Chapter Six – Almost
366 Words
Adrian’s POV
The building was nearly empty again.
Just the hum of the air conditioning and the faint scratch of Elena’s pen across the paper.
We were in the design studio, reviewing final mock-ups for the campaign. She sat across the long table, head bent over her notes, the low light catching the curve of her cheek and the faint gloss on her lips.
I should have been focused on the work.
Instead, I was counting the ways I’d imagined touching her.
“Vale?” Her voice cut into my thoughts.
I looked up. “Yes.”
She slid one of the mock-ups toward me. “The color palette for the last spread—it’s wrong. If we go with this, the launch is going to feel colder than it should.”
The irony of her using that word—colder—wasn’t lost on me. I leaned forward to look, and she did the same. We are close now. Too close.
Her perfume hit me first—light, floral, the kind of scent that lingered long after she left the room. Then her voice, soft but certain, explained the changes she’d made. I wasn’t hearing the words anymore. I was watching her mouth.
“You’re not listening,” she accused, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“I am,” I lied.
Her eyes lifted to mine, and at that moment, the air between us shifted—dense, electric. I didn’t move, but my hand brushed hers on the table. Not an accident.
She didn’t pull away.
“Elena…” My voice was lower than I intended.
“Yes?” she asked, but it was barely a whisper.
I could have closed the distance in a heartbeat. I wanted to. Every instinct screamed to take what was right in front of me.
Instead, I forced myself back, the chair scraping softly against the floor. “Send me the updated version before midnight.”
Her brow furrowed, just slightly. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” I stood, gathering the files as if I hadn’t just imagined pressing her against the table.
Because if I crossed that line tonight, I wasn’t sure I’d stop.
- Writer
