CHAPTER 2: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
1250 Words
I barely slept that night.
I kept replaying his words over and over again in my head. Come to my office tomorrow morning. We need to talk. It sounded simple, but something about the way he said it stayed with me. It didn’t feel like work. It didn’t feel normal.
By the time I got to the office the next morning, my nerves were already stretched thin.
I tried to distract myself by arranging files on my desk, opening emails, pretending like it was just another day, but it wasn’t. I was aware of everything. Every movement. Every sound. Every second that passed.
My eyes kept drifting to his office.
He was already in.
Of course he was.
Jason was not the type to arrive late or leave things undone. Even from outside, I could see his silhouette through the glass, seated behind his desk, focused, composed, like the entire world ran on his schedule.
I looked away quickly when I realized I had been staring.
Get a grip, Amariah.
My phone buzzed.
James.
“Morning. Did you sleep at all?”
I sighed softly before replying. “Not really. Just thinking about work.”
“Or thinking too much like you always do,” he sent back.
I smiled faintly. He knew me too well.
“I’ll be fine,” I typed. “I have a meeting this morning.”
“With your boss?” he asked.
I hesitated for a second before replying. “Yes.”
There was a pause, then another message came in. “You don’t like him.”
I looked toward Jason’s office again without meaning to.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to,” James replied. “Just be careful, okay?”
Careful.
The word sat in my chest longer than it should have.
“I will,” I sent back, even though I wasn’t sure what that meant anymore.
A few minutes later, I stood up.
My heart started beating faster immediately.
It’s just a meeting.
I walked across the office, aware of a few curious glances from co-workers. No one said anything, but I could feel it. People noticed when Jason called someone into his office. It wasn’t a casual thing.
I stopped in front of his door and knocked lightly.
“Come in.”
His voice was calm, steady, like yesterday had never happened.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
His office was exactly what you would expect. Clean, spacious, everything in its place. The large windows behind him overlooked the city, the morning light filtering in just enough to make everything look sharp and defined.
Jason was seated behind his desk, flipping through a file. He didn’t look up immediately.
“Close the door,” he said.
I hesitated for just a second before doing it.
The soft click of the door shutting behind me felt louder than it should have.
“Sit,” he added, gesturing to the chair in front of him.
I walked over and sat down, trying to ignore how aware I was of him now that we were alone.
He finally looked up.
And just like that, I felt it, that intensity.
Like he wasn’t just looking at me. Like he was studying me.
“You didn’t sleep well,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
I frowned slightly. “Is that part of the meeting too?”
A faint trace of something crossed his expression. Not quite a smile, but close.
I notice things,” he replied. Changes.”
“I’ve realized that,” I said quietly.
There was a brief silence, but it wasn’t empty. It felt… heavy. Like something was building underneath it.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, still watching me.
“Tell me something, Amariah,” he said. “How long have you been working here?”
“Two years.”
“And in those two years, have I ever called you into my office for something unnecessary?”
“No.”
“Good,” he said. “Then you should know this isn’t unnecessary either.”
My fingers tightened slightly in my lap. “Then what is it about?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stood up.
My breath caught without warning.
I hadn’t expected that.
He walked around the desk slowly, like he already knew I wasn’t going anywhere his movements controlled and deliberate, until he was standing just a few steps away from me.
Too close.
I looked up at him, my pulse suddenly louder in my ears.
“If this were about your report, you wouldn’t be here like this,” he said.
“I figured that much,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Then stop pretending you don’t know there’s more to this.”
His words hit differently when he was standing that close.
“I don’t like guessing games,” I said. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he took one step closer.
My breath hitched—and for a split second, James’s voice echoed in my head. Be careful.
This was not a normal conversation between a boss and an employee.
“You’ve been distracted,” he said quietly. “Yesterday. Today. That’s not like you.”
“That’s still about work,” I said, even though it didn’t feel like it anymore.
“No,” he said, his voice lower now. “It’s about you.”
Something about the way he said it made my chest tighten.
I swallowed. “You don’t know me well enough for that.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “I know enough, I don’t repeat mistakes.”
My heart was racing now, and I hated that he could probably see it.
“You’re crossing a line,” I said.
“Am I?” he asked calmly.
“Yes. You’re my boss.”
“And you’re avoiding something.”
My breath caught.
“What are you talking about?”
“This,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine.
“This tension.”
“There is no ‘this,’” I said quickly.
But even as I said it, I knew it didn’t sound convincing.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips before returning to my eyes.
The movement was small.
But I noticed.
And my body reacted before my mind could catch up.
“I should go,” I said, even though I hadn’t moved.
“If you wanted to leave, you wouldn’t still be sitting there,” he replied.
My chest rose and fell slowly as I tried to steady my breathing.
“Jason…”
It was the first time I had said his name like that. Not as “sir.” Not as my boss.
Just his name.
His expression shifted.
For a second, everything went quiet.
Then he stepped back.
Just like that.
The space between us returned, but the tension didn’t leave.
“Go back to work, Amariah,” he said, his voice back to that controlled tone. “We’ll continue this another time.”
I stared at him for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.
Then I stood up and walked out of his office without another word.
But as soon as the door closed behind me, I realized something I couldn’t ignore anymore.
This wasn’t just work anymore.
And whatever had just happened in that office…
It didn’t feel like something I could stop.
- Writer
