Chapter 5: Coffee, Conversation, and Confrontations
213 Words
Mira couldn’t stop thinking about Adrian. His cold gray eyes, his measured way of speaking, the way he looked like he was always two steps ahead.
She hated how much her pulse betrayed her whenever she remembered that first coffee spill.
He appeared again at the seminar, this time for a panel discussion. Mira sat at the back, fingers gripping her notebook as if it were a life raft.
She kept her eyes down. Pretended not to notice him.
He didn’t. Not really.
His gaze caught hers once, sharp and assessing, and she felt her chest constrict.
“Miss Vale, what’s your perspective on leadership under pressure?” the moderator asked, pointing directly at her.
Mira froze. Every rational part of her brain screamed to say nothing. Yet, words came out anyway.
Stuttered, but genuine. Adrian’s eyebrows lifted.
That tiny almost-smile flickered across
his face again.
After the panel, he didn’t disappear. He waited, just out of reach, and when she finally left, he caught up to her in the hallway.
“You think too much about what people expect,” he said, voice low, almost private. “Relax. You’ll figure out how to survive the room.”
Heat crept into Mira’s ears. Did he just… give advice?
She nodded mutely, heart hammering.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD