Chapter 8
402 Words
The Distance Between Them
Bea told herself it did not matter.
The tone in his voice.
The coldness in his eyes.
The sharp edge in every word he threw at her that afternoon.
She had worked for difficult people before. Men who believed power made them untouchable. Men who spoke without caring who they hurt.
But Ace Monteverde was different.
He did not just want obedience.
He wanted control over how things made her feel.
And that was the part she was starting to resent.
The rest of the day passed in silence. He did not call her inside again. Meetings came and went. Visitors arrived. But there were no more personal remarks. No probing questions.
Just work.
Which should have made things easier.
But the absence of tension felt louder than the tension itself.
By six in the evening, the floor had emptied.
Bea gathered her things slowly, exhaustion settling deep in her chest. Not the kind from work.
The kind from pretending.
She stood, ready to leave.
“Miss Bea.”
His voice came from behind her.
She turned.
He stood at his office doorway, jacket back on, expression unreadable.
“Walk with me.”
It was not a request.
They walked down the quiet hallway together, their footsteps echoing in the space. No staff. No witnesses.
Just them.
“You’ve been distracted,” he said.
“I’ve completed all my tasks.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
She did not answer.
The elevator doors opened. They stepped inside.
The space felt too small.
“You think I was unfair earlier,” he continued.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Silence.
The elevator descended.
“I don’t like things in my environment changing without my control,” he said.
Her brows pulled slightly together. “I’m not something that changes your environment, sir.”
His eyes moved to her then.
Sharp.
Intent.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Her breath caught.
The elevator stopped.
Doors opened.
She stepped out first, needing space, air, distance from the weight in his voice.
“Goodnight, sir,” she said, professional as ever.
He watched her walk toward the exit.
Watched the way she did not look back.
And for the first time in a long time…
Ace Monteverde felt something slipping beyond his reach.
Not a deal.
Not power.
Something quieter.
And much more dangerous.
- Writer
