CHAPTER SEVEN
527 Words
The office felt different that morning.
Every time Emma walked past someone in the hall, she imagined they knew. That they could see it in her face—the flush in her cheeks, the way her body still ached in places she hadn’t known could ache.
Get a grip, she told herself. You’re imagining things.
But when she slipped behind her desk, Chelsea was already there, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
“Morning,” Chelsea said, her voice too casual.
Emma tried to smile. “Hi.”
Chelsea tilted her head. “Rough night?”
Emma’s heart thudded painfully. “I—just didn’t sleep well.”
“Uh-huh.” Chelsea lifted her brows. “You know, if you’re going to sneak out of the building at six in the morning, maybe don’t do it in yesterday’s clothes.”
Heat flooded Emma’s face. “You saw me?”
“Everyone saw you,” Chelsea said gently. “I covered for you as long as I could, but—Emma, people are starting to talk.”
Emma pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. “God.”
“Look.” Chelsea’s voice softened. She crouched beside Emma’s chair. “I don’t care what you do, okay? But you can’t pretend it’s nothing. Not when it’s him.”
Emma swallowed. “I know.”
“Do you?”
Her eyes lifted. Chelsea’s gaze wasn’t accusing—just worried.
“Whatever this is,” Chelsea went on, “you need to be sure. Because if you’re not careful, he’s going to break you.”
Emma blinked hard, fighting the burn behind her eyes.
“I know what I’m doing,” she whispered.
Chelsea didn’t look convinced. But she straightened and gave Emma’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.
“Just…be careful.”
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The rest of the day passed in a blur. She tried to lose herself in work, but every time she glanced at her inbox, she half-expected an email from Alexander.
It didn’t come.
By late afternoon, the silence had turned into something heavy and uncertain in her chest. Maybe he regretted it. Maybe he’d decided she was too much of a complication.
She was so lost in thought she didn’t hear the elevator until it was too late.
The doors slid open.
And there he was.
Alexander stepped out in his perfectly tailored suit, his expression as calm and unreadable as ever.
Except when his eyes met hers, she felt something electric pass between them—something that made her breath catch and her heart ache all at once.
He didn’t look away.
He didn’t smile.
He just watched her for one long, silent heartbeat.
Then he turned and disappeared into his office, the door closing behind him with a quiet click.
Emma exhaled shakily, pressing her palm to her chest.
Chelsea appeared at her side again, her voice low. “I don’t know whether to be jealous or terrified.”
“Both,” Emma whispered.
Because in that moment, she realized it wasn’t just desire anymore.
It was something deeper, something that could ruin her if she let it.
And she wasn’t sure she cared.
- Writer
