Calculated Risk ┃MV1

The rooftop terrace of the hotel was quieter now.

Laughter and music from the dinner party still drifted up faintly through the open balcony doors, muffled by distance and the thick velvet of night. The air was cool, perfumed with the scent of ocean breeze and the faintest trace of someone's cologne—expensive, probably Daniel's, and clinging to the fabric of the evening like a ghost.

Gen leaned against the balustrade, nursing a half-empty glass of something sharp and golden. Her hair had loosened from its earlier pulled-back style, a few strands curling gently at her temples from the humidity. Her heels were off, discarded near a chair behind her.

She hadn't expected to last this long tonight.

Not with the buzz of engineers, PR staff, and drivers ping-ponging between celebration and stress relief. She had smiled, laughed when she needed to, exchanged data insight with a few too-curious sponsors, and even let Daniel convince her into a toast. But eventually, it got too loud. Too warm. Too much.

And now—solitude.

At least, it was, until she heard the soft pad of footsteps approaching.

Gen didn't turn around. She already knew.

Max.

"Escaping?" His voice was rougher than usual, a little lower from the wine and late hour. And closer than she expected.

She exhaled a quiet breath through her nose, but her gaze stayed on the horizon. "Something like that."

She felt, not heard, the small pause before he stepped to her side, mimicking her pose—forearms resting on the stone railing, his body angled just slightly toward hers.

"Didn't think you were the hiding type," he said after a moment.

"I'm not hiding," she replied simply. "Just... stepping back."

There was a beat of silence that said more than his words could've. She could feel the weight of his stare on her profile.

"You do that a lot," Max said finally, voice softer now. "Step back."

She finally looked at him.

Even under the dim terrace light, his eyes were piercing, clear despite the warmth in his cheeks. "And you don't?" she countered.

Max gave a lopsided grin. "Touché."

They were quiet again, the air between them taut with unspoken questions.

"Tonight went well," she murmured.

"Yeah," Max said, then smiled faintly. "Didn't think dinner would be the most exhausting part of the day."