Corner Office Confessions

Chapter 5: Too Close

Nerisa couldn't stop replaying that moment by her desk. The way his voice had dropped. The way he'd stepped back like he was catching himself before a fall.

She told herself it meant nothing. Bosses complimented sharp work all the time. That was all it was.

Except then he started finding reasons to walk past her desk.

"Coffee run," he said Tuesday morning, setting a cup beside her keyboard without breaking stride.

"I didn't order this."

"I know what you drink." He didn't stop to explain how he knew, and she didn't ask, too stunned to form words.

By Thursday, it wasn't just coffee. He pulled her into two more meetings that had nothing to do with her actual role, introduced her to board members by name — her name, not "the intern" — and once, in the elevator, stood close enough that she felt the heat off his arm through her sleeve.

"You're doing that thing again," she said, breaking the silence.

"What thing."

"Standing too close. Looking at me like you're trying to solve something."

The elevator doors opened before he answered. He let her step out first, and only when she glanced back did she catch it — the smallest, most reluctant smile.

"Maybe I am," he said, and walked away before she could respond.

Nerisa stood frozen in the hallway, heart hammering, painfully aware that whatever line existed between them was getting thinner by the day — and that some part of her didn't want it to hold.