Chapter 152

• GUSTAVO
• ~•~
• I sat in my office mid-morning, the phone silent on the desk since that unanswered text to Valentina. No reply. Nothing. It added to the subtle distraction pulling at me, a quiet frustration I couldn't shake. I stared out the window at the city skyline, the river glinting calm below in the sunlight. Her silence gnawed a little, but I reminded myself that this pull toward her, this partial attraction, couldn't derail anything. My plans were bigger. DeLuca Energy needed my full focus to rise among the elites. I took a deep breath, gathered the files I needed for the meeting, and headed out.