DANGEROUS PROXIMITY
1101 Words
The office was too quiet, the kind of calm that made every tick of the clock sound like a warning.
I kept my eyes on the bright computer screen, though the words blurred together. My heartbeat refused to settle. He was still here. Nicholas Jackson, the man who carried power like a weapon, hadn’t left for the night. Instead, he stayed in the shadows of his office, watching. Testing.
“Everyone else has gone,” his deep voice cut through the quiet. “But not you.”
I swallowed, pushing my voice to stay steady. “I still have work to finish.”
“You could’ve finished it hours ago.” His footsteps echoed closer, measured, and deliberate. “But maybe you enjoy being watched.”
I stiffened. “I don’t.”
“Don’t lie.” His tone carried something dangerous, not playful like he was peeling back the layers of my mask.
I clicked my mouse too quickly, trying to focus on the data he had asked me to sort. “You asked me to prove my worth. That’s what I’m doing.”
He leaned down, his breath touching the side of my face, cold and unyielding. “Or maybe you’re looking for something that isn’t yours.”
My hands froze over the keys. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, but you do.” His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. “I saw the way you looked at my files earlier. Long enough to remember, short enough to act innocent.”
Heat rushed through me, fear and anger mixing like fire in my chest. He knew. He had noticed.
I forced a shaky laugh. “I looked because you left them in plain sight. Anyone would have glanced.”
“Anyone,” he repeated, drawing out the word as though testing its weight. “But you are not just anyone, are you?”
I finally turned my head, meeting those sharp blue eyes that saw too much. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”
He smiled, slow and cold, like a hunter circling prey. “Nothing yet. But I prefer to keep my enemies close.”
The word enemies punched the air out of my lungs. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. He didn’t know the truth… not all of it. But he could sense it, like an animal smelling blood.
“I’m not your enemy,” I whispered.
His gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes. “That’s what makes you dangerous.”
I moved in my chair, putting the desk between us like a shield. “You don’t intimidate me.”
“Liar.” His tone held no anger, only confidence. “You’re shaking.”
I clenched my hands beneath the desk. “Because you’re standing over me like a hunter.”
“Maybe I am,” he said softly. “But what are you?”
The question struck me as heavier than I expected. What was I? The weeping daughter, the hidden enemy, the liar who came here with secrets?
I tried to breathe. “I’m your employee.”
“Employees don’t look at their boss like that.”
The silence grew hotter, heavier. I hated the way my chest failed me, rising too quickly. I hated the way his nearness wrapped around me like smoke.
“You think you know me,” I said, putting steel into my voice. “But you don’t.”
“Not yet,” he admitted. “But I will.”
For a moment, the city lights behind him framed his shadow against the glass. He looked invincible, made out of something both beautiful and cruel. I remembered my father’s shaking hand holding the sealed letter. Find him. Destroy him.
I forced my hands back on the keys. “If you want results, let me work.”
He leaned closer, resting his arm on the desk so his body loomed directly over mine. “I don’t want results. I want the truth.”
My chest tightened. “And what if the truth isn’t yours to have?”
“Then I’ll take it,” he mumbled.
He reached forward suddenly, his hand brushing against the edge of my keyboard. With one quick move, he closed my laptop, the screen going dark.
I gasped, jerking my head up. “What are you”
“Testing loyalty.” His eyes didn’t move. “I need to know if you run when cornered, or if you fight.”
My pulse was hammered. “You’ll regret pushing me.”
“Good.” His lips curved, but there was no warmth. “I like regrets. They make people weak. And weakness shows everything.”
Something cracked inside me. “You think fear is the only truth? That’s why you’re alone, isn’t it? That’s why you don’t trust anyone.”
His look flickered, a shadow crossing his face. For just one second, I saw the wound beneath the armor. Then it was gone, buried again under steel.
“Careful,” he whispered. “You don’t get to read me.”
The words hung heavy, electric. I should have backed down. But instead, I stood up, causing him to move back half a step.
“You can’t break me,” I said.
“Not yet.” His hand shot out, catching my wrist before I could step away. He pinned it against the desk, his grip strong but not crushing. His face was inches from mine, his voice lower than a threat.
“Careful what you touch, Amarae.”
The sound of my name in his mouth was a brand, hot and cutting. My breath came uneven, but I held his stare. Somewhere deep inside, a shiver of fear and something more twisted together.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to break free. I wanted…
No. I wanted payback.
But the only thing I managed to say was, “Let go.”
He did, slowly, as though he wanted me to remember the weight of his hold.
I pulled back, holding my wrist against my chest, but his smirk told me he already won something.
“You passed tonight’s test,” he said softly. “But the game has only started.”
My pulse thundered as he turned and walked away, leaving me in the silence of the office. His warning stuck to me like chains.
And yet, one thought refused to leave my mind.
If Nicholas already suspected me this much… How long before he discovered the truth about who I really was?
- Writer
