The Test Begins

My phone buzzed before I even opened my eyes.

One glance at the screen and my stomach dropped.

Be ready tomorrow. I’m testing you.

I sat up too fast, heart racing, hands shaking. My mind spun. What did that even mean? Was it about the work? Or was it about him?

Alexander Stone. The man who had me so tangled up I didn’t even know which way was up. He could make me nervous with a look, make my pulse spike with a single word, and now he was sending me cryptic messages like some kind of twisted game master.

I shoved the blanket off, telling myself I could handle this. I had to. He wasn’t just my boss. He was a storm, and I’d already stepped into it. Turning back wasn’t an option.

At the office, the elevator ride felt like it lasted an hour. Every reflection in the metal doors showed me a girl who was terrified but trying so hard to act confident. Luna, professional. Luna, competent. Luna, untouchable.

Except I wasn’t. Not when he was around.

When I walked into his office, he was there before me, standing like he owned the world. His gray eyes met mine and held me still. I tried to focus on the clipboard in my hand, but my hands were shaking. My breath caught.

“Good morning, Miss Reyes,” he said. His voice was calm, but I felt it like a punch to the chest.

“Good morning, Mr. Stone,” I said, voice tighter than I wanted.

He didn’t sit. He just watched me, silent, like he was measuring every heartbeat, every twitch, every thought I couldn’t hide.

I cursed myself for the little shiver I felt when his gaze lingered a little too long.

“Today,” he said, finally, “I’ll be observing everything you do. No mistakes.”

I swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

It was the same as yesterday, but different. Yesterday had been chaos I could almost control. Today… today felt like walking on a tightrope over fire.

By mid-morning, I was running between departments, answering calls, taking notes, fixing schedules, and dealing with staff who clearly didn’t know what to make of the new girl.

And all the while, he was there. Always watching.

At one point, I spilled coffee. My face burned as I scrambled to clean it up. I thought I was alone. I thought I could fix it before he noticed.

He noticed.

He appeared at my side before I could even breathe. “Careful,” he said quietly. His hand hovered over the papers I was holding, stopping me from grabbing one. “You’re going to ruin more than the floor if you’re not precise.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Don’t apologize. Learn.”

I looked up. He was so close, I could see the tiny scar near his temple, the way his jaw tensed when he was annoyed. And yet, there was… something else. Something unreadable, but magnetic. I hated it, and I hated that I couldn’t look away.

The rest of the day was a blur. Every order, every look, every small mistake felt like it could tip the balance between surviving and failing. And somewhere in the back of my mind, a tiny voice whispered: maybe I didn’t want to survive.

By evening, my legs were sore, my brain fried, but my heart refused to calm down. Alexander didn’t speak to me again after the coffee incident, but his presence was like a shadow. Always there, always intense, always reminding me that he was in control.

When the office finally emptied, he came up behind me, startling me. “You handled yourself well today,” he said.

I blinked. “Thank you, sir.”

“No, don’t thank me. Prove it tomorrow.”

And just like that, he left.

I leaned against my desk, gasping for breath. Prove it? I had no idea what he meant. Prove my work? Prove I could survive him? Or… prove something else entirely?

That night, I sat at home, phone in hand. I wanted to message him. I wanted to tell him I didn’t know what he wanted from me. But my fingers froze.

He had a way of making me feel like one wrong move could shatter everything. And maybe that was the point.

I replayed every second of the day. His watchful eyes, his quiet voice, the way he’d hovered near me like a storm waiting to break. And I realized something terrifying.

I liked it.

I liked being noticed by him. Liked that he was testing me, pushing me. Liked that I could feel something so sharp, so raw, in a world that had always been safe and dull.

And that scared me more than anything.

Next day at the office, I arrived even earlier. I didn’t know what I was preparing for, but I had to be ready. For the first time, I realized that Alexander Stone wasn’t just my boss. He was a force. A man who could challenge every limit I’d ever set for myself.

And maybe, if I wasn’t careful, he could change me in ways I’d never imagined.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, my heart jumped. He was there, leaning against the elevator doors, arms crossed, expression unreadable. But his eyes… they never left me.

“Miss Reyes,” he said as I approached. “Today, I decide if you’re worth keeping.”

My stomach flipped. Worth keeping? Not in a job sense. I understood that immediately.

I tried to steady myself, but my hands shook. My voice trembled when I said, “I won’t disappoint you.”

He smiled faintly. Just a flicker, but it made something inside me catch fire.

“Good,” he said. “Because I don’t like disappointment.”

And then he walked past me, the click of his heels echoing through the lobby, leaving me breathless and more aware of my heartbeat than ever before.

Later that afternoon, a document fell from my bag. I bent down to pick it up and froze.

Alexander was standing there, watching me. His expression was calm, but his eyes… they were stormy.

“You’re improving,” he said softly. “But be careful. One mistake, and I won’t let it slide next time.”

I nodded, my mouth dry.

Then he leaned just a fraction closer than necessary and murmured, “And Luna, don’t forget… I see everything you do.”

My chest tightened. I wanted to step back. I wanted to run.

And yet, I couldn’t move.