Kisses Written in Disguise

Chapter Five — Close Quarters, Fraying Lines

The next day unfolded like a legal drama written by someone with a cruel sense of humor. Adriana sat at a long conference table, papers spread in front of her like a fragile shield, while Damian explained the lease in terms she barely understood.

“Technically,” he said, tapping the contract with a pen, “they can terminate. But if we find a procedural misstep, even a small one, we can stall. If we stall long enough, the buyer might pull out.”

She listened, trying to focus on the words, not the way his tie had loosened again, not the way his voice sounded when he was both confident and angry on her behalf.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked finally.

He leaned back, folding his arms, eyes thoughtful. “Because it’s the right thing. And maybe,” he added, almost reluctantly, “because last night I liked talking to you.”

Her breath caught, just a little. Professional walls demanded she ignore that. The flutter under her ribs demanded she didn’t.

“You should keep this about work,” she said quietly, eyes on the contract.

“I should,” he agreed, but he didn’t move, didn’t look away. “Do you want me to?”

The room felt suddenly smaller. The quiet between them wasn’t the same as it had been in the café. It was heavier now, charged.

Adriana forced herself to inhale, to look at the paperwork like it mattered more than the heat creeping up her neck. “We’ll fight this first,” she said, voice steady despite the chaos in her chest.

Damian nodded once, a smile ghosting across his lips — not victory, but recognition. They were on dangerous ground, and neither of them wanted to step back.

When the meeting ended, they walked out together, neither speaking. But their hands brushed — just barely — and the touch sparked through both of them like a match dragged across dry paper.

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