Control and Whispers

Downstairs, Alexander remained rooted to the same spot. His gaze was still fixed on the empty space by the stairs where she had left.

He ran a careless hand through his hair and scoffed.

‘That wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Then why did he do it? 

His gaze shifted to the top of the stairs as if waiting for her to come back down. But she didn’t. Of course, she didn’t.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he went up the stairs and into his study, shutting the door behind him. He breathed deeply and reached for the bottle of whiskey he had left on his desk earlier and poured himself a glass.

Swirling the harsh liquid around in his mouth, his mind replayed the moment with irritating clarity.

The way her brown, doe eyes looked up at him, the feeling of her skin under his fingertips, and her luscious, full, rosy lips. Those lips that pulled him in and almost made him break character.

His grip on the glass tightened. 

“This is getting out of hand,” he muttered under his breath.

He couldn’t make sense of his own actions. He was always in control. He had set boundaries.

Picking up his phone, he scrolled to the picture Gabriella had sent. She had a very faint smile on her face, but still looked breathtakingly beautiful. It had done something to him.

Unacceptable.

He had been the one to cross the line, but never again. The plan was simple; they had specific roles to play and nothing more.

He straightened slowly, trying to force the tension out of his shoulders.

This ended now. No more unnecessary interactions. No more moments that lingered.

He would stay focused and remain in control. Just like he always did.

The next morning felt…off.

Not visibly, but between Gabriella and Alexander, things were a bit awkward.

Gabriella was already dressed and ready for work when Alexander came downstairs. She glanced up briefly, then back to her phone, avoiding eye contact.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning.”

That was it. Plain and simple.

“There will be another meeting today,”  he continued. “The head of the engineering department will explain what really went wrong with the locks.” He said it casually, ignoring the weight hanging between them.

“Okay,” she nodded.

There was no mention of last night and no acknowledgment whatsoever. Just like that, they both understood that it wasn’t going to be addressed, and that was honestly a relief to both of them.

On the drive to the office, Gabriella sat stiffly with her gaze fixed outside while Alexander scrolled through e-mails on his phone. They were both walking on eggshells, afraid that something irreversible would break. 

She couldn’t wait to get to work. Work was easier. It didn’t blur lines or confuse things.

The moment they stepped into the office, the atmosphere shifted instantly.

It was louder than usual.

Employees moved quickly as hushed conversations regarding the plummeting company stock prices filled the air with anxiety.

“…clients are canceling orders.”

“…this is a security risk.”

“…the future of the company is at stake.”

Gabriella’s brows furrowed. Things were really spiraling quickly.

She followed Alexander into the conference room and took her position in a corner. Several department heads were already waiting.

Gabriella spotted Miranda further down the large conference table and waved discreetly at her, to which she offered a small smile.

Alexander, however, didn’t sit.

“Report,” he ordered.

The head of engineering got up, clearing his throat. He looked tense as he adjusted his glasses repeatedly.

“We completed the investigation you requested after the initial inconsistencies in the fingerprint system,” he started.

Gabriella’s gaze fixed on him in concentration.

“The failures we found,” he continued carefully, “ aren’t completely consistent with a standard system malfunction.”

There was a slight pause.

“Define ‘not consistent,” Alexander asked.

The man tapped vigorously on his tablet, and the large screen in the conference room started displaying pictures, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We ran multiple diagnostics. Even with a malfunction, the system should default to a backup recognition setting.”

Gabriella frowned slightly.

It meant the locks shouldn’t have completely failed.

“But it didn’t?” Miranda asked.

The engineer shook his head.

“No. The system just reset instead. Like it failed to recall previously stored data.”

A quiet murmur moved through the room.

“Isn’t the data encrypted and stored internally?” Someone asked.

“It is, which is why this is absurd.”

Alexander’s fingers tapped on the table.

“What caused it?” He asked.

“We’re still looking into that,” he admitted. “There are irregularities we can’t account for yet.”

“What about the access logs?”

“We’re still reviewing them, but nothing conclusive so far.”

“Then keep looking. I need answers, not guesses.” His tone was final. “And I want a full breakdown of every single system interaction.”

“Understood,” the man said.

The room went still. Something wasn’t right, but they just couldn’t prove it.

As the meeting wrapped up and people began to troop out, Gabriella gathered her things, ready to follow Alexander out, when her gaze caught on Miranda.

She remained seated, her attention fixed on the screen displaying the system logs.

She seemed very focused.

Then her fingers moved across her phone, typing quickly.

Suddenly, as if sensing the attention, her head snapped up, and their eyes met.

Her expression softened.

“Strange, isn’t it?” She said, rising to her feet.

Gabriella blinked.

“Yeah…it is.”

Miranda smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “I’m sure Alexander will figure it out.”

Her tone was almost too certain.

“See you around.” 

Then she turned, leaving Gabriella alone in the room.

By midday, the office still hadn’t calmed down. If anything, it had only gotten worse. 

Gabriella stood from her desk, needing to use the restroom. The tension in the office was already getting to her, and she needed a break from all the whispers.

She walked down the hallway quickly and pushed the restroom door open. Then she found an empty stall and stepped inside to do her business.

Shortly after, she heard the restroom door swing open, followed by voices.

“…she’s not even that pretty.”

Gabriella was about to step out of the stall, but then she paused.

“Did you see her the other day, holding his hand so shamelessly?” another voice came.

A loud scoff followed.

“It’s obvious how she got here.”

Gabriella’s fingers formed fists at her sides.

“She’s his secretary, and then suddenly they are so close? Even coming to work and leaving together?”

“Exactly. Girls like her disgust me,” another voice chimed in.

There was a slight pause.

“Gold digger,” someone muttered, and the restroom erupted in laughter.

She felt it again. That sharp, piercing ache in her chest.

For a moment, she stood there, out of sight.

“She definitely slept with him to get the job.”

Another ripple of laughter followed.

Then something in Gabriella snapped. She had had it with everyone throwing allegations at her.

She pushed the stall door open swiftly, the sound cutting through the restroom.

The laughter ceased instantly, and three women turned to her and froze.

Gabriella stepped out slowly. The women’s expression shifted from shock to panic.

She reached the sink and turned on the tap, washing her hands carefully.

Behind her, one of the women laughed nervously.

“Gabriella, we were just…”

Gabriella’s eyes snapped to her through the mirror, and she fell quiet immediately.

Reaching for a paper towel, she dried her hands.

“You know,” she said, turning to face them slowly, “I wonder what Alexander would think of his employees insinuating he sleeps with women to hire them.”

Their eyes grew wide. No one moved or said a word.