Chapter 1

Leo Moretti watched the clock. It was two-fifty in the afternoon. At his desk, he had a view of the corner office through the slats in the blinds. He could see a piece of his boss’s desk and the plant beside it. He could see Victoria Sterling working.

She was always working. Right now, she was writing on a document, scrolling on a tablet, and talking on the phone held against her shoulder.

“No, Richard, the Q3 numbers are optimistic, not aspirational,” she said. Her voice was sharp and clear through her open door. “I need the revisions by four. Not four-fifteen. Four.”

Leo both feared and admired that voice.

He looked at the cubicle across from his. Mason Reed. His rival for the promotion. Mason’s head was down, his fingers typing fast. He wore a crisp blue shirt and a perfect tie. Leo wore a dark sweater that was too tight. Mason looked like the perfect assistant. Leo often felt he didn’t belong here.

The promotion was all either of them thought about. One would become Senior Executive Assistant. The other would stay where they were. Leo wanted it badly.

His computer chimed. An email from Victoria. The subject line said: “Now.”

He and Mason stood up at the same time. They met at her door. Mason gave a tight, fake smile and went in first.

Victoria’s office was all white, grey, and chrome. It smelled like lemons. She didn’t look up as they entered. She finished writing a note with a hard slash of her pen.

“The Kensington contract,” she said, looking up. Her eyes were a cold blue. “Leo, your digital files are a mess. The names are wrong. Half the documents are in the wrong place. It’s a landfill.”

Leo’s stomach clenched. “I’ll fix it now.”

“You will.” She looked at Mason. “Mason, the printed copies for the board. The binding is crooked on two. It’s sloppy. I don’t present sloppy work.”

Mason’s jaw tightened. “I’ll redo them.”

She leaned back in her chair. She wore a white blouse and a black pencil skirt. Her arms were toned. Her waist was very small. Her brown hair was pulled back tight. She was the picture of discipline. Pilates. Green juice.

“This deal is worth twelve million dollars,” she said, her voice low. “It needs precision. It needs perfection. I will not hold your hands through basic tasks. Understood?”

“Understood,” they said together.

“Good. Revisions are coming. I want the clean digital files and the perfect printed copies by end of day. Go.”

They left. Her door clicked shut.

“A landfill,” Mason muttered at his desk. He turned on his computer hard.

“Crooked binding is a serious crime,” Leo shot back, sitting down.

Mason didn’t smile. “Fix your files.”

For the next hour, Leo worked frantically. He cursed his old, messy file names. From the other side of the partition, he heard Mason’s angry typing.

Victoria’s door opened. She walked out, her heels loud on the floor. “I’m going to legal. Do not stop working until this is done.”

She left. The office felt quiet and heavy.

By one o’clock, Leo had a headache. New files had arrived. He’d missed breakfast. His stomach was empty and aching. He looked at Mason, who was still typing, straight-backed and focused.

Leo’s stomach growled.

Mason’s typing paused. “You should eat,” he said, not looking up.

“Mind your own business,” Leo snapped. But he saw Mason’s hand shake slightly as he reached for his water. He saw the stress around Mason’s eyes. Mason was just as hungry. He just hid it better.

Victoria came back after two. She looked angry. “Legal is full of morons,” she said, and slammed her office door.

The pressure grew. Leo’s hunger was now a sharp pain. He sent a file to the wrong printer.

Mason let out a quiet sigh of disgust.

This is impossible, Leo thought. We’re set up to fail. He looked at Victoria through the blinds. She was pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked tired.

She was hungry, too. He knew that. Her worst moods always came in the mid-afternoon, when her light breakfast was long gone.

A thought came to him. It wasn’t about the files. It was about her. She was running on empty.

He looked at Mason, the perfectionist. He looked at Victoria, stressed in her office.

Leo stood up and grabbed his wallet.

“Where are you going?” Mason asked. “We have ninety minutes.”

“Morale operation,” Leo said, trying to sound confident. “Hold the fort.”

He walked out. He didn’t go to the sandwich shop in the lobby. He went to the expensive bakery around the corner.

The bakery was warm and smelled like sugar. He looked at all the donuts. He pointed to the richest ones—a maple-bacon bar, a huge custard-filled one, a big chocolate-glazed ring.

“I’ll take the box,” he said.

He walked back into the office with the white box. Everyone looked. He ignored them and put the box on his desk.

Mason stared. “What is that?”

“Leverage,” Leo said.

He picked up the box and walked to Victoria’s door. He knocked.

“What?” she said, irritated.

He went in. She was glaring at her screen, tense.

“Victoria,” he said. “I thought you could use a… blood sugar boost.”

He opened the box.

The smell of sugar filled the room. Victoria looked from her screen to the box. She stared at the maple-bacon donut. For a second, she said nothing. Leo was sure he’d made a mistake.

Then, her shoulders relaxed a little. She sighed softly.

“Is that from Buttercup Bakery?” she asked, her voice quieter.

“Yes.”

She looked from the donut to him. Slowly, she reached out and took it. She took a small bite.

She chewed. She swallowed. The tightness around her eyes faded. Color came back to her cheeks.

“Oh,” she said. “That’s incredible.”

She took another bite. A bit of glaze got on her lip. She didn’t notice. “Thank you, Leo. This was thoughtful.”

She looked pleased. Actually pleased.

“My pleasure,” Leo managed to say.

“Have one. Give one to Mason,” she said. She turned back to her screen, but she moved more smoothly now.

Leo walked out, holding the box. He went back to his desk. Mason was staring at him, his earlier confusion gone, replaced by sharp curiosity.

“Well?” Mason asked.

Leo handed him a chocolate donut. Mason took it, watching Leo’s face.

Leo took a custard donut for himself. He bit into it. It was sweet and good. He looked at the corner office. Victoria was taking another bite, smiling a little.

Leo knew then. This wasn’t just about donuts. He had found a way to reach Victoria Sterling.

And he wasn’t going to let Mason figure it out.