The makeshift bedroom cleverly concealed behind a Japanese sliding panel in her executive suite was a remodel addition she'd commissioned during the Singapore expansion projects. The space was minimal but luxurious: an elevated platform bed with Egyptian cotton sheets, ambient lighting that mimicked natural daylight, and a small but exquisitely appointed bathroom.

She glanced at her watch. Three hours of sleep. Better than nothing after the endless meeting with Katherine Days and her team of regulatory specialists.

Victoria stretched, her muscles protesting after too many hours hunched over documents. The Days consultation had been necessary, critical, even for navigating the complex regulatory environment they were facing in Singapore. Yet she couldn't deny that part of her distraction during the meeting had been Katherine's pointed questions about James's absence.

"Your strategic officer couldn't make it?" Katherine had asked, one perfectly shaped eyebrow arched in curiosity. "I was looking forward to continuing our discussion from the charity gala."

Victoria had offered a professionally vague response about scheduling conflicts, but Katherine's knowing smile suggested she wasn't fooled. The woman missed nothing, a quality that made her invaluable as a regulatory consultant and occasionally irritating as an acquaintance.

Now, lying in the dim quiet of her hidden sanctuary, Victoria found her mind wandering without permission to James. Three days since their confrontation. Three days of carefully choreographed avoidance, communicating primarily through email and shared documents. Three days of pretending his challenge hadn't fundamentally shifted something between them.

If you want these lips, then earn them.

The phrase resurfaced with unwelcome clarity, along with the memory of his expression determined, unwavering, utterly serious. James hadn't been teasing or playing power games. He had been establishing boundaries with a directness that still left her off-balance.

If you want to keep tasting these lips, then you'll have to woo me.

Victoria pressed her palms against her eyes, as if the pressure might somehow erase the memory. The mere concept was absurd. Victoria Sharp didn't woo anyone. Victoria Sharp didn't pursue. Victoria Sharp certainly didn't earn another person's affection through effort or demonstration.

Except.

Except the brief, accidental touch of his lips against hers had awakened something she'd been ruthlessly suppressing for months. The electricity of that contact, the momentary suspension of time and thought, the pure wanting that had followed, these weren't sensations she could simply file away and forget.

"Enough," Victoria muttered, irritated by her own circular thoughts.

She sat up abruptly, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. This kind of pointless rumination was both unprofessional and counterproductive. She had a multinational expansion to manage, regulatory hurdles to navigate, investors to appease.

James Mitchell was an employee a valuable one, certainly, but still an employee. His personal boundaries and emotional demands were a complication she didn't have time to accommodate, regardless of how perceptive his observations about her contradictory behavior had been.

Victoria moved to the small bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. In the mirror, her reflection appeared composed despite the minimal rest a testament to years of pushing through exhaustion when necessary. Her makeup remained impeccable, her eyes clear despite the fatigue lurking behind them.

The woman in the mirror was Victoria Sharp, CEO, not the uncertain figure who had frozen when challenged by a former assistant.

With practiced efficiency, she refreshed her appearance, touching up her makeup, smoothing her hair back into its perfect chignon, straightening her pink blouse. Each action helped reconstruct the armor she needed to face the remainder of the day. The coffee stain that had sparked their confrontation had been expertly removed by her dry cleaner, leaving no visible trace of that momentary imperfection.

If only emotional disruptions could be so easily erased.

Victoria squared her shoulders and exited the hidden bedroom, sliding the panel closed behind her with a decisive movement. The spacious expanse of her office welcomed her back, all clean lines and strategic lighting, the wall of windows showcasing the city spread out below like a three-dimensional map of her ambitions.

Work. Work would provide the focus she needed, the structure that had always steadied her when personal complexities threatened her equilibrium.

She moved to her desk, waking her computer with a touch. The screen illuminated with a calendar notification, the weekly executive team meeting in thirty minutes. A meeting James would attend, maintaining professional composure while she did the same, both of them pretending nothing had fundamentally shifted between them.

Victoria felt a flash of irritation, at herself, at James, at the situation he had created with his ultimatum. The emotion provided welcome clarity, sharpening her thoughts and pushing aside the uncomfortable uncertainty that had plagued her since their confrontation.

She reached for her tablet, pulling up the Singapore regulatory documents from her meeting with Katherine. If she couldn't avoid facing James in the executive meeting, she could at least enter the room armed with work that demanded their collective focus.

A knock at her office door interrupted her review of the materials. "Come in," Victoria called, her voice automatically shifting to its professional cadence.

Amara, her new executive assistant, entered with a tablet and a sleek leather portfolio. The young woman moved with quiet efficiency, her navy pantsuit and minimal gold jewelry reflecting the understated professionalism Victoria had noted during her interview.

"The executive team is gathering in Conference Room A," Amara informed her. "I've prepared the updated agenda as requested."

Victoria nodded, accepting the portfolio. "Thank you, Amara." She glanced through the materials, noting the precise organization, similar to how James had arranged things, but with subtle differences that reflected Amara's own systematic approach. "Did you complete the minutes from the Days meeting?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Amara's expression. "I've prepared a preliminary version," she said, swiping to display a document on her tablet. "Though I'm concerned it may not capture all the technical details of the regulatory discussion. I wasn't familiar with some of the terminology Ms. Days used."

Victoria scanned the document, her irritation flaring as she noted the vague summaries where specific regulatory requirements should have been documented. James would have—

She stopped the thought abruptly, annoyed at herself for the comparison. James had worked with her for three years; Amara had been with the company for less than a month. The comparison was neither fair nor productive.

Still, the inadequacy of the minutes represented a genuine problem. The Days consultation had cost the company a significant sum, and the regulatory guidance needed to be precisely documented for implementation.

"This won't do," Victoria said, her tone cooler than intended. "The specific requirements regarding data localization and financial reporting structures need to be detailed exactly as Katherine outlined them." She set down the tablet with a decisive gesture. "I need complete, accurate minutes—not general impressions."

Amara's professional composure wavered slightly. "I apologize, Ms. Sharp. I—"

"Work with the legal team," Victoria interrupted, already moving toward her door. "They should have expertise in the regulatory terminology. I need the revised version before close of business today."