Not Suitable For Work

Trapped Together

The storm showed no signs of stopping.

Rain slammed against the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Thunder rattled the glass.

Lightning illuminated the dark city skyline every few minutes.

Ava checked her phone.

No ride requests were being accepted.

The roads were flooded.

Traffic was at a standstill.

Fantastic.

Exactly what she needed.

Another night stuck at the office.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

The executive floor was almost completely empty now.

Only a few lights remained on.

Including the one inside Ethan's office.

Of course.

The man probably worked harder than the entire company combined.

Ava glanced at the time.

8:46 PM.

Her stomach growled.

Again.

Apparently her stomach had developed a personal vendetta against her.

Before she could ignore it, a familiar voice spoke behind her.

"You should really start eating regularly."

Ava jumped.

"Ethan!"

His lips twitched.

"You say my name like I'm a serial killer."

"You move like one."

To her surprise, he laughed.

A genuine laugh.

Deep.

Warm.

Dangerously attractive.

Ava hated how much she liked hearing it.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't."

"Sure."

The smile lingering on his face made her heart do something very inconvenient.

A loud crack of thunder shook the building.

The lights flickered.

Then steadied.

Ava glanced nervously toward the windows.

"I hate storms."

Ethan noticed immediately.

The way her shoulders stiffened.

The way she avoided looking outside.

"You afraid of thunder?"

"No."

Another crack exploded across the sky.

Ava nearly jumped out of her skin.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely not afraid."

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, maybe a little."

"A little?"

"A lot."

"There we go."

A reluctant smile appeared on her face.

The ease between them felt strange.

Unexpected.

Just a week ago they could barely have a conversation without irritating each other.

Now...

This felt different.

Comfortable.

Almost natural.

And that realization was beginning to scare Ava.

"Come on."

Ethan grabbed his suit jacket.

Ava frowned.

"Where are we going?"

"Food."

"I'm not hungry."

Ethan stared at her.

Silently.

Patiently.

Ava sighed.

"Fine."

"Good choice."

A few minutes later, they found themselves in the executive lounge.

A private space overlooking the city.

The rain painted streaks across the glass windows.

The atmosphere felt strangely intimate.

Too intimate.

Especially when Ethan removed his jacket and loosened his tie.

Ava immediately looked away.

She absolutely refused to acknowledge how attractive her boss was.

Refused.

Half an hour later, they sat across from each other sharing takeout.

For the first time since meeting him, Ethan wasn't working.

Wasn't checking emails.

Wasn't answering calls.

He was simply...

Talking.

And Ava found herself enjoying it.

Far more than she should.

"What were you like in college?"

The question surprised her.

She laughed softly.

"Stressed."

"I believe that."

"Rude."

"Probably."

"Sleep deprived."

"Definitely."

Ethan smiled.

"And here I thought you'd say brilliant."

"I was brilliant."

"There she is."

Ava laughed.

The sound filled the room.

For a moment Ethan simply watched her.

The way her eyes brightened.

The way she smiled without realizing it.

The way she completely forgot to be nervous.

Something tightened inside his chest.

Something unfamiliar.

Dangerous.

Neither noticed how close they had grown.

Not at first.

The distance between them had disappeared gradually.

Conversation after conversation.

Smile after smile.

Until suddenly...

They weren't sitting across from each other anymore.

They were sitting beside each other on the lounge sofa.

Looking out at the storm.

Talking quietly.

Sharing secrets.

Sharing pieces of themselves.

The city lights reflected in the glass.

Thunder echoed in the distance.

Yet neither seemed eager to leave.

"I have a question."

Ethan glanced toward her.

"What?"

Ava hesitated.

Then asked quietly,

"Why did you really hire me?"

The question caught him off guard.

"You were qualified."

"There were hundreds of applicants."

"Hundreds of qualified applicants."

Ethan didn't answer immediately.

Instead, his gaze settled on hers.

Steady.

Intense.

Making her pulse quicken.

"You were honest."

Ava blinked.

"What?"

"During your interview."

His voice softened.

"You didn't tell me what you thought I wanted to hear."

The memory returned instantly.

The interview.

The difficult questions.

The way she'd challenged some of the company's policies.

Everyone else had probably played it safe.

Ava hadn't.

"You remember that?"

"I remember everything."

The words hung between them.

Heavy.

Charged.

Dangerous.

Neither looked away.

Neither moved.

The atmosphere shifted.

Slowly.

Irresistibly.

Ava suddenly became aware of everything.

How close he was.

How his voice sounded when he spoke quietly.

How his eyes seemed darker tonight.

And Ethan...

Ethan was becoming painfully aware of her too.

The soft scent of her perfume.

The way she looked at him.

The way she made him forget every rule he'd spent years living by.

The distance between them disappeared.

Not intentionally.

Not consciously.

It simply happened.

A few inches.

Then less.

Ava's breath caught.

Ethan's gaze dropped briefly to her lips.

Then returned to her eyes.

The room suddenly felt very warm.

Very quiet.

Very dangerous.

Neither spoke.

Neither seemed capable of speaking.

And for one reckless moment...

It felt like the rest of the world had disappeared.

Then—

Ethan's phone rang.

The sound shattered the moment instantly.

Both of them pulled back.

Reality crashing down around them.

The spell broken.

Ethan looked at the screen.

His expression immediately hardened.

Vanessa.

Ava looked away.

Trying to ignore the strange disappointment settling inside her chest.

