Page 87 of The Rules

The day had dragged—tense meetings, clipped words, unspoken things thick in the air.

Then came the footsteps.

Click-click-click. Fast. Precise. Furious.

He didn’t need to look up.

Winters was coming.

No knock.

The door flew open.

She stormed in, eyes blazing, phone already in hand.

It hit his desk with a sharpthud, the screen glaring up at him.

Subject: "Reassignment Confirmation"

Effective immediately... Winters removed from Ridley case... Assigned to Sinclair.

"Alright, Sinclair," she said, voice like a lit fuse.

"What the hell is your problem?"

Ben didn't look up. Not immediately. He let it simmer. Let her stand there and boil.

The seconds stretched between them, thick with tension.

Her anger radiated across his desk in palpable waves, but Benjamin kept his eyes fixed on her phone. He felt her fury building with each passing moment—felt the way she shifted her weight, heard the slight catch in her breath as she waited for him to acknowledge her.

Good. Let her wait.

Then, finally—he leaned back. Calm. Detached. Deadly.

"Define 'problem,'" he said, voice cool as ice.

Kath scoffed, stepping closer. Her restraint was cracking. "You've been insufferable for days. Just say whatever it is you want to say."

Ben watched her. His gaze flicked—just briefly—to her fists. He saw how close she was to losing it.

Then he looked at the phone. The email. And spoke like he was bored.

"I made a judgment call."

Kath let out a sharp, mirthless laugh.

"A judgment call? That's cute. I must've missed the part where you get to make judgment calls about my career."

Ben didn’t move. But something in his face shifted—the stillness sharpened, like steel locking into place beneath skin.

His gaze sliced into hers, winter-cold and precision-edged. "I'm your superior, Winters. You're onmyteam. That places you under my authority."

He let silence stretch between them—calculated, just long enough to let the truth settle into her bones:

“And if that’s still unclear to you, maybe take a second and read the name etched on the goddamn glass outside this office—because it’s not Winters & Associates.”

Silence.