Chapter Seven: Breaking Point
639 Words
Chapter Seven: Breaking Point
Katherine
The company car pulled up to the airport just after sunrise.
Andrew was already there — immaculate as ever in a charcoal suit, phone pressed to his ear, looking like he’d stepped out of a magazine and into my morning.
Three days.
Three days in Los Angeles for a client presentation that could make or break the firm’s biggest deal of the year.
And three days pretending that the air between us wasn’t charged enough to short-circuit every thought I had.
When he finally hung up, his gaze met mine. “Ms. Sandra.”
“Mr. Austin,” I replied, matching his tone. My voice sounded steadier than I felt.
He nodded toward the car. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
The flight was quiet. I focused on the documents in my lap, pretending I didn’t notice every time his arm brushed mine on the narrow seats. He typed away on his laptop, unreadable as always, but there was a tension there — like he was concentrating a little too hard.
When we landed in Los Angeles, the hotel lobby smelled of expensive cologne and sea breeze. The receptionist smiled politely.
“Two rooms reserved under Austin Enterprises.”
“Actually,” she said after a moment, “due to a booking issue, there’s only one suite available. It’s—”
“I’ll take the couch,” I interrupted before she could finish.
Andrew’s eyebrow lifted. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll handle it.”
He stepped aside, speaking quietly with the manager. His tone stayed calm, professional — but I could see his jaw tightening. Moments later, he returned.
“They’ll bring in a temporary divider,” he said. “It’s not ideal, but it will do for tonight.”
“Perfect,” I said, forcing a smile. “A divider. Very professional.”
---
That night, the city glittered below our window like spilled stars. I sat at the small desk, typing the final slides for the presentation while Andrew stood by the window, jacket off, sleeves rolled up.
He looked… different. Less like my boss, more like a man who had finally exhaled.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said without turning around.
“Just trying not to start any more rumors,” I teased before I could stop myself.
He glanced back, a hint of a smile on his face. “You think I care about that?”
“Don’t you?”
He hesitated. “I used to.”
I turned in my chair to face him fully. “And now?”
“Now,” he said quietly, “I care about other things.”
For a long moment, we just looked at each other. The kind of silence that says everything words can’t.
Then he blinked, looked away, and said, “We should get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
I smiled faintly. “Right. Rest.”
But as I lay in bed that night, separated from him by a thin divider and a thousand unspoken words, I couldn’t sleep.
And I had a feeling he couldn’t either.
---
Andrew
He wasn’t sleeping.
The city hummed outside, and he could hear Katherine’s soft breathing on the other side of the divider.
Every instinct told him to stay where he was — to keep the line drawn. But every second he spent listening to her breathe, every flicker of memory from her laugh earlier that day, made that line blur.
She wasn’t just his secretary.
She was the one person who made him feel seen — and that terrified him more than any deal ever could.
He closed his eyes, exhaled, and whispered into the dark,
“This was supposed to be simple.”
But nothing about Katherine Sandra was simple anymore.
---
(End of Chapter Seven)
- Writer
