Chapter5 The Thing That Shouldn’t Have Mattered
1183 Words
Nathan didn’t expect to see her there.
That was the first mistake.
The second was assuming it wouldn’t affect him.
He entered the executive floor mid-morning, already irritated from a board call, when laughter stopped him cold. Not loud. Not careless. Soft and familiar.
Elara.
She was standing near the glass wall, angled slightly toward a man Nathan didn’t recognize. Younger. Confident, Too relaxed for someone new.
The man leaned in not touching her, but close enough to claim space. Elara didn’t step back.
She smiled.
Not polite.
Not restrained.
Real.
Something sharp twisted low in Nathan’s chest.
“Who’s that?” he asked his deputy, voice even.
“New hire,” the deputy said. “Lucas. Strategy team. Elara’s been onboarding him.”
Of course she had.
Nathan watched as Lucas said something low, something meant only for her. Elara laughed head tipping back slightly, eyes bright, body open.
Nathan’s jaw clenched.
She hadn’t laughed like that with him.
Then Lucas did something unforgivable.
He reached out, fingers brushing Elara’s wrist as he leaned past her to grab a file.
Casual. Easy. Familiar.
Nathan moved before he thought better of it.
“Elara.”
Her head snapped up.
Surprise flickered across her face then something else. Awareness. Control. Distance sliding back into place.
“Nathan,” she said calmly.
Lucas straightened. “Sir.”
Nathan ignored him.
“I need you,” Nathan said. Not we. Not the team.
You.
Elara studied him for a beat too long.
Then she nodded. “Excuse us.”
She followed Nathan into the hallway, heels clicking sharply against the floor. The glass doors slid shut behind them.
“What is this about?” she asked.
Nathan turned.
Too close.
He hadn’t meant to stop that near. He hadn’t meant to corner her against the wall.
But there they were.
“You seem comfortable,” he said.
Her brows lifted. “With my colleague?”
“Yes.”
The word came out clipped.
Elara’s lips curved slightly not amused but Curious. “You reassigned me, You stopped speaking to me and You made it clear we weren’t… anything.”
Nathan’s control strained.
“That doesn’t mean—”
“What?” she challenged softly. “That I can’t move on?”
Move on.
The words hit like a strike.
“He touches you,” Nathan said quietly.
Elara’s eyes darkened. “And that bothers you?”
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Nathan stepped back just enough to breathe. “Be careful.”
Her expression shifted then..not fear but Heat.
“Careful of what?” she asked. “Wanting something you decided you didn’t deserve?”
That did it.
Nathan turned away sharply, hands fisting at his sides, every instinct screaming to pull her back, to claim space he had forfeited.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said.
Elara smiled slow and deliberate.
“No,” she said. “I’m walking away from it.”
She passed him close enough that he caught her scent, felt the ghost of her warmth and kept walking.
Leaving Nathan Hale standing in the hallway, boiling, breath shallow, control shredded by the one thing he could never command.
Nathan does not look for Lucas.
Lucas makes sure he is seen.
It starts in the lobby.
Elara is reviewing documents on her tablet when Lucas approaches.
“Morning,” he says lightly, holding out a coffee.
Her usual order.
She hesitates. “You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.”
Nathan steps off the elevator at that exact moment.
Lucas sees him.
Elara doesn’t.
Lucas doesn’t step away.
He stays close.
Close enough that when she takes the coffee, their fingers brush.
Slowly.
Intentionally.
Nathan’s stride does not change, But his shoulders go rigid.
During the mid-morning strategy session, Lucas pulls his chair closer to Elara’s.
Not inappropriate.
Just closer than necessary.
He leans toward her when he speaks, lowering his voice so she has to tilt toward him to hear.
Nathan notices the angle.
The proximity.
The way Lucas’ knee almost touches hers.
“Lucas,” Nathan says smoothly, interrupting mid-sentence.
Lucas looks up calmly.
“Yes, sir?”
Nathan’s gaze flickers briefly to the distance between him and Elara.
“Project your voice. The room deserves clarity.”
A subtle correction.
Lucas smiles faintly.
“Of course.”
But he doesn’t move his chair.
Later, Nathan exits his office to find Lucas standing beside Elara’s desk again.
This time laughing.
Not forced.
Elara looks relaxed.
Lucas reaches past her to adjust something on her screen.
His arm cages her in briefly.
She doesn’t seem to notice.
Lucas does.
And so does Nathan.
Their eyes meet over her shoulder.
Lucas holds his gaze.
One second too long.
Challenge accepted.
Nathan calls for Elara again.
She follows him down the corridor, tension already in her posture.
Before the glass doors close, Lucas speaks.
“Don’t keep her too long, sir. I still need her.”
Silence.
The entire floor hears it.
Nathan turns slowly.
“I don’t believe you do.”
Lucas’s smile widens slightly.
The doors close.
Inside the office, Nathan doesn’t sit.
“Elara,” he says evenly, “is there something I should know about Mr. Moreno?”
She stiffens. “No.”
“He seems… comfortable.”
“With his job?”
“With you.”
She exhales sharply. “This again?”
Nathan steps closer not touching, but imposing.
“You’re aware he’s doing it deliberately.”
Her eyes flicker.
She has noticed.
“I can handle it,” she says quietly.
“That isn’t the point.”
“Then what is?” she presses.
Nathan’s control tightens like a wire pulled too far.
“The point,” he says low, “is that he enjoys provoking me.”
Her breath catches slightly.
“And does he?”
A dangerous question.
Nathan holds her gaze.
“Yes.”
Silence thickens.
“And why would that matter?” she asks softly.
Because you matter.
But he doesn’t say it.
Instead:
“Be mindful of the impression it creates.”
Her expression shifts.
Not weak,Not naive But aware.
“You reassigned me,” she says carefully. “You stepped back. You don’t get to dictate who stands near me.”
That hits hard..
Nathan’s jaw flexes.
“You’re not a pawn,” he says. “Don’t let someone treat you like one.”
Her eyes soften just slightly.
“And you?” she asks.
The question lingers.
Nathan doesn’t answer.
Because he doesn’t have one.
As Elara leaves the office, Lucas is waiting near the glass wall.
Watching.
He doesn’t pretend otherwise.
When Elara approaches, Lucas speaks just loud enough.
“Everything alright?”
She nods.
Lucas glances toward Nathan’s office knowing he can see.
Then he does it.
He places his hand lightly at the small of Elara’s back as they walk.
Guiding, Claiming, Slow and Deliberate.
Nathan’s hand slams onto his desk.
Not loud.
But controlled fury.
Lucas never looks back.
He doesn’t need to.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
And he knows it’s working.
- Writer
