Chapter 7: The forced contract

Wren sat in her office long after Theo had left, staring at the document he'd laid on her table.

She kept thinking about the words he'd said. Then a knock came at her office door. She quickly adjusted her posture in her seat, cleared her throat, and buttoned up.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Cole stepped in, gently closing it behind him before adjusting his glasses.

"The CEO asked me to submit the document he gave you to sign."

"Oh! I forgot. Let me quickly get it signed." She picked up a pen and began reading through the document.

Eventually, she stopped. Her eyes caught on a line halfway down the page, and she went still. She read it again, slower this time, then flipped back through the pages.

"This..." she said, still scanning the document. "This isn't a document for a secretary to sign. This is a contract." She raised her eyes to Cole. "He wants me to sign a contract?"

Cole stepped closer. "A contract? What's it about?"

"I don't know. Besides, why would he need me to sign a contract at all?" She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Don't worry, Cole. I'll submit this to him myself — he'll give me an explanation." She stood, tucked the document into a folder, and made her way out of the office.

She headed straight for Theo's office, document in hand, and knocked hard on the door twice.

"Come in," Theo called from inside.

She opened the door and walked straight to his desk, where he sat working through some files.

"What is this?" she asked, raising the document.

"What is what?" Theo asked, his voice calm.

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean. What is this?" Her voice rose as she slapped the document down on his desk, sending his files scattering across the surface, some sliding to the floor in the sudden chaos.

For a moment, the only sound in the office was the soft rustle of paper settling.

Theo looked down at the mess, unbothered, then set his pen aside and leaned back in his chair, arms folding calmly across his chest. He studied her the way someone studies a storm they aren't afraid of.

"You gave me a contract to sign, and lied that it was a document for a new secretary? What is this contract about?" she asked, pointing at it.

Theo bowed his head for a second, then lifted it and rose to his feet. He slid both hands into his pockets and walked toward her, slow and unhurried.

"Did you sign it?" he asked.

"What— yes, I mean no! I didn't sign it," she said, her voice starting to shake.

Theo stopped, reached for the document she'd dropped on his desk, and opened it. His eyes moved over the pages. He held it in his right hand, tucked his left back into his pocket, and continued walking slowly toward her.

"Stop! Don't come closer." Wren stepped back, her heart pounding, her breath catching in her throat.

"You're right, I lied. It's a contract, not a document for a new secretary. But I want you to sign it. I want you to sign it, Wren." He kept walking, unhurried, his left hand still in his pocket.

"You want me to sign a contract I know nothing about? I can't do that, Theo."

"If I tell you what it's about, will you sign it?"

"Maybe. If it's okay."

"If it's okay?" He took another step closer.

Wren's back hit the wall. She swallowed hard.

"Yes! I'll sign it, Theo. I'll sign it. Just stop coming closer, please." Her breath came fast.

Theo paused, then smiled, raising the file up.

"It's an oath. It binds you from resigning or leaving this company — meaning you can't resign, and you can't leave, until we decide to let you go."

"What? So I'm stuck here?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"I'm not signing that," Wren said, pointing at the document in his hand.

He kept walking closer.

"We made a deal. I tell you what it's about, you sign it."

"But — but—" Her voice shook.

"But what? It's simple. Just sign it." He pushed the document toward her.

Wren looked at it, then at him, already standing right in front of her.

"I'll do anything in my power, even if it means tearing the heavens apart just to keep you beside me, Wren." He leaned in, leaving only a hair's breadth between them.

Wren wanted to push him away, but the distance between them was too close. Her heartbeat rose, her fingers scratching unconsciously at the wall, searching for something to hold onto. She swallowed hard, staring into his eyes, breathing heavily.

"No matter what happens," he said, "you must always be by my side."

"What are you doing?" Wren managed, her voice barely steady.

Theo cupped her jaw, tilting it gently upward.

"Doesn't matter," he said.

Wren swallowed hard, then closed her eyes.

He drew closer, his eyes closing too, his breath warm against her skin—

Then the door opened.

They both turned sharply toward it.

Standing there were Richard Whitfield and Elliot Ashford.