NEW PLAYERS
1383 Words
Chapter 6: New Players
The office was unusually loud the next morning, chatter bouncing off the walls like static. Kai slipped through the glass doors balancing a coffee cup and the folder of showcase reviews he’d been up all night highlighting. His body was running on fumes, but the lingering thrill of yesterday kept him upright.
He half expected Aiden to be waiting with some biting remark about his performance. Instead, when he entered the design floor, he found his desk surrounded.
“Star boy!” someone shouted, and he nearly dropped his coffee.
It was Lena, a graphic designer who’d been kind to him since day one. Her neon-pink hair caught the overhead lights, and she beamed at him like he’d just returned from winning Olympic gold. “You killed it last night! Do you even know how many times the investors mentioned your name?”
Kai’s ears burned. “Uh—thanks, but it wasn’t—”
“Oh, please,” another voice cut in. It was Theo, one of the senior designers, leaning casually against the edge of Kai’s desk. His smile was lazy, but his eyes glittered with something sharper. “We all saw Aiden’s face. He looked like a proud dad at a graduation.”
Kai choked on his coffee. “What? He No, that’s—”
Lena laughed. “Not a dad. More like…” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Kai groaned. “Can you not?”
Before the teasing could escalate, a crisp voice sliced through the air. “Don’t you all have work to do?”
The group scattered as Aiden entered, his presence sucking the oxygen out of the room. His gaze swept across the floor before landing squarely on Kai. “My office. Now.”
Lena gave Kai a wink as he trudged toward the inevitable.
---
Inside, Aiden didn’t sit. He paced behind his desk, jacket already shrugged off, tie loosened. “The reviews came in. The board is pleased. Investors are buzzing. Sales inquiries doubled overnight.”
Kai blinked. “That’s… good?”
“It’s excellent.” Aiden stopped pacing and faced him. “Which means expectations just skyrocketed. We have six months to deliver on everything you promised up there.”
“Six months?” Kai’s stomach dropped. “That’s insane.”
“Impossible,” Aiden corrected smoothly. “And we’re going to do it.”
We. The word snagged in Kai’s chest.
A knock interrupted them, and a tall figure stepped inside. He was striking in an entirely different way than Aiden where Aiden was sharp edges and cool control, this man was warmth and easy confidence. His dark curls fell carelessly into his eyes, and his smile came fast, disarming.
“Sorry to barge in,” he said, voice light. “I’m Rafael new project coordinator. Got transferred in to help with the showcase rollout.” He extended a hand toward Kai. “You must be the infamous Kai.”
Kai shook his hand, startled by the firm grip. “Infamous?”
Rafael grinned. “Word travels fast.” He turned toward Aiden. “Your board practically sang his praises.”
Aiden’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Rafael, this is Kai. He’ll be leading the design side. You’ll coordinate logistics. Work closely.”
“Looking forward to it,” Rafael said warmly, eyes lingering on Kai a little too long.
Kai nodded, flustered. “Yeah. Same.”
As Rafael left, Aiden’s gaze sharpened. “Don’t get distracted.”
Kai blinked. “What?”
“You’ve got a tendency to lose focus. Don’t let charming newcomers pull you off track.”
Kai bristled. “He was just introducing himself. Not everything’s some kind of… distraction test.”
Aiden didn’t reply, but his expression spoke volumes.
---
By lunchtime, Rafael had already made himself at home. He slid into the seat across from Kai in the cafeteria, plunking his tray down with a grin.
“Mind if I join?”
Kai shrugged. “Free country.”
“Good, because I was going to anyway.” Rafael dug into his food with the enthusiasm of someone who hadn’t been in a corporate cafeteria before. “So. What’s it like working under Aiden Cross? Is he always that… intense?”
Kai laughed before he could stop himself. “That’s one word for it.”
“Another?” Rafael prodded.
Kai hesitated, then smirked. “Impossible.”
Rafael chuckled. “Thought so. He’s got that vibe. The kind of guy who thinks gravity works harder for him.”
Kai nearly spit out his drink. For the first time since joining the company, he felt his shoulders loosen during lunch.
But when he returned to his desk, Aiden was standing there, flipping through his sketches as if he owned them.
Kai frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Checking progress,” Aiden replied coolly, though his eyes flicked toward Rafael, who was chatting animatedly with Lena a few desks away.
Kai crossed his arms. “Progress or surveillance?”
“Both,” Aiden said without blinking.
---
The rest of the week blurred into chaos. Between endless meetings, design revisions, and new logistics Rafael kept tossing his way, Kai barely had time to breathe. But he couldn’t deny Rafael’s presence eased the pressure sometimes his humor cut through the tension, and his easy compliments balanced Aiden’s relentless critiques.
One evening, the three of them stayed late in the office, huddled over a giant whiteboard filled with deadlines. Rafael tossed Kai a candy bar, grinning. “Fuel for the genius.”
Kai caught it, startled. “Uh… thanks.”
“You’ll spoil him,” Aiden said sharply from across the room, arms folded.
Rafael raised a brow. “Or I’ll keep him from passing out at his desk. Unlike some people, I think a team functions better when its star player doesn’t keel over.”
For a heartbeat, silence hung heavy. Then Kai muttered, “I’m right here, you know.”
But the air between Aiden and Rafael crackled, charged with something territorial.
---
By Friday, the office gossip mill was churning. Lena cornered Kai at the copy machine, whispering conspiratorially.
“So. Spill. What’s the deal? You’ve got Aiden glaring at Rafael like he’s competition, Rafael treating you like his new best friend, and you” She gestured dramatically. “smack dab in the middle of a corporate love triangle.”
Kai nearly dropped the stack of papers. “It’s not there is no Lena, please.”
She smirked. “You don’t deny it, though.”
Kai groaned. “I need new coworkers.”
---
That night, Kai stayed late again, bent over sketches until his eyes blurred. When he finally stood to stretch, he realized he wasn’t alone. Aiden was by the window, staring out at the skyline.
“You should go home,” Aiden said quietly without turning.
“So should you,” Kai shot back.
Aiden turned then, his expression unreadable. “I stay because I have to. What’s your excuse?”
Kai hesitated, then shrugged. “Maybe I want this to work. Maybe I want to prove I can do more than just survive here.”
Aiden’s gaze softened, almost imperceptibly. He crossed the room slowly, stopping close enough that Kai could see the faint shadows of exhaustion under his eyes.
“You already proved that,” Aiden murmured.
The words lodged in Kai’s chest, leaving him breathless. For a moment, it felt like the whole office was holding its breath too, waiting for something to break.
But Aiden stepped back, slipping his mask back into place. “Go home, Kai. Big week ahead.”
And just like that, the distance between them yawned wide again.
---
That night, as Kai walked home under the city’s neon glow, his phone buzzed with a message from Rafael:
Rafael: Survived the week. Drinks tomorrow? My treat.
Kai stared at the screen, conflicted. His chest was still tight from Aiden’s words, from the almost-moment they’d shared. But Rafael’s warmth tugged at him too, promising something easier.
For the first time since joining the company, Kai realized he wasn’t just tangled up in his rivalry with Aiden anymore.
The lines were blurring.
And he wasn’t sure he was ready for what that meant.
- Writer
