Chapter 20: Storm in a Glass Office

8:46 AM. Monday.

The office was unusually silent for a Monday. No greeting chatter, no printer humming, no jokes near the espresso machine. Just eyes — shifting, darting, avoiding the corner office like it was cursed.

Because it was.

Inside the sleek glass walls of Sebastian Mason’s office, a storm raged.

The soundproofing wasn’t enough today. Every now and then, a voice broke through like thunder, sharp and cold.

“…You had no right —”

“I don’t need your permission —”

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that in my company—”

People flinched. A stapler dropped. Someone faked a phone call. Someone else literally escaped to the bathroom.

Only one person didn’t hide.

Katherine strolled in, wearing his trench coat over a deep green dress and combat boots. Her curls were wild, her eyeliner sharp, and her smirk slightly too wide for 8 AM.

She held a croissant in one hand and her tablet in the other, muttering, “Looks like someone’s having a full Monday special.”

She didn’t mean to look toward the glass office. But she did.

And through the transparent wall, she saw her.

Madison.

Tall. Blonde. In an immaculately cruel suit and heels sharp enough to puncture a man’s ego.

She stood in front of Sebastian’s desk like a queen uninvited to her own dethroning. Her hand slammed on the surface. Papers rustled. Sebastian stood tense — one hand on his hip, the other clenched.

His jaw looked made of stone.

“Is that her?!” Madison’s voice shot through the crack in the door like a bullet. “That little circus act in your coat?!”

Katherine blinked.

“Did she just —”

“Miss Brown,” someone hissed from the marketing cluster. “Don’t go near —”

Too late.

She was already walking, croissant first, straight to the battlefield.

She didn’t knock.

She pushed the door open slowly, as if entering a jungle with lions mid-fight.

“Good morning,” she chirped sweetly. “Sebastian, you left your coat on me. Thought I’d return it before it becomes a full-blown scandal.”

Madison spun. Her heels screeched against the floor.

“Oh,” she breathed. “So it is you.”

Katherine tilted her head. “Depends. What am I being accused of?”

Sebastian looked like he wanted to punch a wall. Or Madison. Or himself.

“Katherine,” he warned.

But she was already peeling off the trench and placing it carefully on the back of his chair.

Madison scoffed. “I’m not surprised you’d throw yourself at the first man in a suit who gives you attention.”

Katherine blinked. Then blinked again. Then smiled like a cat who found a full milk bar.

“Oh honey,” she said gently. “He wasn’t in a suit.”

Sebastian choked.

Madison went scarlet.

And somewhere outside the office, someone definitely dropped their coffee in slow motion.

“I’m not here to argue with your… choices,” Madison snapped, turning back to Sebastian. “But let me remind you — we’re not finished. Legally or otherwise.”

Then she strutted out, heels clicking like gunfire. And with one final glare at Katherine, she disappeared through the glass doors.

Silence.

Sebastian exhaled. Rubbed his temples. Looked at Katherine like she was the cause and the cure of every headache.

“That was unnecessary,” he muttered.

“That,” she said, “was therapy. You’re welcome.”

And then, as if nothing happened, she placed the croissant on his desk and tapped the tablet.

“Now, shall we go over your upcoming calendar, Mr. Mason? Before your ex-wife tries to set fire to it?”

He stared at her for a long moment. Then nodded.

Not because he agreed — but because somehow, after all that…

…he needed her there.

---

By noon, the air inside Mason Equity Group felt thicker than usual.

Not with heat.

With rumors.

Someone from marketing had accidentally seen Katherine stepping into the boss’s office wearing his trench coat.

Lucinda from HR — who always knew more than she was supposed to — had already whispered to someone at the coffee machine:

“I’m telling you, she didn’t look flustered. She looked like she owns the place.”

And just like that, whispers turned into wildfire.

“Did you see the look on Madison’s face?”

“That girl’s got guts.”

“I bet it’s more than just ‘calendar meetings’ now.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s suddenly human.”

Sebastian heard it all.

And saw it too. How people went quiet when he walked by. How a few glanced at Katherine, then at him. How the IT director stared at her legs twice in seven minutes.

He’d defended her just an hour ago.

But now, he was dangerously close to snapping his chair in half.

Meanwhile, she was a calm storm.

Laughing at some analyst’s joke, tossing sharp lines in a sales brainstorm, even doodling on a coffee mug labeled “MINE.”

His mug.

During the break between meetings, he asked her to step into the conference room.

“It’s getting out of hand,” he started, the door barely shutting behind them.

“The rumors?” she tilted her head, tossing her bag onto the table.

“Yes.”

“Aw.” A sly smile played on her lips. “Are you worried they’ll start calling me Mrs. Mason?”

He didn’t smile. But something in his eyes — deep, guarded — sparked.

“I’m worried it affects your work.”

“My work is solid. You said that yourself last week.”

“It’s not professional —”

“Neither is spilling coffee on your pants,” she cut in, stepping closer, “but we survived that.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Explosive.

“Katherine…” he said her name like it was holding him together.

“Sebastian,” she echoed in kind. Then, leaning over the table: “If you don’t want the rumors to spread, maybe don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” he murmured.

“Like you’re about to do something you’ll regret.”

And then he did.

He snapped. Completely.

One stride, and he was in front of her. His hand on her cheek, the other gripping her waist. And in a heartbeat, her lips were the chaos he couldn’t control anymore.

The kiss.

Not careful. Not logical.

Passionate.

Messy.

Real.

Her back hit the glass door. Her fingers tangled in his hair. And between them was more than a few weeks of tension — months of unspoken madness.

Then — a knock.

“Mr. Mason? Your 2:30 is here —”

They broke apart, breathless. Katherine licked her bottom lip, stunned.

Sebastian inhaled deeply, turned to the door and said:

“Five minutes.”

When he looked back at her, she was perched on the table, grinning.

“So… what about the rumors now?”

He stepped closer. Straightened his tie. And whispered:

“Let them talk.”