The door shut behind Eve with a soft click.
Kelvin didn't look up immediately.
He sat behind the wide desk, sleeves rolled, fingers steepled beneath his chin like a man who had already calculated ten outcomes before she even stepped in.
"Report."
Eve remained standing.
Controlled. Composed.
But her eyes… her eyes always gave just a little away when she spoke to him.
"He's careful," she began. "More than I expected."
That got Kelvin's attention.
His gaze lifted slowly to meet hers.
"Explain."
Eve took a step forward, heels barely making a sound against the polished floor.
"There was an incident at work," she said. "A colleague tried to intimidate me. Publicly."
Kelvin's expression didn't change but something sharpened behind his eyes.
"And?"
Eve exhaled lightly, like she was replaying it.
"He stepped in."
A pause.
"He didn't hesitate. Didn't ask questions. Just… shut it down."
Kelvin leaned back slightly, studying her now.
"How?"
"Authority," she said simply. "The kind people don't question."
Her lips curved faintly.
"He made it clear I wasn't to be touched."
Silence stretched between them.
Then..
"And after?"
Eve hesitated… just enough to make it real.
"He took me to dinner."
That earned a slow blink from Kelvin.
"Dinner," he repeated.
"Yes."
Her voice softened, not too much, just enough.
"It wasn't planned. It just… happened."
Kelvin's jaw ticked once.
"And you accepted."
It wasn't a question.
Eve held his gaze.
"I had to."
Another pause.
Then she added, quieter...
"He called me later that night."
That… lingered.
Kelvin's fingers tapped once against the desk. Slow. Measured.
"And?"
Eve shook her head slightly.
"Nothing concrete. Just checking in. Keeping the connection alive."
She took another step closer now.
"But he still doesn't trust me."
That was the part that mattered.
Kelvin leaned forward again.
"Not even after defending you? Taking you out? Calling you?"
Eve's eyes hardened just a little.
"He's letting me in… but only where he can see me."
A beat.
"I'm not inside yet."
Silence.
Heavy. Thinking silence.
Then Kelvin stood.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
He walked around the desk, stopping just a few steps away from her.
Close enough to unsettle. Not close enough to touch.
"Then you're not convincing enough."
Eve's brows pulled slightly.
"I..."
"You're getting attention," he cut in calmly. "Not trust."
His voice wasn't raised. It didn't need to be.
"If he protects you, takes you out, calls you, good. That's surface."
His gaze locked onto hers.
"But men like him don't open doors because they're interested."
A step closer.
"They open them when they believe."
Eve held his stare.
Unflinching.
"So what do you want me to do?"
Kelvin's lips curved faintly, but there was no warmth in it.
"Stop performing."
A pause.
"Start becoming."
Eve frowned slightly.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does," he said. "You're still acting like someone who needs something."
His voice dropped just a fraction.
"Be someone he doesn't question."
Silence.
Eve swallowed, then nodded once.
"I understand."
Kelvin studied her for a second longer… then turned away, heading back toward his desk.
"Good."
Eve didn't move immediately.
Something else sat on her chest.
Something heavier.
"Kelvin."
He stopped, but didn't turn.
"Speak."
Her voice softened.
Careful now.
Measured.
"Can I see her?"
That did it.
The air shifted.
Kelvin turned slowly this time.
His expression had changed, subtly, but enough.
"Who?"
Eve hesitated.
Then...
"My mother."
The word lingered.
Too human.
Too real.
Kelvin's face hardened almost instantly.
"No."
Just like that.
Eve blinked.
"I haven't seen her in..."
"No," he repeated, firmer.
She stepped forward slightly.
"I just need..."
"You're an orphan."
The words cut clean through her.
Eve froze.
Kelvin's gaze didn't waver.
"That's who you are now," he continued. "That's the story. That's what he believes."
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides.
"I can be careful..."
"You don't decide that."
His tone sharpened.
"For all you know, you're already being watched."
That made her go still.
Completely still.
Kelvin took a step closer again, voice lowering.
"One mistake," he said, "one unnecessary movement and everything collapses."
Eve's throat tightened.
"She's all I have."
For a brief second..
Just a second ...
Something flickered in Kelvin's eyes.
Then it was gone.
"And this mission is everything," he replied coldly.
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
Eve looked down briefly… then nodded.
Slowly.
Understood.
When she looked back up, the softness was gone.
Replaced.
Locked away.
"I won't ask again."
Kelvin watched her for a moment… then gave a single nod.
"Good."
Eve turned.
Walked to the door.
Paused.
Then, without looking back..
"I'll make him trust me."
Kelvin's voice came, calm and certain.
"You will."
A beat.
"Because you don't have a choice."
The door opened.
Then shut.
And just like that...
Eve was gone.