Cracks in the Glass
1084 Words
Ariana had never liked mornings in the office.
Even before all this, when she’d first started at Vance Holdings, she’d found the sleek steel-and-glass building oppressive—like she was being watched from every reflective surface. But lately, the sensation had sharpened into something closer to paranoia.
Today, she couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone was studying her a little too carefully.
Maybe it was the knowledge that Williams Corp’s lawyers were in the building again, finalizing contracts she wished she could pretend didn’t exist. Or maybe it was the way her own pulse fluttered every time she caught a glimpse of the executives in dark suits, men she’d seen in the hallways of Xavier’s empire.
Either way, she felt exposed.
She tried to drown it in work.
The morning passed in a blur of emails, reports, and forced politeness. She managed to keep her breathing steady, though her hands trembled when she reached for her coffee.
Stay invisible, she told herself. Stay small.
---
Around mid-afternoon, Gregory called her into his office again.
She braced herself, schooling her expression into something close to calm.
“Ariana,” he said as she stepped in. “Close the door, please.”
Her pulse skittered.
She obeyed, then sat in the chair across from him.
“There’s been a slight…development,” Gregory began carefully. “Williams Corp sent over an updated personnel request this morning.”
She didn’t dare ask what that meant.
He watched her, as if weighing whether he should continue. “They want a detailed background summary of all senior support staff. It’s part of their due diligence.”
Her breath left her in a slow exhale.
“I see.”
“You’re not obligated to provide anything beyond standard HR documentation,” he added, voice gentle. “But I thought you should know.”
Her stomach turned. She imagined a file—her file—sliding across a glossy boardroom table. Imagined Xavier’s hands on it.
His voice, cool and deceptively calm: So this is where you’ve been hiding.
“Thank you for telling me,” she whispered.
“If there’s anything I can do—”
She shook her head, forcing a small, brittle smile. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”
Gregory didn’t look convinced. But he let her leave without pressing further.
---
The rest of the day passed in a haze.
By the time she clocked out, she felt wrung dry, every nerve frayed. She walked the few blocks to the café near her apartment, hoping the simple ritual—hot coffee, a quiet corner—would steady her.
It was nearly empty when she pushed open the door.
A bell chimed above her head, bright and incongruously cheerful.
She ordered chamomile tea and carried it to her favorite seat near the window. She told herself she wouldn’t think of Xavier.
But she did.
She thought of him in the early mornings, his head bent over financial reports. She thought of the way he used to look at her—like she was the one variable he couldn’t solve.
Most of all, she thought of the night she’d left.
How he hadn’t tried to stop her.
How that had almost hurt more than if he had.
Maybe that’s why I stayed away, she thought. Because if he’d come after me right then, I don’t know if I would’ve had the strength to leave again.
---
Miles was waiting in the kitchen when she finally made it home.
“You’re late,” he said, trying for casual but not quite managing it.
“Long day.” She dropped her bag by the door, rubbing her forehead.
He hesitated. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Lena’s worried.”
“I know.”
He studied her for a moment, then crossed the room to pull her into a hug. She stiffened at first—she still hadn’t unlearned the instinct to flinch when someone reached for her without warning—but slowly, she relaxed.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmured.
She wanted to believe him.
---
Across the city, Xavier stood in his private office as the last of the executives filed out.
They’d reviewed every line of the acquisition contract, dissected every contingency plan.
His assistant hovered in the doorway, tablet in hand. “Shall I schedule the final signing ceremony for next week, sir?”
“Yes.”
“And the background summaries?”
“Send them to me.”
“Understood.”
The door closed with a soft click, leaving him alone in the silent room.
He crossed to the bar in the corner, poured himself two fingers of scotch.
It wasn’t the power that satisfied him.
It was the inevitability of it.
She’d left him once.
She wouldn’t leave again.
---
The following morning, Ariana arrived at work before dawn.
She was too restless to sleep, too exhausted to do anything but go through the motions.
Her desk was in shadow, the office hushed except for the low hum of the heating system.
She didn’t bother turning on the overhead light. Instead, she opened her laptop, hoping to distract herself with spreadsheets.
But the moment she logged in, a notification appeared.
Personnel Background Request: Submitted by Williams Corp Executive Office
Her heart stuttered.
She clicked the document, scanning the lines of text she’d already read a dozen times.
It was all routine. Her employment dates. References. A line confirming she’d passed all standard background checks.
Nothing incriminating. Nothing that connected her to Xavier Williams—at least on paper.
And yet she couldn’t shake the certainty that it wouldn’t matter.
He didn’t need documents to find her.
He never had.
---
That afternoon, she met Lena for lunch.
They sat in a little bistro tucked between two tall buildings, the sunlight streaming through the windows in stripes.
“You look like you haven’t slept in a week,” Lena said bluntly.
Ariana tried to smile. “I haven’t.”
“Is it…him?”
She didn’t answer.
“That’s a yes.”
Lena reached across the table, her hand warm over Ariana’s cold fingers. “You don’t have to face this alone.”
But Ariana wasn’t sure that was true.
Some battles were too old, too tangled, to share.
---
In the evening, Xavier reviewed the personnel files alone.
When he reached her name, he paused.
Ariana Jones.
Even on the page, it felt like an incantation.
His.
Always.
- Writer
