C18 A Gift Wrapped in Pride

Third-Person Omniscient

Mira Marsh had never liked being reactive.

She preferred control. Optics. Narrative.

But the presence of Sebastian Sterling—smiling too easily, asking the right questions in the wrong order—made her feel like the floor beneath Apex Systems was shifting inch by inch.

And Mira hated unstable ground.

“We can’t let Sterling Ventures dictate the pace,” she said sharply