BAIT🥹

A COLD RIDE HOME

From the moment Sophia joined the company, Mrs. Kate had watched her too closely. Her eyes, once pleasant and welcoming, had grown sharp, assessing, calculating. Every movement Sophia made seemed to earn a silent critique, every glance measured.

After hearing Mr. Daniels praise Sophia during the interview—calling her skilled, sharp, and diligent—Mrs. Kate’s warmth cooled into something tight and guarded, a frost settling over every interaction.

Her solution was simple: give Sophia more work. More files. More deadlines. More pressure—enough to test even the strongest of wills.

Sophia didn’t complain. She had learned long ago that resilience was quieter than protest. She worked late into the night, fingers flying across the keyboard, organizing, typing, verifying numbers. The office around her slowly emptied. The hum of fluorescent lights replaced by silence. Only her own breaths and the rhythmic tap of keys broke the stillness.

When she finally walked down the long, dim corridor, balancing a stack of documents that threatened to topple at any moment, footsteps echoed behind her.

A calm, controlled voice interrupted the silence. “Why are you still here at this hour?”

She froze, her pulse tightening.

Turning, she found a man standing just beyond the office lights—tall, impeccably dressed, sharp suit pressed perfectly to his frame. His eyes were cold, unreadable, but they held a strange intensity, as though he were cataloging every detail about her, silently judging and noting.

“Mrs. Kate kept me late,” Sophia said, voice small, careful, respectful.

He studied her for a long, still moment. Then he nodded once, deliberate, measured.

“Get in,” he said, voice flat but commanding.

“Sir?” Sophia asked, blinking, confused and hesitant.

“You shouldn’t be walking home alone this late,” he said, his tone neutral, almost dismissive. “Company policy.”

She hesitated. The street outside was quiet, dimly lit, shadows stretching long and thin across the pavement. Her feet ached from hours of work. With a small, uncertain nod, she climbed into the sleek black car waiting silently, the door closing with a soft click that sounded louder than it should have.

The ride was quiet. Too quiet. Hash didn’t speak much—every gesture was precise, every movement controlled. His hands gripped the steering wheel with just enough pressure to suggest authority without tension. His eyes stayed forward, watching the road, giving nothing away. The faint hum of the tires over asphalt was the only sound between them.

Sophia kept her gaze low, balancing the documents awkwardly on her lap, her mind racing in a thousand directions. Was he… simply doing his job? Or was there something more beneath that icy exterior?

When they reached her street, he pulled up smoothly. The headlights illuminated the quiet pavement, the small houses, and Adam’s familiar figure standing near the gate. Hash turned slightly, his expression unreadable, and said, without warmth, “I did this because it’s the company’s responsibility. Don’t misunderstand it.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sophia whispered, voice barely audible as she stepped out of the car.

Adam immediately noticed her, running forward, his brow furrowed with concern and curiosity. “Who was that?” he asked, eyeing the sleek black vehicle and Hash’s disappearing silhouette. “Your boss?”

“Hash,” Sophia answered, breathless, cheeks pink with embarrassment and fatigue. “He… he gave me a lift because I was late.”

Adam’s eyes widened. “Your boss drove you home? Sophia, are you sure he was just being professional? He looks like… trouble.”

Sophia shook her head quickly. “No, Adam. He was just… being responsible for the company. That’s all. Nothing more.”

Adam looked at her skeptically, but then laughed softly, shaking his head. “Okay, fine. But if he tries anything—no way. I’ll be waiting,” he teased, half-serious, half-smiling.

Sophia forced a smile back at him, though a small, uneasy feeling fluttered in her chest. She couldn’t shake it, that sense of watchful, silent scrutiny, the knowledge that she had just entered a world far more complicated than she had expected. Even as she closed the door behind her, she felt the shadow of the night lingering.

Sloane ran to her immediately, wrapping her tiny arms around her mother’s waist. “Mummy! You’re home!” she chirped, oblivious to the tension lingering in the air. Sophia bent down and hugged her daughter, the familiar scent of baby shampoo and innocence calming her slightly.

Adam handed Sophia a cup of tea, his touch reassuring, grounding her in reality. “So?” he said softly, sitting beside her on the couch. “How was your first day beyond the chaos?”

Sophia sank into the cushions, finally allowing herself to release the tension coiled tight in her shoulders. “Adam… it was… overwhelming. Mrs. Kate… she keeps me on edge. The files, the deadlines… it’s non-stop. And Hash… he gave me a lift home.” Her voice trailed off, hesitant.

Adam leaned back, eyes narrowing slightly. “Hash? That’s… professional, right? But I’ve seen him. That man has control running through his veins.”

Sophia nodded slowly, thinking of the cold precision in his eyes, the quiet authority in his tone. “I know. But he was just… doing his job. That’s all.”

The tea warmed her hands, the familiar comfort of home a stark contrast to the polished, intimidating world she had just left behind. Sloane curled against her chest, and Sophia whispered softly, “I’ll keep going. For you. For us.”

The night outside stretched quiet and calm, a thin veil of stars flickering above. Hash drove on into the darkness, his face unreadable, expression locked behind layers she couldn’t yet decipher. Nothing had been promised. Nothing had been said. Just a ride home, cold and professional—and a subtle reminder that in this world, every gesture had weight.

Sophia closed her eyes for a moment, resting against the soft cushions, letting the quiet of home settle around her. Her first day had been long, exhausting, intense. But she hadn’t faltered. She had endured. She had survived.

And tomorrow… tomorrow, she would rise again.

Because survival was only the first step. And she wasn’t about to stop now.