EMILY
Mr. Julius stared at me through the mirror like he was reading my soul. I turned slowly, pretending to be calm, but my heart was pounding so loud that it echoed in my ears.
"I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with a soft, almost soothing voice. “You’ve been tense lately. Is something bothering you?”
I could’ve laughed in his face. Wasn’t he the reason I kept sinking deeper into a pit I didn’t dig? The reason my efforts always failed?
Still, I forced a faint smile and wiped the sweat off my forehead with a hand towel. “Just tired. Work stress,” I said, throwing on a weird grin that didn’t reach my eyes.
He stepped closer and gently tilted my chin up. “You’re too beautiful to let stress steal your glow.”
Wait… what?
Did Mr. Julius just admire me?
I blinked hard. Maybe I was i
