Chapter 3: The unexpected pull
849 Words
Alice should have left it behind her.
The meeting.
The man.
The way her heart had reacted in a room where she had promised herself she would remain unaffected.
It should have ended the moment she walked out of his office.
And yet.
It hadn’t.
By the time she stepped out of Gulter Enterprises, the sky had shifted.
What had started as a calm afternoon was now heavy with dark clouds, the kind that warned of rain before the first drop even fell.
Alice barely noticed.
Her thoughts were elsewhere.
On him.
On the way, his eyes had changed when he finally looked at her.
On the way,
His voice calm,
controlled still carried an edge that lingered in her mind.
She exhaled softly, almost frustrated with herself.
“It was just a meeting,” she muttered.
Nothing more.
It had to be nothing more.
The first drop of rain landed on her hand.
Then another.
Within seconds, the sky opened.
Alice let out a quiet sigh, quickly stepping under the shelter just outside the building.
Around her, people rushed past, shielding themselves, calling for rides, disappearing into the chaos of the sudden downpour.
She adjusted the file in her hand—then paused.
Right.
She had left it.
With him.
“Great,” she whispered under her breath.
Now she had no choice but to come back another day if she needed anything from it.
The thought lingered longer than it should have.
“You’re still here.”
The voice came from behind her.
Low, familiar.
Unmistakable.
Alice froze.
Slowly, she turned.
Edwin stood a few steps away, his expression unreadable, his presence just as commanding outside the office as it had been within it.
He didn’t look like a man caught in the rain—he looked like he belonged above it.
Untouched.
Controlled.
Watching her.
“I—” Alice started, then caught herself.
“I was just leaving.”
He glanced briefly at the rain pouring heavily in front of them, then back at her.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
A small pause.
Before she could think through, she said, “I’ll wait.”
The word escaped her mouth before she could realize.
Probably because she felt walking through the turmoil was easier than walking through the moment she left behind.
Her expression became noticeable to Edwin.
“You don’t stop at nothing,” he said, openly admiring her courage and audacity.
Alice wasn’t pleased with what he said, or you mean to say “Determined “?
Another pause
Then Unexpectedly—
“Come inside.”
Alice blinked.
“I’m fine here—”
“That wasn’t a suggestion.”
His tone wasn’t harsh.
Just certain.
For a brief second, she hesitated.
Then, without arguing further, she followed him back inside.
The building felt different this time.
Silence took over.
Less intimidating.
Or maybe.
She was the one who had changed.
Edwin didn’t take her back to his office.
Instead, he led her to a smaller lounge area on the same floor—modern, minimal, with large windows that overlooked the city now blurred by rain.
“Sit,” he said, already loosening his cufflinks slightly.
Alice did, placing her hands neatly in her lap, suddenly aware of how close they were now without the barrier of a desk between them.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The rain filled the silence, steady and soft.
“You handled yourself well,” Edwin said finally.
Alice looked up, slightly surprised.
“That didn’t sound like a compliment earlier.”
“It wasn’t,” he replied calmly. “It’s an observation now.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“So your opinions change quickly?”
“Only when they’re proven wrong.”
A small smile touched her lips before she could stop it.
“And was I?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze held hers.
Steady.
Assessing.
“Not entirely.”
Alice let out a quiet breath, shaking her head slightly.
“I’ll take that as progress.”
“Don’t,”
He said. “You’ll get comfortable.”
“And that would be a problem?”
“Yes.”
There it was again.
That edge.
That distance he kept between himself and everything else.
Alice studied him for a moment.
“You don’t let people get close, do you?”
The question slipped out before she could stop it.
And this time, silence didn’t feel neutral.
It shifted.
Edwin’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes did.
Slightly colder.
“Careful, Miss Clerk,” he said quietly.
“You’re stepping outside the purpose of your visit.”
Alice held his gaze.
Maybe she should have pulled back.
Maybe she should have apologized.
But instead—
“I think I already did that the moment I walked into your office.”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
He should have dismissed her.
He should have ended this conversation.
That’s what he always did.
But he didn’t.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Inside, something quieter and far more dangerous began to take shape.
- Writer
