Chapter 8: Almost
723 Words
The Sales floor was quieter than usual—not empty, but close. Most of the team had already left, leaving conversations softer, more scattered, the urgency of the day settling into something slower.
Athena remained at her desk, focused. A folder lay open in front of her, her pen moving steadily across the page. The board had already updated. Her name remained near the top.
She hadn’t looked.
She didn’t need to.
A presence stopped beside her.
“You’re still here.”
She finished the line she was writing before answering. “So are you.”
Bobby leaned lightly against the edge of the partition. “I had work.”
“You always do.”
“And yet.”
She closed the folder and finally looked up at him. “You didn’t come earlier.”
A faint pause. “I was busy.”
“That’s new.”
“Not entirely.”
They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer than usual. Something in the rhythm had shifted.
“Coffee?” he asked.
She glanced briefly at the time—later than their usual, later than routine.
“You’re changing the schedule.”
“I’m adjusting.”
“To what?”
He didn’t hesitate. “You.”
The word settled between them, heavier than before.
A beat passed.
“Ten minutes,” she said.
The office was nearly empty. Lights dimmed across the floor, doors closed, silence settling into the space. Only his office remained lit.
Athena stepped in, pushing the door closed behind her—not completely, just enough.
Bobby noticed.
Of course he did.
“You stayed late.”
“So did you.”
He handed her a cup without asking. She took it without comment.
That, more than anything, was new.
She sat—not across from him this time, but slightly to the side. Closer.
A quiet settled between them. Not uncomfortable. But not routine either.
“You’ve been coming to Sales less,” she said.
“I’ve been working.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He leaned back slightly. “I know.”
A pause.
“And?” she asked.
He studied her longer than usual.
“It’s getting noticed,” he said.
“It always was.”
“Not like this.”
A beat.
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“It might.”
Something shifted.
Athena set her cup down slowly. “You knew that from the start.”
“I did.”
“And you continued.”
He leaned forward slightly. “Yes.”
No hesitation.
No softening.
Silence followed—full, not empty.
“You’re not careful,” she said quietly.
“I am.”
“Not enough.”
He stood.
She didn’t move.
Didn’t step back.
He stopped in front of her, close enough now that the space between them mattered. No desk. No distance.
“You’re not easy,” he said.
A faint breath left her. “Neither are you.”
A pause.
His hand shifted slightly—not touching, just close enough to be felt.
“Athena.”
Just her name.
She didn’t look away.
“Bobby.”
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Something could have happened.
They both knew it.
Then Athena reached for her cup—not to drink, just to move.
To break the stillness.
“We should stop.”
Bobby exhaled slowly and stepped back. “Yeah.”
The space returned.
But not completely.
She stood, composed again, controlled.
“I have work tomorrow,” she said.
“Of course.”
She walked toward the door, her hand resting lightly on the handle—then paused.
“There’s something I should have said earlier.”
Bobby didn’t move.
“I have a boyfriend back home.”
The words were calm. Even.
A quiet silence followed.
“I didn’t mention it before,” she continued. “There was no reason to.”
Now there was.
Bobby’s expression didn’t change immediately, but something in him shifted.
“I see,” he said.
She turned slightly, just enough to meet his eyes.
“It doesn’t change how I work.”
“It’s not about work.”
A beat.
“No,” she said. “It isn’t.”
“I should go.”
“Alright.”
She stepped out and closed the door quietly behind her.
- Writer
