CHAPTER 5 - TENSION
950 Words
The shrill sound of Elena’s alarm filled the room.
Then stopped.
Then started again.
And again.
And again.
It rang so many times that it slipped into her dreams, blending with the fog of exhaustion until she finally stirred. Her hand dragged easily across the bedside table, searching for her phone. She managed to grab it.
Half-awake, she squinted at the screen.
Then her eyes flew open.
9:08 AM.
Elena bolted up.
“Oh my God!”
Her voice tore through the apartment as panic slammed into her chest.
She threw the blanket off herself and stumbled out of her bed so fast she nearly fell. Her heart was pounding now, her mind racing faster than her body could keep up.
She rushed into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush, and while brushing furiously, she yanked off her clothes. Spitting, rinsing, bathing in a blur of frantic motion.
Everything was rushed.
By the time she put on her clothes and ran a brush through her hair, she was already out of breath. She stuffed her things into her bag, grabbed her phone, and hurried out of the apartment, locking the door behind her as she sprinted down the stairs.
Outside, she rushed toward the road, as her eyes scanned for a cab.
Then she froze.
The file.
“The assignment file.”
She turned around so fast and raced back towards the building.
At her apartment door, she nearly emptied her handbag in search of the keys.
“Where are you? Where are you?” she muttered desperately, fingers digging through lip gloss, receipts, her charger, pens….
Then….
“Yes!”
She found them, jammed the key into the lock, and pushed the door open.
Her eyes darted widely around the room.
“Where did I drop it?”
“The table!”
She rushed to it, snatched the file from the table, and ran out again, barely remembering to lock the door.
By the time Elena got to the office building, her breathing was uneven, and a thin layer of sweat clung to her skin.
She checked her time.
10:20 AM.
She almost wanted to cry.
The moment she stepped into the interns’ office area, every head seemed to turn towards her.
“Elena!” Hailey exclaimed. “Oh my, you're late.”
“I know,” Elena said, breathlessly, clutching the file tighter. “I slept through my alarm.”
Jenna stood up quickly from her chair, her expression serious. “Mrs. Ivy has been looking for you all morning.”
Elena’s face fell.
“And Mr. Adrian has been asking for the assignment file.”
Without another word, Elena turned and hurried toward Mrs. Ivy‘s office.
She knocked once, pushed the door open…
Empty.
Her heart sank even lower.
She turned and rushed back to Jenna.
“Where is Mr. Adrian’s office?” she asked quickly. “Mrs. Ivy isn't there.”
Jenna blinked, then pointed towards the elevators.
“Top floor. Once you come out, turn left, then right at the glass hallway. His office is at the end.”
Elena noted. “Thank you.”
She didn’t wait another second.
Inside the elevator, her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to steady her breath. She adjusted the file in her hands and wiped her sweat, but the nervousness would not leave.
Delivered all doors slid open with a soft ding.
The top floor was quiet.
Elena stepped out, her heels clicking against the polished floor as she followed Jenna‘s directions. When uncertainty crept in, she stopped one of the passing workers.
“Good morning, please,” she said, trying to catch her breath, “I'm looking for Mr. Adrian Cole’s office.”
The woman gave her a quick one-over, then pointed down the hall.
“Last office on the right.”
“Thank you.”
Elena walked faster.
When she finally stood in front of the office door, she paused, just long enough to inhale.
Then she knocked.
“Come in.”
His voice was low.
Cold.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The office was large, slick, and quiet in a way that made her nerves worse. Adrian sat behind his desk, looking as sharp and unapproachable as ever. His suit was clean, his expression unreadable, his attention pinned to something on his desk before finally lifting to her.
Elena swallowed.
“Good morning, Sir,” she began quickly. “I apologize for the inconvenience I may have caused, I-I slept past…and then traffic, and I-I had to go back because I forgot the-”
Adrian raised one hand.
Just slightly.
But it was enough to shut her up instantly.
The room fell silent.
Then, without a word, he stretched out his hand for the file.
Elena hesitated for a second, confused.
That was it?
Wasn’t he going to say anything?
She lowered her gaze and stepped closer to the desk, placing the file into his hand.
Adrian took it and opened it immediately.
He began flipping through the pages.
One after another.
His face revealed almost nothing, but every now, and then he gave a faint nod, scanning the corrections, the Notes, the organized report structure. A minute passed.
Then another.
Then nearly a third.
The silence grew heavy.
Elena stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, feeling like the air in the room had thickened around her throat. Her pulse was beating uncontrollably fast.
Finally, Adrian looked up.
For the first time since she entered, his eyes met hers fully.
“Good work.”
Elena blinked.
For one split second, relief loosened something inside her.
But it lasted only a moment.
- Writer
