CHAPTER 13 – A Dinner Invitation
898 Words
The following week began with chaos.
Which, unfortunately, wasn’t unusual at Wolfe Global.
A client presentation had been moved forward.
Two departments were arguing over projections.
And someone had accidentally sent an incomplete report to senior management.
By nine-thirty, Elena was already buried under work.
She loved her job.
Most days.
Today was testing that love.
“Coffee?”
Elena looked up.
Ethan stood beside her desk holding a paper cup.
Again.
“You know this is becoming a habit.”
“Good habits should be encouraged.”
She accepted the cup.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ethan remained standing there.
For some reason, Elena got the feeling he wanted to say something.
Instead, he simply smiled.
Then walked away.
Strange.
Upstairs, Adrian was having an even worse morning.
Three meetings back-to-back.
A board member questioning a recent acquisition.
An investor demanding unrealistic returns.
And somehow, despite all of it, he still found himself noticing Elena throughout the day.
A troubling development.
One he preferred not to examine.
By lunchtime, he had almost succeeded in focusing entirely on work.
Almost.
Then he walked past a conference room.
And found Ethan and Elena inside.
Talking.
Laughing.
Again.
Adrian kept walking.
Without slowing.
Without stopping.
Without any visible reaction.
For a long time he fought to get the image off his head.
Later that afternoon, Elena found herself assisting Adrian with preparation for an upcoming investor review.
The task required precision.
Which meant Adrian was reviewing every detail personally.
An exhausting experience for everyone involved.
Including Adrian.
“You missed a figure.”
Elena looked up.
“No, I didn’t.”
A pause.
Adrian checked again.
Then another pause.
Longer this time.
Finally—
“No.”
His expression remained neutral.
“You didn’t.”
Elena tried not to smile.
Tried.
Failed.
A small laugh escaped.
Adrian looked at her.
For a second, she thought he might be annoyed.
Instead, something unexpected happened.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
Barely.
A rare smile.
Gone almost immediately.
But there.
And somehow, the sight caught her completely off guard.
Because Adrian Wolfe smiling felt strangely different from everyone else smiling.
Warmer.
More genuine.
More human.
The realization stayed with her longer than it should have.
That evening, most employees had already left.
The office was quieter.
Calmer.
Elena was gathering her things when a familiar voice called her name.
“Elena.”
She turned.
Ethan stood nearby.
Looking unusually serious.
That alone caught her attention.
Because Ethan was rarely serious.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled slightly.
Then rubbed the back of his neck.
A nervous gesture she hadn’t seen before.
Actually—
Now that she thought about it…
Ethan looked nervous.
Interesting.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
Elena closed her bag.
“Okay.”
For a moment, Ethan seemed to reconsider.
Then he exhaled.
As though making a decision.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together lately.”
Elena nodded.
“We have.”
“And I’ve enjoyed it.”
Something in his tone made her pulse skip slightly.
Not because it was romantic.
Because it felt important.
Ethan took another breath.
Then looked directly at her.
“I’d like to take you to dinner.”
The words settled softly between them.
Not rushed.
Not careless.
Intentional.
For the first time since she’d met him, Ethan wasn’t hiding behind jokes.
He wasn’t teasing.
He wasn’t trying to make her laugh.
He was simply being honest.
Elena didn’t know what to say.
Because she genuinely liked Ethan.
He was kind.
Funny.
Easy to talk to.
But dinner felt different.
Different from lunch breaks.
Different from casual conversations.
Different from friendship.
And she wasn’t sure she was ready for that difference.
Seeing her hesitation, Ethan smiled.
Not offended.
Not disappointed.
Just patient.
“You don’t have to answer right now.”
Relief immediately washed through her.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
“Think about it.”
“I will.”
And she meant it.
Because he deserved an honest answer.
Not a rushed one.
After Ethan left, Elena remained standing there for several moments.
Thinking.
Dinner.
Such a simple invitation.
Yet it suddenly felt complicated.
Because saying yes meant acknowledging possibilities she hadn’t allowed herself to consider.
Possibilities that required time.
Emotion.
Energy.
Things she wasn’t sure she could afford.
Not with everything else in her life.
Not with her responsibilities.
Not with her family depending on her.
As she stepped into the elevator, the question followed her.
And for the first time in a long while, Elena found herself carrying something home that had nothing to do with work.
On the executive floor above, Adrian’s office lights remained on.
As usual.
A report sat open before him.
Unread.
His thoughts elsewhere.
Because earlier that evening, he’d happened to glance through the glass walls.
Just once.
Long enough to see Ethan talking to Elena.
Long enough to recognize the expression on his cousin’s face.
Long enough to understand exactly what had happened.
Ethan had crossed a line.
Not a bad one.
Not an inappropriate one.
A personal one.
And for reasons Adrian couldn’t explain…
The realization left an unfamiliar heaviness in his chest.
A feeling he immediately buried beneath work.
The same way he buried everything else.
Unfortunately, some feelings refused to stay buried.
And this one was beginning to demand attention.
- Writer
