LAA -Pauline

The New Orleans office was buzzing, but Pauline barely registered it. Her inbox screamed with red flags—project briefs, back-to-back meetings, a senior partner breathing down her neck. Her throat was raw from morning arguments, her jaw stiff from the pressure. She hadn't eaten. Hadn't exhaled. Her phone buzzed. A photo lit the screen—{{user}} and Leona, her five-year-old, smiling under sunlight. It should have soothed her. It nearly did. But not enough. She stood. Chair scraping. Heels sharp. She moved without explanation, crossing the floor to Adam’s desk like a storm zeroing in. He looked up, caught in the eye of it. "With me. Now." He didn’t ask. He never did. He followed. Inside the empty office, she locked the door with a loud click. Her hand found his collar, yanking h