🔥 Chapter 3 — The New Boss
1394 Words
Ella woke up to the annoying sound of her alarm, but even before her eyes opened, she remembered the moment that replayed in her mind all night—the moment Michael stepped out of her apartment and kissed her almost on the lips. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a friendly goodbye. It was a spark. Too intentional. Too dangerous. Too real.
And now, she was supposed to function like a normal human being?
She lay there for a moment, her hand brushing over the sensitive spot near the corner of her mouth, remembering how close he had been. How warm his breath had felt. How he had leaned in as if fighting an urge he’d lost control over.
It was maddening, confusing, intoxicating.
She forced herself up, dressed, and prepared for her first day in her new assignment. HR had emailed her late last night telling her she’d been reassigned to the CEO’s floor. She had no idea why. She had accepted the temporary job at SilverLine Corporation for experience—not to meet bosses, or CEOs, or handsome men who lived next door and kissed her by accident.
If she had known, she would’ve run the opposite direction.
Or maybe not.
Maybe she would’ve run toward him.
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When she entered the company lobby, she tried to clear her thoughts. SilverLine was the biggest marketing firm in the city, walls made of glass and silver steel, everything clean, cold, and elegant. It was the kind of place successful people worked, people with confidence and direction, people who didn’t get flustered by almost-kisses.
Ella took the elevator, her fingers trembling slightly as she pressed the button for the top floor. She adjusted her hair, smoothed her skirt, checked her reflection on the elevator wall. Calm. Poised. Professional.
But when the doors slid open—
Her breath caught.
There he was.
Michael.
In a fitted black suit that made him look like he stepped straight out of a magazine.
Or a dream.
Tall. Confident. Hands in his pockets. Eyes widening the second he saw her.
He wasn’t supposed to be here.
He wasn’t supposed to be her new assignment.
And yet he stood there, staring at her like he had been punched in the chest.
“Ella?” His voice was softer than she expected, carrying surprise and something else beneath it. Something he didn’t hide fast enough.
She froze in place, clutching her bag. “I—I got an email from HR. I’m assigned to the CEO today. I didn’t know…”
She swallowed.
“I didn’t know it was you.”
Michael exhaled slowly, like he was grounding himself. He stepped closer, stopping just near her but leaving enough distance to be appropriate. His cologne drifted over her—clean, warm, masculine. The kind of scent that left a mark.
He looked conflicted.
As if fate had just thrown gasoline on the problem he was trying to avoid.
“Ella,” he said, his voice low, steadying. “From today on… you’ll be working directly for me.”
Her heart stumbled. “So I’m your…”
“My secretary.” His tone grew firmer. Controlled. Forced into professionalism.
She could tell he didn’t like it any more than she did.
A secretary. Working right outside his glass office. Seeing him every day. Being close. Too close.
“Come,” he said shortly, turning and walking down the hallway. “I’ll show you your desk.”
Ella followed, her heels quiet on the polished floor. She watched the way he walked—strong, purposeful, every step confident. It was so different from the Michael she’d seen in casual clothes at home. This was CEO Michael, the man who commanded boardrooms.
But as she watched the tension in his shoulders, the tightness in his jaw, she sensed it—
He was fighting the same storm she was.
They reached the corner where a sleek glass desk stood. Clean. Organized. Directly facing the CEO’s office. Her chair was positioned perfectly so she would see him all day whenever he walked out… and he would see her.
It felt like a setup by destiny.
“This will be yours,” he said, stopping at the desk but not looking at it—looking at her. “You’ll manage my schedule, phone calls, emails… everything.”
Ella nodded, hoping she looked composed.
Then she whispered the question that had been burning in her chest:
“And last night?”
Michael froze.
His back straightened. His jaw tightened. He turned slowly toward her, his expression unreadable—until she saw his eyes. The heat. The conflict. The desire restrained with iron will.
“What happened last night,” he said gently, “shouldn’t have happened.”
Her stomach dropped.
But then he stepped closer. Too close. Close enough that she felt the warmth of his body and the danger of his presence.
“But I couldn’t stop myself.” He swallowed, eyes dropping briefly to her lips before he forced them upward. “I wanted… I wanted to kiss you properly. I still do.” His voice turned rough, a whisper only she could hear. “But I’m your boss now. And I have to pretend I don’t think about you.”
Ella’s knees weakened.
“And I have to pretend,” Michael continued, “that being in the same room with you doesn’t pull me apart.”
The air between them vibrated.
She could feel his breath.
Her lips parted unconsciously.
“Michael…” she breathed.
His eyes darkened for a second, like he was about to lose control. His hand lifted slightly—like he wanted to touch her—then he abruptly pulled it back.
“No,” he whispered harshly, stepping away. “I can’t.”
Her heart twisted.
He looked away, inhaling deeply.
“This is a professional environment,” he said, voice tight. “We need boundaries.”
Boundaries?
What boundaries?
Their entire existence was a boundary he had already crossed.
Ella straightened gently. “Of course… sir.”
Michael flinched at the word sir. Not visibly—but she saw it. The muscle in his jaw. The slight hitch in his breath.
“I’ll start working,” she added softly.
He nodded stiffly and walked into his office. But before closing the glass door, he turned and said quietly—
“Ella?”
“Yes?” she answered softly, still unable to meet his eyes fully.
His jaw tightened. “From now on… in this building… don’t call me Michael.”
Her heart sank a little. “Then… what should I call you?”
There was a long pause before he forced the word out.
“…Sir.”
The word felt like ice between them.
Ella swallowed. “If… if that’s what you prefer.”
“It’s what’s necessary,” Michael said, stepping back as if distance could help. “You’re my secretary now. I’m your superior. We can’t—” He cut himself off, breath unsteady. “We can’t be whatever almost happened last night.”
His eyes flicked to her lips before he quickly looked away.
“At the office,” he continued, his voice now firm, CEO-strong, “we are strictly professional. You’re Miss Hayes. I’m your boss. Nothing more.”
The lie hung in the air, heavy and painful.
Ella’s fingers tightened around the folder in her hands. “Of course, Sir.”
He inhaled sharply—like the word hit him straight in the chest.
“Good.”
He stepped back, posture stiff. “You may start your duties.”
Ella nodded and walked to her desk, each step heavier than the last. The distance between them felt bigger than the entire floor. A wall. A line neither of them was allowed to cross.
But as she sat, she felt the burn of his gaze through the glass office wall.
And when she looked up just once—
he was watching her.
Not like a boss.
Not like a stranger.
Like a man fighting every instinct he had.
Ella forced her eyes down to the keyboard, cheeks warm.
They had become exactly what they weren’t.
Boss and secretary.
Sir and Miss Hayes.
Two people pretending not to feel what was already consuming them.
And both of them knew—
the distance made everything more dangerous...
- Writer
