CHAPTER 10: THE ESCALATION
856 Words
CHAPTER 10
THE ESCALATION
POV: Grey Sinclair
Dick was avoiding me.
Not subtle about it either.
He’d taken to scheduling meetings in rooms I didn’t use, leaving before I arrived, and rerouting every casual interaction through Claire. It was efficient. It was deliberate. It was also infuriating.
I let him have two days.
By the third morning, I was done waiting.
---
The executive floor was quiet at 7:42 a.m. Early enough that most people hadn’t arrived yet. Early enough that d**k couldn’t hide behind meetings and performance.
His office door was closed.
Good.
I didn’t knock.
He looked up the second I stepped in, pen stilling over his tablet. His expression said _you’re not supposed to be here_. His pulse in his throat said something else.
“Grey,” he said flatly. “My 8:00 is with Singapore.”
“It’s 7:42.”
“Exactly.”
I closed the door behind me.
He set the pen down. Slowly. Like giving himself time to decide not to throw it.
“What do you want?”
“To talk.”
“We talked in the hallway.”
“You walked away first.”
His jaw tightened.
I crossed the room and stopped on the other side of his desk. Not close enough to touch. Close enough that he had to acknowledge me.
“You’re running,” I said.
“I’m working,” he corrected.
“You’re working harder than you need to.”
He stood. Not aggressive. Just deliberate. Like putting distance between us was a physical requirement now.
“This is unprofessional,” he said.
“This has been unprofessional since you grabbed my wrist in your office.”
His eyes flicked to mine.
I didn’t look away.
“You’re the one who keeps escalating,” he said.
“No,” I said. “I’m the one who stopped pretending I don’t notice.”
He exhaled through his nose.
“Grey, stop.”
“Stop what? Saying what’s obvious?”
He moved around the desk. Not toward me. Away. He stopped by the window, hands braced on the sill, shoulders tight.
“You don’t understand what this costs,” he said quietly.
“Then explain it.”
“You wouldn’t like the answer.”
I stayed quiet. Let the silence stretch.
When he spoke again, his voice was lower. Rougher.
“I built my reputation on being untouchable. On control. On never giving people a reason to question me.”
“And?”
“And you make me question it.”
There it was.
He said it like it was a confession he’d been holding for weeks. Like admitting it out loud made it real.
I stepped closer.
“Dick.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m not touching you.”
“Yet.”
That got me to stop.
He turned then, finally looking at me. Eyes sharp, dark, tired.
“If we do this, there’s no going back. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“And if it goes badly, it doesn’t just ruin us. It ruins the company.”
“I know that too.”
He studied me like he was trying to find the angle I was missing. The part where I backed out.
I didn’t.
“So why?” he asked.
“Because you’re worth it.”
The word landed heavier than I intended.
His throat moved once.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why not? They’re true.”
He looked away first.
Again.
But he didn’t tell me to leave.
The intercom buzzed before either of us could move.
Claire’s voice came through, crisp and oblivious.
“Mr. Hawthorne, Singapore’s on line one. They’re ten minutes early.”
Dick closed his eyes briefly.
“Take it,” I said.
He nodded once, picked up the line, and shifted into CEO mode instantly.
Voice steady. Precise. Untouchable again.
I watched him for thirty seconds. Watched the way he compartmentalized, locked everything else down, handled the call like nothing had happened.
He was good at this.
Too good.
When he hung up, I was still there.
He didn’t look surprised.
“Get out,” he said quietly.
“Not until you say it.”
“Say what?”
“That you don’t want this.”
He stared at me.
I stared back.
Finally, he said, “I don’t get to want this, Grey.”
It wasn’t a no.
It was worse.
I nodded once.
“Then I’ll wait.”
His expression shifted.
“Don’t.”
“Too late.”
I opened the door. Paused.
“d**k?”
He didn’t answer.
“Don’t avoid me forever.”
Then I left before he could tell me to.
---
Back at my desk, Claire was waiting.
She didn’t say anything. Just looked at me, then at d**k’s closed office door, and sighed.
“You two are exhausting.”
“Noted.”
“I’m updating my resignation letter again.”
“Don’t.”
She walked off muttering about executive instability.
I sat down and opened my laptop.
Dick’s office stayed closed for the rest of the morning.
I didn’t go back.
Not yet.
- Writer
