The peaceful hush of the office shattered as noise erupted in the hallway, furniture scraping, hurried footsteps, voices raised in rm. Reese and Matthew locked eyes for an instant. Matthew arched a brow, moving toward the door just as someone mmed it open from the other side.


    "Ms. Meyer, it''s Mr. Ratcliff-he says it''s urgent, we tried to stop him..." Reese''s secretary stood behind Sebastian, wringing her hands so tightly her knuckles were white. She watched Reese with something like panic in her eyes.


    Sebastian had pretty much bulldozed his way past the front desk, storming through the executive floor with such raw energy that no one dared get in his way.


    "It''s fine. Go on, get back to work," Reese told her, giving a calm, reassuring smile. The secretary practically melted with relief and hurried away. Only then did Reese turn her attention to Sebastian.


    He wore his usual custom-tailored suit, his tie perfectly straight. But the cool, untouchable look he always had was gone, reced by something cold and furious. The tension rolling off him was almost suffocating.


    "What are you doing here?" Reese asked, her tone t. Given everything that had gone down between Ramos Corporation and Ratcliff Globaltely, she didn''t see any reason for them to meet again.


    "I need to talk to you," Sebastian replied, his voice as chilly as his expression. His gaze flicked past her,nding on Matthew. There was a sh of anger in his eyes, sharp and unmistakable. "Can you leave us? I want to speak with her alone."


    Matthew let out a low, mockingugh. "Last I checked, this is Reese''s office. Who made you the boss here?" He paused, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And even if you were, why would I give a damn what you say?"


    Sebastian bristled, his re practically burning holes through Matthew. His hands clenched so


    hard his knuckles went white his et


    breathsing faster, rough with


    anger. What really set him off was seeing Reese and Matthew together, alone. If it weren''t for whatever urgent thing he had to say, he


    probably would''ve lost it right there.


    Reese couldn''t help the hint of a smirk. She knew exactly what was going on in his head. “Sebastian, just spit it out. There''s nothing you can say that Matthew can''t hear."


    Matthew''s lips curled into a subtle smile, a little less mocking this time, and something softer flickered in his eyes.


    Sebastian, on the other hand, looked like he was about tobust. He took a long, shaky breath and stalked across the room, dropping onto the sofa across from Reese. He yanked a folded financial newspaper out of his briefcase and pped it onto the coffee table. There it was-front-page news fromst night, all about him vouching for Leslie.


    "You leaked this, didn''t you?" he used. "Do you have any idea how much Ratcliff Global''s value tanked because of this? How many of our partners are suddenly ying hard to get? Reese, why do you have to go this far? Can''t you just leave things a little less messy between us?"


    Reese looked at him, a little amused, a little incredulous. "Didn''t you already hold a press conference to clear things up? Didn''t you hit back using Ramos Corporation''s old mistakes? So why are you here, trying to y the victim now?" Seriously, did he have no shame?


    Sebastian''s expression faltered, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his face. He let out a heavy sigh, his tone suddenly much softer. "Reese, can you at least try to see it from my side? My mom got dragged into the scandal because of Leslie. Ratcliff Global''s already lost a tor of value and now the board and every senior exec are all ming me. They''re ming the whole family."