Chapter 7: The Aftermath of Desire

The morning sun spilled through the office windows long before Lena arrived, but even the light felt heavy. Her stomach twisted the moment she stepped off the elevator. She wasn’t ready to see him—not after how close they had come the night before. Not after the way his voice had dipped, soft and dangerous, or how the world had leaned forward waiting for a kiss that almost happened.

She told herself she could pretend.

Pretend she didn’t feel breathless around him.

Pretend nothing happened.

Pretend she didn’t lie awake replaying his voice in the quiet of her bedroom.

But when the doors slid open, Alexander Knight was already standing in the hallway like he had been waiting.

He didn’t move at first. He didn’t need to. He simply stood there—dark suit, unreadable expression, hands in his pockets—as if he knew she would eventually look up.

She did.

And their eyes collided.

“Morning,” Lena said, her voice barely steady.

“Morning, Miss Carter,” he replied.

Miss Carter.

The formality hit harder than she expected.

She nodded politely and walked past him toward her desk, her pulse still racing. She sat down, exhaling slowly, willing herself to focus on her computer. But every few seconds her attention drifted—to his shadow moving behind the glass, to his voice low and controlled during meetings, to the faint scent of his cologne that lingered in the air.

Lena typed the same sentence three times before she gave up.

Her heart wouldn’t listen.

By noon, she had managed to avoid him. She ate a quiet lunch at her desk, staring at her salad but barely touching it. Maybe distance was good. Maybe this was a sign to step back, breathe, remind herself why she came here in the first place.

But fate had other plans.

Alexander appeared beside her desk so suddenly she dropped her fork.

“Lunch?” he asked simply.

Lena blinked. “I’m… eating.”

He glanced at her barely touched plate. “You’re not.”

She swallowed, unsure if she was more annoyed or nervous. “I just wanted something light.”

His expression didn’t change. “Come with me.”

“Alex—” she began, then winced at the name.

He didn’t miss it. A faint spark flickered behind his eyes, but he didn’t comment. He just waited.

And somehow, she found herself rising from her chair.

They walked in silence to a café a few blocks away—someplace quiet, hidden from the noise of the city. He ordered without asking what she wanted. She didn’t protest, partly because the warm bread and soup placed in front of her smelled better than anything she had eaten in weeks.

But the silence between them stretched tight.

She broke first.

“About last night…”

He looked up slowly. “What about it?”

“We almost—” She stopped, cheeks warming.

“Yes,” he said. “We did.”

“And we shouldn’t mix work with…” She gestured vaguely, searching for a word that wouldn’t sound embarrassing.

His gaze settled on her, steady and far too knowing. “With what?”

Lena’s throat tightened. “Whatever that was.”

He leaned back in his chair, eyes never leaving hers. “Do you regret it?”

She hesitated.

“I don’t know.”

Alexander’s jaw flexed. For the first time since she met him, she saw something flicker behind his controlled exterior—hurt, quickly masked by calm.

“Lena,” he said quietly, “I don’t pretend well. And I’m not interested in pretending with you.” His voice lowered, almost a confession. “What happened last night… that wasn’t nothing.”

Her breath hitched. She looked down at her hands. “It scared me.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it felt real.”

The table fell silent.

Then Alexander leaned forward, voice softer. “It was real.”

She forced herself to meet his eyes. “But it can’t happen again.”

The words tasted like lies.

He studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “If that’s truly what you want.”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

When they returned to the office, the distance between them felt worse than the tension. Every step she took, she felt his presence right behind her, like a shadow she couldn’t outrun.

At her desk, she whispered, “Thank you for lunch.”

He nodded once before walking into his office, closing the door behind him.

Lena sat down slowly. Her heart wasn’t steady. Her breathing wasn’t normal. And the worst part?

She already knew her own truth.

It wasn’t the almost-kiss that scared her.

It was how much she wished it hadn’t been “almost.”