Accidental Softness
436 Words
It started with soup.
Actual, literal soup.
Olivia had worked late—again. Her heels were off under the desk, her eyes half-glazed from Excel sheets, and her hair in a lopsided bun. She was one mouse click away from sobbing into a spreadsheet when a knock on her desk made her jump.
Nathaniel.
Holding a brown paper bag.
“What is that?” she asked warily.
“Dinner.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“I know. I did.”
He dropped the bag in front of her, pulled up a chair, and sat—like they were friends or something.
She blinked at him. “Is this a trick?”
He arched a brow. “It’s chicken noodle. Not arsenic.”
She opened the bag. The smell hit her—warm, salty, comforting. And totally disarming.
“Okay,” she muttered, taking the container. “But if this is some weird seduction plot—”
“You’ve already had my tongue and my d**k. I think we’re past soup seduction.”
She snorted.
And then laughed.
Hard.
He just watched her, eyes soft.
“You’re exhausted,” he said gently. “You need to rest.”
“You’re one to talk. You practically live here.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
She looked at him then. Really looked.
And realized—for all the arrogance, the sharp suits, the filthy mouth—he looked tired too. Lonely, even.
“…How long since you took a day off?” she asked.
He didn’t answer right away.
“Three years.”
She set the spoon down. “Jesus.”
He looked away. “The company was a mess when I inherited it. I didn’t have time for distractions.”
“And now?”
He looked at her. “Now I can’t stop thinking about mine.”
Her cheeks flushed.
She stirred her soup. “This is good, by the way.”
“I know. I taste-tested ten restaurants.”
She blinked. “You what?”
He grinned. “Had to find your favorite.”
Her throat tightened.
This was dangerous. This was too soft.
And she liked it.
Too much.
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Later, she packed up her things, and he offered to walk her to her car. She declined. She needed space. Air. Time to remind herself this was s*x. Just s*x.
But when she opened her car door, she saw the thermos tucked neatly into the passenger seat.
Her name scribbled on a sticky note.
“Try the tomato bisque next time. -N”
She stared at it.
Heart doing stupid things.
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