BEHIND THE DESK

CHAPTER 10 "The Storm "

The day had already been too long. Endless meetings, investors breathing down their necks, deadlines closing in. Ava’s head pounded as she gathered her notes, ready to finally escape into the quiet of her apartment.

But then the storm came.

Rain hammered against the tall windows, lightning flashing over the skyline. The building shuddered with the force of the wind. The news alerts warned employees to stay put until the worst of it passed. Elevators were temporarily shut down for safety.

Which meant Ava was stuck.

She lingered at her desk, pretending to organize files, though the office was nearly empty. Only one other light glowed: Dominic’s.

Of course.

She debated slipping out, finding a quiet corner to wait it out. But when his door opened and he stepped into the hall, his gaze immediately found hers.

“You shouldn’t be here alone,” he said, voice steady, though something in his eyes flickered.

“I could say the same to you,” she answered, forcing lightness she didn’t feel.

He studied her, then tilted his head toward his office. “Come in. Safer there.”

Ava hesitated. She knew what safer meant in Dominic’s language: controlled, contained. But with thunder rumbling overhead and the city wrapped in chaos, she followed.

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Inside, the air felt heavier, quieter. The storm’s fury pressed against the glass walls, but in here, it was just them.

Dominic poured two glasses of water, sliding one across his desk. “You’re trembling.”

“It’s just the storm,” she lied.

His gaze held hers, unblinking. “No, it isn’t.”

Silence. The kind that wasn’t empty but full—of all the things they hadn’t said.

Lightning split the sky, illuminating his features in sharp light. He looked less like the untouchable CEO and more like a man fighting himself.

“You make it impossible,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Her breath caught. “Dominic—”

Before she could say more, the building flickered into darkness. The storm had cut the power. Emergency lights glowed faintly, but most of the office was shadows now.

Ava’s pulse thundered as his figure moved closer. Too close.

“You should sit,” he said softly. “Until the power returns.”

She shook her head. “If I sit, I won’t be able to think.”

He exhaled sharply, as though her honesty broke through his restraint. “Do you think I can think around you?”

The words lodged deep in her chest.

Neither moved. The storm roared outside, a wild mirror of the chaos inside them.

Finally, Dominic’s hand brushed against hers in the dark. Just a touch, fleeting, but enough to unravel her.

“Ava,” he said, low and raw, “tell me to stop, and I will.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came.

Because she didn’t want him to stop.