The Flatiron district in Manhattan was a rush of steaming subway grates, high-end boutiques, and the relentless pulse of the tech industry. In the corner office of RAI, the atmosphere was strikingly different from the stiff halls of V-Stream. It was warm, filled with green plants, open glass spaces, and a team of developers who actually laughed.

Arya Rathore—or "Director" to the press—wasn't the terrifying boss the tabloids described. She was the woman who remembered which engineer liked hazelnut in their coffee and who had spent the last two years proving her worth.