In Between

Chapter 5 – Lunch Break

The bistro was warmly lit, almost intimate, even though it was full. Light wood, the smell of fresh coffee and food, the soft clatter of cutlery mixed with low voices. The kind of place where people came to relax… or pretend they did.

Erica and Ana sat by the window.

- “If I get one more email today, I’m donating it,” Ana said, dropping the menu onto the table.

Erica smiled slightly.

- “You said that yesterday.”

- “And yesterday I meant it.”

For a few minutes, everything felt normal.

Predictable.

Manageable.

Then the door opened.

Her gaze followed instinctively.

Her boss, Dante, and his assistant, Tony.

Dante was the first to look across the room. And as if it were inevitable, his eyes landed on their table.

On her.

A small smile. Controlled.

- “I didn’t expect to find you here,” he said.

Calm tone. But his eyes… his eyes weren’t searching. They stopped.

On her.

Tony stayed slightly behind, but present. Observing… always observing.

Ana raised an eyebrow.

- “We have surprises too, not just reports.”

Tony gave a brief, almost invisible smile.

- “Mind if we join?” Dante asked—already pulling out a chair.

Erica watched him.

Too relaxed.

Too certain the answer was already yes.

- “Depends,” she said calmly. “Did you come for lunch… or for control?” surprising herself with the question.

For a second, something shifted in the air.

He looked at her more carefully.

Not professionally.

Not socially.

Directly.

- “Sometimes it’s the same thing,” he said quietly.

Tony sat down beside him without adding anything. But the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, like he recognized where this was going.

Dante’s gaze stayed on her.

Too steady.

Too present.

Erica felt it in her chest before she could translate it into thought.

And for the first time, she didn’t rush to avoid it.

They ordered quickly.

But no one was really there for the food anymore.

Only for the space between words.

- “You’re different today,” Dante said, like a casual observation.

- “I’m not.”

- “You are,” Tony added, speaking directly to her for the first time. His voice was low. Clear. Not emotional, but not cold either. She looked at him. He didn’t look away. A second longer than it should have been.

Then Dante continued, as if picking up the thread:

- “Maybe a spark.”

A faint smile.

- “A spark from that fire you used to have… when something actually interested you.”

The air tightened slightly.

She felt that.

Not an accusation.

Something more personal.

Too close to something she hadn’t let anyone see in a long time.

Ana cleared her throat.

- “Okay… who are you three and why do I feel like I missed an entire episode?”

Tony let out a short laugh. Real this time.

Dante didn’t.

He was still looking at Erica.

Too calm.

Too controlled.

Too focused on her reaction.

Then, as if shifting the subject...

- “What time are you two coming tonight?”

Erica blinked slightly.

- “Where?”

- “The company party,” he said simply. “To celebrate the results.”

A pause.

She thought about skipping it. Going home early. Like she had done every year before.

- “I want all of you to actually enjoy this one,” Dante added.

Tony leaned back slightly.

- “It might even be interesting!” he said.

Ana sighed dramatically.

- “So we have to pretend we love our jobs after hours too.”

Tony smiled.

- “Some people don’t pretend,” he said, his gaze briefly settling on her.

Erica didn’t respond immediately.

She was still looking at Dante.

Because the question hadn’t really been about the event. It had been about her.

- “I haven’t decided yet,” she said.

Dante tilted his head slightly.

- “You don’t seem like someone who misses moments… when something interesting is happening.”

The sentence lingered between them.

Her phone vibrated on the table.

This time, she didn’t reach for it immediately. Because she already knew. And that was the problem.

Dante’s eyes dropped to the phone for a fraction of a second. Then back to her. Slower now. More personal.

- “You’ve been checking your phone a lot today,” he said.

Not a question. A statement. Erica met his gaze.

- “You notice a lot of things.”

A small smile appeared on his lips.

- “Only the ones that matter.”

But the tone…wasn’t just about work anymore.

Tony picked up his glass and took a sip of water, calm, but still present in the space between them.

Ana looked between the two men, then back at Erica.

- “Okay,” she said slowly, “I’m actually going to eat. You guys clearly have… something else going on.”

Erica smiled faintly, but didn’t fully relax.

Because something had shifted.

She didn’t know if one of them was behind the messages. She had no proof. Nothing concrete. And yet—for the first time since this started…she didn’t feel the need to know immediately.

Because she was discovering something else. That she could stay there, inside the tension, without running from it.

She lowered her gaze to the plate in front of her.

They all started eating.

Almost normal.

Almost.

Her phone vibrated again.

This time—she turned it over.

A new message.

- “You like who you become when you stop controlling yourself…"

- "...don’t you?”

Her breath caught for a fraction of a second.

It wasn’t really a question.

It was too certain.

Too close.

Her gaze lifted slowly.

Dante was looking at her.

Tony wasn’t.

Tony was eating. Calm.

Erica didn’t reply.

But for the first time…it wasn’t because she didn’t know what to say.

It was because—she didn’t want to go back to the safe version of herself.