Crossing Lines
993 Words
Sophia realized she was becoming emotionally attached to Adrian in the worst possible way:
through routine.
Morning messages.
Lunches she pretended not to enjoy.
Phone calls during traffic.
Quiet check-ins after exhausting meetings.
None of it dramatic.
Which somehow made it more dangerous.
Because Adrian had slowly entered her life without forcing his way in.
And now Sophia kept noticing empty spaces whenever he wasn’t there.
Terrifying.
⸻
“Ms. Lin?”
Sophia blinked.
The conference room stared at her expectantly again.
Damn it.
Her assistant looked deeply entertained from the corner of the room.
“You asked for the revised budget proposal,” one of the managers repeated carefully.
“Right.” Sophia straightened immediately. “Continue.”
Focus.
Work.
Numbers.
Control.
Things she understood.
Not whatever emotional crisis Adrian Reyes had quietly created inside her life.
Her phone vibrated against the table.
Sophia ignored it automatically.
Then it vibrated again.
And again.
Irritation flashed briefly across her face before she finally checked the screen beneath the table.
Adrian.
Emergency.
Sophia frowned immediately.
Another message appeared:
Your assistant is threatening to report me for emotional disturbance.
Across the room, her assistant suddenly refused to make eye contact.
Traitor.
Sophia typed quickly beneath the table:
I’m in a meeting.
I know. Your assistant told me you’ve been glaring at spreadsheets for two hours like they betrayed you personally.
Sophia almost smiled.
Almost.
Another message:
Come downstairs for five minutes.
She should say no.
Instead:
Three minutes.
⸻
Adrian stood in the lobby holding coffee when Sophia exited the elevator.
“How did security let you up here again?”
“I’m charming.”
“You’re persistent.”
“That too.”
Sophia took the coffee automatically before realizing what she’d done.
Adrian noticed.
Of course he did.
“You remembered my order,” she muttered.
“You’re predictable.”
“I’m literally the opposite of predictable.”
“You drink the same coffee every afternoon at exactly 3 PM.”
Sophia frowned slightly.
That… was alarmingly specific.
“How long have you noticed that?”
Adrian looked entirely unapologetic.
“A while.”
Dangerous man.
The lobby around them buzzed with quiet corporate noise while rain clouds gathered heavily outside the glass windows.
Jakarta looked gray today.
Heavy.
“You look tired again,” Adrian said softly.
Sophia sighed.
“Do you enjoy attacking my health emotionally?”
“You skipped breakfast.”
“How do you know that?”
“You get quieter when you haven’t eaten.”
The terrifying thing was:
he was right.
Sophia stared at him for a long moment.
“You notice too much.”
Adrian stepped slightly closer, lowering his voice.
“You hide too much.”
There it was again.
That unbearable gentleness.
Sophia suddenly became very aware of:
his tie loosened slightly at the collar,
the faint scent of cedar and coffee,
how naturally he occupied her space lately.
Dangerous.
“You’re distracting,” she muttered before thinking.
Adrian blinked once.
Then smiled slowly.
Oh no.
Abort immediately.
Sophia looked away first.
Too late.
“That sounded honest,” Adrian said softly.
“It wasn’t.”
“Mm.”
The smile stayed.
Worse.
Much worse.
Before Sophia could recover emotionally, another voice suddenly interrupted behind them.
“Adrian?”
A woman approached from the entrance holding an umbrella and phone.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Confident.
Sophia immediately straightened instinctively.
The woman stopped beside them and smiled naturally at Adrian.
“You left before the client dinner ended.”
Then her eyes shifted toward Sophia.
Recognition flashed briefly.
Interest.
“Oh,” the woman said lightly. “I didn’t realize you were busy.”
Something uncomfortable twisted sharply inside Sophia’s chest.
Unexpectedly sharp.
Adrian’s expression stayed calm.
“Sophia, this is Clara.”
The woman extended her hand politely.
“Nice to finally meet you.”
Sophia froze slightly.
Finally?
Clara noticed immediately.
Then smiled knowingly.
Interesting.
Sophia hated knowing smiles.
“Sophia Lin,” she replied professionally.
“Adrian talks about you often.”
Excuse me?
Sophia looked toward Adrian sharply.
Adrian looked entirely unbothered.
Traitor.
Clara laughed softly at Sophia’s expression.
“Relax. Mostly work complaints.”
“That sounds fake,” Sophia muttered.
“It probably is,” Clara admitted.
Adrian sighed quietly beside them.
“You’re both difficult.”
Sophia crossed her arms immediately.
“Who is she?”
The question came out too quickly.
Too personally.
Clara’s eyebrow lifted almost invisibly.
Adrian noticed too.
“She’s my business partner.”
The tension inside Sophia loosened immediately.
Which was worse.
Because now everyone clearly knew she cared.
Humiliating.
Clara looked delighted by this discovery.
“Oh,” she said slowly. “Now I understand.”
“Understand what?” Sophia asked dangerously.
“Why Adrian suddenly likes meetings in Sudirman so much lately.”
Adrian looked mildly exhausted.
“Clara.”
“What? I’m observing.”
Sophia narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
Definitely dangerous woman.
Before Sophia could defend herself further, Clara’s phone rang.
“Saved by capitalism,” she sighed dramatically before glancing at Adrian. “Client’s waiting upstairs.”
Then she looked toward Sophia again with visible amusement.
“It was nice finally meeting the woman responsible for Adrian becoming unbearably attached to his phone.”
Sophia nearly inhaled coffee incorrectly.
Adrian looked completely calm beside her.
Which honestly felt like betrayal.
After Clara walked away, silence settled briefly between them.
Sophia stared at Adrian slowly.
“You talk about me?”
“You glare at me daily. It’s memorable.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
Adrian’s mouth curved slightly.
“No,” he admitted quietly. “It wasn’t.”
The warmth in his voice hit harder than flirting should have.
Sophia looked away immediately toward the rain outside.
Because suddenly the dangerous thing was no longer Adrian caring about her.
The dangerous thing was how much she liked knowing he did.
- Writer