Trying to pretend that nothing had almost happened.

Because whatever this was becoming...

It was getting harder to resist.

And much harder to forget.

The moment Ethan ended the call, the atmosphere changed.

Whatever had almost happened between them vanished.

Replaced by something colder.

More complicated.

Ava looked away first.

Trying to steady her breathing.

Trying to ignore the fact that she had almost let herself forget who Ethan was.

Her boss.

Her very unavailable boss.

The man who was engaged to another woman.

The man whose fiancée had just called.

Reality was cruel like that.

The following morning, Sterling Insurance Group was buzzing with activity.

Employees rushed through the hallways.

Event planners moved between departments.

Florists arrived carrying samples.

Design teams reviewed presentations.

The entire building seemed unusually excited.

Ava frowned as she stepped off the elevator.

"What happened?"

Sophie appeared beside her.

Looking equally exhausted.

"The annual Blackwood Foundation Gala."

Ava blinked.

"The what?"

Sophie laughed.

"The biggest corporate event of the year."

That explained the chaos.

"Everyone's attending?"

"Everyone important."

Ava groaned.

"That sounds stressful."

"It is."

Sophie nodded dramatically.

"Especially when Vanessa Montgomery is involved."

Ava immediately understood.

Enough said.

By noon, Ethan had called Ava into his office three times.

The gala had completely taken over his schedule.

Guest lists.

Sponsors.

Security arrangements.

Press coverage.

Everything seemed to require his approval.

And his patience was running dangerously low.

Ava entered his office carrying another stack of documents.

"These need your signature."

Ethan barely looked up.

"Leave them."

She placed the files on his desk.

Their fingers brushed briefly as he reached for a pen.

Both noticed.

Neither acknowledged it.

Ava quickly stepped back.

Ethan's jaw tightened.

The memory of last night still lingered.

And judging by the look in Ava's eyes...

It lingered for her too.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

A sharp knock interrupted them.

Before Ethan could respond, the office door opened.

Vanessa walked in.

Looking like she'd stepped straight out of a fashion magazine.

A fitted emerald-green dress hugged her figure.

Diamond earrings sparkled beneath perfectly styled blonde hair.

Several employees outside immediately stopped what they were doing to stare.

Vanessa smiled.

She enjoyed attention.

A lot.

"Ethan."

His expression became unreadable.

"Vanessa."

Ava immediately moved toward the door.

"I'll come back later."

"No."

The word came from Ethan.

Again.

Instantly.

Again.

Vanessa noticed.

Again.

The tension in the room became immediate.

Ava resisted the urge to sigh.

Why did this keep happening?

Vanessa crossed the room confidently.

"I just finished speaking with the event organizers."

Ethan nodded.

"And?"

A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

The kind that usually meant trouble.

"I made an announcement."

Ethan's expression darkened.

"What announcement?"

Vanessa's smile widened.

"The engagement."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Ava froze.

Ethan froze.

Even the air seemed to freeze.

Vanessa looked delighted.

"As far as the public is concerned, we're getting married."

Ava's stomach dropped.

The words shouldn't affect her.

But they did.

More than she wanted to admit.

A lot more.

She lowered her eyes.

Focusing on her notebook.

Anything except the uncomfortable ache forming inside her chest.

Ethan stood slowly.

His voice was dangerously calm.

"You announced our engagement?"

Vanessa smiled.

"It's wonderful publicity."

"I didn't approve it."

"You were going to tell everyone eventually."

"No."

The single word landed heavily.

Vanessa's smile disappeared.

The room suddenly felt much colder.

"What do you mean no?"

Ethan's eyes hardened.

The same expression Ava had seen whenever he dealt with difficult negotiations.

Or enemies.

Or his father.

And suddenly Vanessa looked less like a fiancée.

And more like an opponent.

"I mean exactly what I said."

Vanessa stared.

Disbelief flashing across her face.

"You can't be serious."

Ethan said nothing.

Which somehow felt worse.

Much worse.

For the first time since meeting Vanessa, Ava saw genuine panic in her eyes.

Not jealousy.

Not irritation.

Fear.

Real fear.

As though the ground beneath her perfect life had suddenly begun to crack.

"Ethan..."

The confidence in her voice disappeared.

People outside the office had stopped pretending not to listen.

Everyone could feel it.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Vanessa took a step closer.

"We've been together for years."

Ethan remained silent.

"We have plans."

Silence.

"We have a future."

Silence.

And then—

Vanessa's gaze shifted.

Landing directly on Ava.

The room became still.

Ava's pulse quickened.

The look in Vanessa's eyes was unmistakable.

Accusation.

Suspicion.

Jealousy.

Vanessa wasn't looking at Ethan anymore.

She was looking at Ava.

As though she'd finally identified the reason everything was changing.

And that terrified Ava.

Because she suddenly realized something.

Vanessa didn't care about the missing file anymore.

She didn't care about office politics.

She cared about one thing.

Ethan.

And she was beginning to see Ava as a threat.

A few moments later, Vanessa left.

The office door slammed shut behind her.

The sound echoed through the executive floor.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The tension lingered long after she was gone.

Ava quietly gathered her notebook.

"I should get back to work."

Ethan looked at her.

Really looked at her.

For a second it felt as though he wanted to say something.

Explain something.

Anything.

But he didn't.

And somehow that felt even more dangerous.

Because for the first time, neither of them could pretend the lines weren't blurring.

And neither of them knew what would happen next.