Cameron stared at the picture on Aiden's phone. "She's cute, but…"

"I know. How Keeley attracted the attention of one of the most powerful men in this city, I'll never understand."

"Maybe with more information, we can figure it out. You know her. What's she like?" Cameron asked, his expression thoughtful.

Aiden began with the basics.

"Keeley Hall, twenty-four, single, lives with two close roommates and a cat. Her only remaining family is her father, whom she visits weekly. She's a diligent doctoral student in developmental genetics. She loves people—when she's not studying, she's probably socializing. She's got a good sense of humor and is super friendly but fiercely independent. Oh, and she makes really good cookies. She gave me a plate with six different varieties around Christmas last year."

Aiden was still bitter about mentioning this to Aaron after bringing the cookies to work. Aaron had taken most of them as soon as he found out, leaving Aiden with only two.

"She made you cookies?! This girl sounds like an angel," Cameron said incredulously.

"She's very kind, but don't let that fool you; she's also a spitfire if you cross her. Like a certain someone we know," Aiden replied with a smirk.

Cameron was bewildered. His boss was in love with a seemingly ordinary woman who apparently hated him. This was shocking.

Aaron, as far as Cameron knew, was cold, direct, and entirely business-minded. He couldn't imagine the powerful man chasing after a woman, let alone one who wasn't interested.

"What did he do to her?"

"Not a clue. He doesn't talk about it; I pieced it together myself. From what I gather, they met senior year of high school, and she already disliked him. You know Aaron—'no' isn't an option. That probably made things worse," Aiden speculated.

Cameron considered this while Aiden ate his lunch. Aiden's theory made sense. Aaron was very demanding. An ordinary girl could easily be offended by that… but what kind of woman would refuse such wealth? Even Cameron's sister joked about finding a sugar daddy so she could quit her job.

Most people assumed Aaron relied on his father's money, but that wasn't true. He received a vice president's salary and had limited access to the family fortune, but most of his assets stemmed from shrewd business sense, uncanny stock market predictions, and Cameron.

After a couple of years of gambling in Atlantic City casinos, the owners banned him for consistently beating the system. So Aaron started sending him on all-expenses-paid trips to Las Vegas, Monaco, Paris, and Prague to continue gambling. He rotated locations frequently enough to avoid detection.

He even competed in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas annually, using his boss's money, and won the World Championship three years running, tying the record for most wins.

Cameron could never have afforded the buy-in money. His boss was a shrewd, calculating businessman whose primary talent was investment—in stocks and people.

And he wasn't the only one. Aiden, for example, would likely be goofing off on his computer at community college if not for Aaron. Now, he had top-of-the-line equipment and was ranked the #3 hacker on the dark web.

Aaron saw potential and cultivated it for his own gain. Cameron had long believed Aaron only used people, not caring for them. So where did Keeley fit in?

"If she doesn't like him, why was she at his place two days ago?" Cameron asked as Aiden finished his lunch.

A sly smile spread across Aiden's face. "Get this: last night, I saw her come home very drunk, still wearing Aaron's shirt, with a guy friend I've seen at her place a couple of times. Fishy, right?"

Cameron lowered his voice, instinctively glancing around the cafeteria.

"You think Aaron pissed her off, and that's why she went drinking with her friend?"

"Exactly! I want to ask him what happened when she was at his house."

"Are you suicidal?! If you tell him what you saw, he'll kill you, and me by association!"

Aiden rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid enough to tell him directly. I'll be subtle. Want to come with me? Lunch is almost over; he should be back in his office."

"Sure."

Consumed by curiosity, Cameron agreed. They disposed of their trays and took the elevator to the top floor.

Aaron's expansive office occupied the northwest corner, as far from his father's office as possible, but still on the same floor as upper management.

Cameron knew Aaron planned to overthrow his father, but he didn't know it was for a girl until Aiden's revelations. His curiosity only intensified, but he'd let Aiden handle it. Aiden's approach to Aaron was both effective and amusing. This promised to be entertaining.

Aiden burst into Aaron's office without warning.

"Aaron!" he cried dramatically. "How could you hide such significant news from me? I'm wounded!"

The relatively soft expression on his face instantly hardened into cold annoyance. "What are you babbling about?"

As Aiden leaned over the desk, Cameron slipped into the room and sat on the couch to watch. Aaron barely acknowledged him.

"I happened to run into a certain someone wearing your shirt last night in the elevator," Aiden teased.

Aaron's nonchalance was remarkable. "Oh, that. That was nothing."

"Nothing?! The love of your life stayed at your house, and you call that nothing?"

"Keeley was sick, and I took care of her; that's it. But… she was nice to me."

That soft expression returned. Cameron and Aiden exchanged glances. It was unsettling—completely unlike Aaron.

"Nice how?" they both asked simultaneously.

The passage has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and style. The repetitive "Search the NovelFire.net" has been removed as it's not part of the narrative.