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“Cassius,” he nodded.

“Torrisi.”

“Come with me. We need to talk.”

Cassius slipped into a private door behind Severo, who closed it quietly before gesturing for the younger gentleman to sit.

“I’ll try to keep this as quick as possible. I spoke to my daughter last night, and she told me you two came to an agreement.”

“We did,” Cassius confirmed, hoping Severo wasn’t about to tell him something had changed. He was too used to the idea of getting to know and being with Aella to accept a shift in their dynamic.

“I’ll tell you like I told her. When I suggested this union, I was only thinking of her safety, not her feelings. I now realize my mistake, and despite her determination to go through with this, I’m offering you the chance to walk away if this isn’t what you truly want. No hard feelings, no love lost.”

“Nah,” Cassius immediately shut the suggestion down.

Severo smirked but didn’t respond.

Cassius shrugged. “Like Elle said, we worked it out. We’re good.”

“Then so be it.”

A knock against Aella’s office door caught her attention, forcing her to look up from the paperwork she’d been obsessing over for the past hour. Trying to get back to work and into her routine after everything that had happened with her family consumed all her time, even forcing her to lose track of it, as evidenced by the annoyed expression on the face of the handsome man glaring at her.

“Please don’t tell me it’s already seven.”

“Seven forty-five, actually,” Cassius replied tersely, stepping inside. “This is the second time you’ve stood me up.”

Sitting back in her chair, Aella rubbed her forehead. “Technically, I only stood you up once. This time, I was genuinely swamped with work.”

“Well, then, genuinely shut that computer down and let’s go.”

Aella poked out her bottom lip. “Cass, can we reschedule? I’m already late, and⁠—”

The way his eyes widened turned her words into a fit of giggles.

“Nah, we ain’t starting this working-late bullshit already. What time did you get into the office this morning?”

“Seven, but⁠—”

“Did you take a lunch break?”

“I value my life, so I refuse to answer that question.”

“Get up, Aella,” he snarled, making her laugh again. “You’ve had twelve hours to do what you need to do, and you can finish tomorrow. Let’s go so I can at least feed you since you sabotaged my original plans.”

Chortling, she stood, gathering her things. “Sabotaged is a strong word. I lost track of time. It’s one of my red flags.”

“I hate being late, so that’s going on the list of things we need to work on to make this relationship work.”

“Let’s not act like I’m the only flawed one here,” Aella replied absently, doing a final sweep of her office to ensure she had everything she needed.

“I didn’t say that. But your flaws are the only ones affecting the romance right now.”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes, strolling past him. Cassius closed the door behind her, and Aella was sure to lock it before they left.

“You lock up your office?”

“Of course. I don’t trust a soul in this building. I wouldn’t put it past any of them to plant something on me or purposely try to get into my computer and wreck one of my projects.”