After Hours

Chapter 4

Ella hadn’t even made it to her desk before she felt it — the shift. A subtle hush in the hallway. The way conversations died when she entered the room. And the glances. Quick, sharp, and full of implication.

It had begun.

By the time she sat down, Ava slid into the seat beside her with a paper cup of coffee and a grimace.

“You’re officially the hot topic of the day,” she whispered, leaning in. “Word is... you’re sleeping with Nathan Lancaster.”

Ella nearly choked. “What?!”

Ava shrugged. “I’m not saying I believe it — but Tanya’s been running her mouth. Said she saw you leave the executive elevator yesterday morning. Same heels. Same hair.”

Ella’s face flushed, heart pounding.

“I just… got here early,” she said, the lie weak even to her own ears.

“Girl, please. I don’t judge,” Ava said gently. “But people are already spinning their theories. And you know how HR gets when there's even a whisper of favoritism.”

Ella’s stomach turned.

She’d known it would be risky. But she didn’t expect it to spiral so fast.

Worse, she hadn’t heard from Nathan since their brief meeting the day before. No texts. No signals. Just silence.

She wasn’t naïve. She knew men like him lived in compartments — business, pleasure, power — all boxed and managed. Maybe she was just one of those boxes, neatly tucked away behind closed doors.

But her heart didn’t feel boxed. It felt open. Bare.

---

Nathan sat in his glass office, blinds drawn halfway, jaw clenched as he read the internal email forwarded by his assistant.

Subject: Professional Conduct Reminder – Personal Relationships in the Workplace

Subtle. But not subtle enough.

Someone had said something. And now the vultures were circling.

He scrubbed a hand down his face.

This was exactly what he didn’t want — Ella being put under a microscope because of him. Being reduced to whispers and side-eyes, her work questioned, her presence scrutinized.

He had to act. Carefully.

But before he could finish his thought, there was a knock.

The door opened, and in walked Celeste.

Of all the people to show up today.

“Nathan,” she said smoothly, her smile all white teeth and expensive lip gloss. “I heard you were back from Singapore. Thought I’d drop by.”

Celeste Delacroix had once been a Lancaster board member — and more than that, she had once shared Nathan’s bed. Briefly. Coldly. The kind of arrangement that suited them both at the time.

But now, her presence made his skin crawl.

“What do you want, Celeste?” he asked, not bothering to stand.

She sauntered in, her heels echoing against the polished floor.

“I heard the board's concerned about a potential... distraction in your division,” she said, eyes gleaming. “Something about a junior employee and some questionable entanglements.”

Nathan’s expression darkened. “You flew in to gossip?”

“I flew in for the quarterly,” she said. “The gossip was just a bonus.”

She moved closer, then leaned over his desk slightly — the kind of calculated move she’d perfected years ago. “You should be careful, Nathan. Women like her don’t understand the rules of your world. And you — well, you always get bored eventually.”

He stood abruptly, his voice cool steel. “If I hear you’ve spread a single word about Ella, I will bury you in legal paperwork so deep you’ll think you moved to hell.”

Celeste’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes narrowed.

“Well,” she purred. “Looks like you already care more than you should.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and left.

Nathan’s heart thundered.

He couldn’t protect Ella from everything — but he sure as hell could try.

---

Ella tried to bury herself in work, but by mid-afternoon, the tension had only gotten worse. Her supervisor had “casually” asked for a breakdown of her recent project timelines. And someone had moved her lunch from the breakroom fridge and left it sitting in the sink.

She was one coffee spill away from quitting.

By the time her phone lit up with a message from Nathan, her hands were trembling.

Nathan:

> My driver’s waiting outside. Come by tonight. Please.

Part of her wanted to say no.

Part of her wanted to scream.

But the part of her that had fallen asleep in his arms — the part of her that still believed he meant it when he said she wasn’t just a secret — that part wanted to see him.

So she went.

He opened the door the second she stepped off the elevator. No suit this time. Just jeans and a gray t-shirt that made him look far too human for someone who ruled the 49th floor.

But she didn’t smile. She pushed past him.

“You didn’t even text me back yesterday.”

“I didn’t want to say something I couldn’t protect you from yet,” he said quietly. “And today, everything got worse.”

“I’m getting blamed, Nathan,” she said, turning to face him. “My reputation, my job — I’ve worked my ass off to be taken seriously. And now I’m just… a rumor.”

He reached for her, but she stepped back.

“I don’t want to be your shame,” she whispered.

Nathan’s face softened. “You’re not. Ella — you’re the only thing lately that feels real.”

She looked at him then, really looked — and saw it.

The pressure. The guilt. The helplessness.

He stepped forward again, slower this time, like she was something fragile. His hands cupped her face.

“I didn’t plan for this,” he said. “But I want it. I want you. I’ll fix this.”

“You can’t fix perception,” she said.

“I can make them know I don’t regret this,” he said, brushing her cheek with his thumb. “That I never will.”

And then he kissed her — not urgently, but with purpose. With a promise. Her hands gripped his shirt. She melted against him, every fear and frustration dissolving into that one moment.

He pulled her gently toward the couch, lips still on hers, until they collapsed together, limbs entwined. When he laid her down, he didn’t rush.

He worshiped her.

Whispers against skin. Soft moans. Breath shared in the hush between heartbeats. It wasn’t about lust anymore. It was about knowing.

Afterward, he lay beside her, fingers trailing lightly down her arm.

“We’re going to ride this storm out,” he said. “And when it clears, you’ll still be here.”

She turned her head toward him. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ve never wanted anything more than I want this to work.”

Her eyes fluttered shut as he pulled her closer.

For now, it was enough.

But outside his penthouse, the whispers were only growing louder.