Chapter Five: The Office Rumor
533 Words
Chapter Five: The Office Rumor
Katherine
It started with whispers.
By Monday morning, I could feel the shift in the air before I even reached my desk. The glances, the half-hidden smirks—like the whole floor had been waiting for me to walk in.
I set my bag down and smiled at the nearest coworker. “Morning.”
“Morning,” she said, dragging out the word like it came with extra letters. Then she leaned closer. “Late night at the office again?”
I froze. “Excuse me?”
She winked. “Relax. Everyone knows you and Mr. Austin were working late Friday.”
My stomach sank. Of course. One innocent late-night project and suddenly the rumor mill had turned it into something else entirely.
I tried to laugh it off, but the sound came out thin. “We were finishing reports. That’s it.”
She gave me that sure, Jan smile. “Of course.”
The whispers followed me all day—little half-sentences that stopped when I turned a corner. I kept my head high, pretending not to care, but every glance felt heavier than the last.
By afternoon, I found myself outside Andrew’s office door, knocking lightly.
“Come in,” he called.
He looked up from his screen, eyes calm as ever. “Yes, Ms. Sandra?”
“People are talking,” I blurted. “About… us.”
That got his attention. He leaned back slowly, studying me. “Us?”
I nodded. “They think something’s going on.”
A pause. Then his jaw tightened just a fraction. “That’s unfortunate.”
Unfortunate. That’s it?
I folded my arms. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“What would you like me to say?” he asked, voice low. “That office gossip is worth my concern?”
“It’s worth mine,” I snapped. “I worked hard to get this job. I don’t want to be reduced to a headline in the break room.”
Something flickered in his eyes—guilt, maybe, or understanding. “You’re right,” he said finally. “I’ll address it.”
I blinked. “You will?”
“Yes.” His gaze softened, just slightly. “And for the record, Ms. Sandra, if people are going to talk, they should at least get their facts straight.”
My heartbeat stuttered. “Meaning?”
He held my stare. “Meaning nothing has happened… yet.”
I left his office with my pulse pounding and my mind spinning.
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Andrew
He hadn’t meant to say yet.
It slipped out—careless, dangerous. The kind of thing that could unravel everything he’d built if he wasn’t careful.
But the truth was, the rumors didn’t bother him half as much as the idea of Katherine being hurt by them.
He’d seen the look in her eyes—hurt wrapped in defiance. She didn’t deserve that.
Andrew turned to the window, watching the city lights come alive. He told himself to forget the way she’d looked at him, to remember his rules, his boundaries.
But deep down, he already knew:
It was too late for rules.
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(End of Chapter Five)
- Writer
