Chapter Seven
739 Words
Elena’s POV
Something had changed.
I didn’t want to name it. Naming things made them real, and I wasn’t ready for that.
But I felt it.
Dominic Hale no longer treated me like a problem that was waiting to happen. He was still controlled and careful with every word he spoke.
Yet the sharpness was gone.
He noticed things now.
When meetings dragged on, he ended them early. When pressure mounted, he redirected it away from me. When my plate grew too full, tasks quietly disappeared.
No explanation.
No acknowledgment.
Just… protection.
And it made my chest tight in a way I didn’t understand.
By late afternoon, the office buzzed with tension. A last-minute client event had been added to Dominic’s schedule. A private business mixer downtown. High-profile. Mandatory presence.
“You’ll come with me,” Dominic said, not looking up from his tablet.
My heart skipped. “Sir?”
“You’re my assistant,” he said evenly. “You’ll be there.”
“Yes, sir.”
I told myself it was normal. Just work. Just another task.
But my hands shook as I packed the files.
---
The venue was nothing like the office.
Low lights. Soft music. Voices blended into laughter and murmured deals. The city glowed through tall glass walls, alive and unfamiliar.
I stayed close to Dominic, clipboard in hand, doing my best to remain invisible.
“You’re tense,” he said quietly.
“I’m fine,” I replied.
“You say that a lot.”
I glanced at him. He wasn’t looking at me. But he knew.
“I don’t want to make a mistake,” I admitted.
“You won’t,” he said without hesitation.
The certainty in his voice unsettled me.
We moved through the room together. He spoke, I listened, took notes, and kept time. Occasionally, his hand brushed my arm as he guided me through the crowd.
Each touch was brief.
Each one left something behind.
That was when I felt it.
Eyes on me.
I turned.
Veronica Sloan stood across the room, glass of wine in hand, watching. She didn’t approach. Didn’t smile. Didn’t speak.
She didn’t need to.
Her gaze said enough.
You don’t belong here.
I swallowed and looked away.
“Stay close,” Dominic murmured, noticing my shift.
“I am,” I said.
He didn’t move away from me after that.
When the event finally ended, my feet ached and my head throbbed. Outside, the night air was cool, sharp against my skin.
“I can take a cab,” I said quickly.
“I know,” Dominic replied.
But he didn’t leave.
We stood there for a moment, city noise filling the space between us.
“You handled yourself well tonight,” he said.
“Thank you, sir.”
A pause.
“You don’t have to be afraid here.”
I looked up at him. “I’m not afraid.”
His eyes searched my face. “You’re lying.”
My throat tightened. “Then maybe I don’t know how not to be.”
Something flickered in his expression. Gone before I could understand it.
“Go home,” he said quietly.
I nodded and stepped into a cab.
Halfway home, my phone buzzed.
Dominic: Let me know when you arrive.
I stared at the screen.
I typed back.
Elena: I will, sir.
My heart wouldn’t slow.
I was unlocking my door when I sensed movement behind me.
“Miss Vaughn.”
I turned sharply.
A man stood near the stairwell. Tall. Well dressed.
“Yes?” I asked carefully.
He smiled. Not kindly.
“I believe we haven’t met,” he said. “I’m Ethan Hale.”
The name hit like ice.
Dominic’s brother.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My pulse raced. “Excuse me, I’m tired. I should…”
“You work very closely with my brother,” he continued smoothly. “I wanted to see what all the attention was about.”
Something was wrong. Instinct screamed it.
“I need to go,” I said firmly.
His smile widened. “Of course. This won’t take long. I just wanted to say Hi.”
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Dominic: Did you get home safely?
I looked up at Ethan again.
And for the first time since this job began, fear wrapped tight around my chest.
Because suddenly, I understood.
The storm wasn’t coming.
It had already arrived.
- Writer
