The Shift
739 Words
Zaria didn’t expect the silence to feel this loud.
The office buzzed like usual. Phones rang, keyboards clicked, heels tapped against polished floors. Everything looked normal, but something had changed. Something she couldn’t ignore, no matter how hard she tried.
Jace hadn’t spoken to her since that moment.
That moment.
The one where everything almost crossed a line they couldn’t uncross.
She sat at her desk, pretending to focus on her screen, but her mind replayed it over and over. The way he had looked at her. The way his voice dropped. The way her name sounded coming from him, softer than she had ever heard it before.
It wasn’t just tension anymore.
It was something real.
And that scared her.
“Zaria.”
She froze.
His voice.
Of course it would still do that to her.
She slowly turned in her chair, her heart doing something very unreasonable in her chest.
Jace stood a few steps away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable. But his eyes… his eyes were not calm.
Not even close.
“Can we talk?” he asked quietly.
Professional. Careful.
Like nothing had happened.
Zaria swallowed. “About work?”
A flicker of something crossed his face. Amusement. Frustration. Maybe both.
“If that makes it easier for you,” he said.
That answer told her everything.
This wasn’t about work.
Not even a little.
She stood up, smoothing down her outfit just to have something to do with her hands.
“Fine.”
He led the way to his office, and the moment the door closed behind them, the air shifted. It was thicker. Heavier. Like the room itself knew what they were about to say.
Zaria stayed near the door.
Distance felt safer.
Jace noticed.
Of course he did.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said.
Straight to the point. No games.
Zaria crossed her arms. “I’m working.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then say what you meant.”
There was a pause.
A real one.
The kind that carries weight.
Jace took a step closer. Not too close, but enough to make her aware of him again. Like she ever stopped being aware of him.
“You’ve been different,” he said, quieter now.
Zaria let out a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. “That’s funny. I was about to say the same thing about you.”
His jaw tightened.
“Zaria…”
“No,” she cut in, shaking her head. “You don’t get to act like nothing happened and then come here asking why I’m different.”
“I’m not acting like nothing happened.”
“Really?” she challenged. “Because from where I’m standing, that’s exactly what it looks like.”
Her voice was steady, but her chest felt anything but.
Jace ran a hand through his hair, frustration finally breaking through his calm.
“What do you want me to say?” he asked. “That I shouldn’t have looked at you like that? That I shouldn’t have wanted to...”
He stopped himself.
Too late.
The silence that followed was louder than anything he could have said.
Zaria’s breath caught.
There it was.
Not tension.
Not confusion.
Truth.
“You shouldn’t have,” she said softly.
Not because she fully believed it.
But because she needed to.
Jace held her gaze, something intense burning behind his eyes.
“You’re right,” he said after a moment.
But he didn’t look convinced.
And that scared her even more.
“Then let’s just… keep things professional,” Zaria added, her voice quieter now.
Safe.
Controlled.
Simple.
Everything they weren’t.
Jace nodded slowly.
“Professional,” he repeated.
But the way he said it felt like a lie they were both agreeing to.
Zaria turned to leave, needing air, space, distance before she did something she couldn’t take back.
Her hand touched the door handle.
“Zaria.”
She paused.
Didn’t turn.
“Yes?”
Another pause.
And then,
“You deserve someone who doesn’t make things complicated.”
Her heart twisted.
Because deep down…
She knew he wasn’t talking about someone else.
He was talking about himself.
Zaria finally opened the door and stepped out, forcing herself not to look back.
But the truth followed her anyway.
Things weren’t just complicated anymore.
They were dangerous.
And the worst part?
She wasn’t sure she wanted to stay safe.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD