The Green-Eyed Glitch
759 Words
The morning after the kiss was strangely quiet.
No good morning smirks. No teasing remarks. No casual coffee waiting at her desk.
Ava arrived early again, half-expecting Damien to be there he wasn’t. And for a moment, she wondered if she’d dreamed the whole thing.
The kiss.
The way he held her, as if she were a secret he’d been dying to say out loud.
She didn’t want to admit she’d barely slept, replaying the moment in her head like a scene on loop. It shouldn’t have happened. Not with him. Not now. But it did. And something about it felt dangerous.
Because now she wanted more.
By noon, she still hadn’t seen him.
But when she walked into the break room to grab a quick coffee, she froze.
Damien was there laughing.
With Jessica from Marketing.
The tall, perfectly blown-out, overly flirtatious Jessica who always found a reason to touch people when she talked. Her hand was on his forearm, and Damien wasn’t pulling away.
Something flared in Ava’s chest.
She wasn’t the jealous type. At least, she didn’t think she was. But right now? She wanted to knock that smug little giggle off Jessica’s face with a stapler.
Damien spotted her from across the room, and for a moment, their eyes locked. His smile faded just slightly. Just enough.
Ava turned and walked out without a word.
She didn’t see him again until hours later, when they were both called into Meredith’s office for a pre-pitch briefing.
Damien slid into the seat beside her. “Hey.”
She didn’t look at him. “Hi.”
“Rough morning?”
“Perfectly fine, thanks.”
He gave her a look. “You sure?”
She glanced at him then, eyes cool. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Meredith walked in, saving him from answering. But Damien wasn’t stupid. He knew that tone. Knew that edge.
Knew he was in trouble.
After the meeting, he caught up with her at her desk.
“Okay, what was that?”
Ava didn’t even glance up. “What was what?”
“That ‘I’ll freeze you out like Antarctica’ vibe.”
She finally turned, arms crossed. “Maybe I didn’t like seeing you flirt with Jessica in the breakroom.”
Damien blinked. “Wait are you jealous?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
His lips twitched. “You are.”
“I am not.”
“God, you’re cute when you’re jealous.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re infuriating when you’re smug.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Ava… I wasn’t flirting. She asked if I wanted to grab drinks with the marketing team. I said no.”
She hesitated. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
“You mean… you wanted me to have the wrong idea?”
He smiled softly. “No. I mean the right one. That I’m not interested in anyone else.”
The anger melted into something quieter. Warmer.
Their eyes met again. This time, no teasing. No games.
“I didn’t mean to care,” Ava said quietly.
“Me either,” Damien replied. “But here we are
That evening, they worked late again.
This time, they shared a pizza in the lounge, legs brushing under the table. Damien told her about how he’d almost dropped out of his first marketing job because his creative director told him he’d never make it.
“I stayed,” he said. “Because I knew I could be better. I just… needed someone to believe in me.”
Ava rested her chin on her hand. “Do you believe in yourself now?”
He nodded. “Most days. But I believe in us more.”
She didn’t answer right away. Her heart was doing that thing again—tripping over itself.
When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. “You’re making this hard.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to win. But I’m scared I’ll lose more than just the promotion.”
Damien reached across the table, taking her hand. “Then let’s stop pretending this is a war. Let’s win together.”
“But only one of us can get it,” she said. “You know that.”
“Then if I don’t get it,” he said, “at least I got you.”
She stared at him, stunned. Because for the first time in a long time… she felt safe.
And maybe, just maybe, it was okay to fall.
- Writer
