Chapter 5: The Woman in Crimson

Posy Marin had barely settled into her chair when she discovered that keeping a chocolate from Rafe Fitzgerald was much harder than receiving one.

The little piece he had given her the previous evening was still tucked inside her handbag, carefully wrapped in its dark red foil. She had intended to save it for the journey home, but the thought of eating it had followed her through the entire morning, and now she was beginning to wonder whether she should simply enjoy it before she spent another day thinking about it.

She opened her handbag, retrieved the chocolate, and placed it beside her keyboard.

“Just one little bite,” she whispered to herself. “Then I can concentrate properly.”

“You're negotiating with your chocolate now?”

Posy froze.

She turned towards the doorway and found Rafe standing there, one hand resting against the frame. He had arrived without making a sound, dressed in a black suit and a dark red tie, looking entirely too pleased with himself for someone who had just caught an employee having a private conversation with a sweet.

Her cheeks warmed.

“I wasn't negotiating. I was deciding whether to eat it now or save it for later, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to think about when someone gives you chocolate.”

“Of course. I wouldn't want to interfere with such an important decision.”

“You're laughing at me.”

“I'm smiling, Posy. There's a difference.”

She glanced at his mouth, realised he was right, and immediately wished she had kept that observation to herself.

“Well, your smile is making it difficult for me to finish my decision.”

Rafe's expression softened.

“Then I'll leave you to it. Although, if you decide to eat it, I hope you enjoy it.”

He turned to leave, but Posy spoke before she could stop herself.

“Wait. Do you have a favourite flavour?”

He looked back at her.

“Of chocolate?”

“Yes. I know you work for a chocolate company, but I don't think I've ever heard you say what you actually like. Everyone has a favourite, even people who spend their evenings buried in paperwork.”

“That's a reasonable assumption.” He considered her question. “I prefer dark chocolate with a little fruit in it. Something that isn't too sweet, but still has a pleasant flavour.”

Posy brightened.

“That's exactly why I liked the strawberry one yesterday. The strawberry was sweet without taking over the whole chocolate. I think the best flavours are the ones that give each other a chance to be noticed.”

For a moment, Rafe said nothing.

Then he smiled at her, and this time the expression was so warm that she forgot about the chocolate beside her keyboard.

“You have an interesting way of looking at things.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Very much so.”

Posy lowered her eyes to her desk, fighting a smile.

“Thank you. I hope you have a good morning, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

“I hope you do too, Posy.”

He left her with those words, and she sat motionless for several seconds.

Then she picked up the chocolate, took a small bite, and decided that if her boss intended to continue being this sweet, she would need to develop a much stronger sense of concentration.

Preferably before the end of the week.

By eleven that morning, Posy had finished organising the product feedback from the previous evening and was helping Evelyn prepare the schedule for the following week's meetings.

The work was going smoothly until the receptionist called.

“Evelyn, Miss Vale has arrived. She says she has a meeting with Mr. Fitzgerald.”

Evelyn looked up from her screen.

“Thank you. Please let Mr. Fitzgerald know that she's here.”

Posy continued typing, but the name caught her attention.

Miss Vale.

She had heard the surname once or twice around the office, usually mentioned in conversations that became noticeably more formal whenever Rafe entered the room.

A few minutes later, the reception doors opened.

The woman who walked in wore a fitted crimson dress beneath an elegant cream coat. Her dark hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and a pair of delicate earrings caught the light as she turned to greet Evelyn.

She was beautiful, poised, and completely at ease in the executive suite.

Posy straightened in her chair, suddenly aware that she was wearing a soft pink cardigan over her blouse and had a tiny chocolate stain on one finger.

She discreetly rubbed it away with a tissue.

The woman approached Evelyn's desk.

“Good morning, Evelyn. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. I wanted to speak with Rafe before his afternoon appointments begin, and he said I could come by whenever I arrived.”

“Good morning, Miss Vale. He's available now. I'll let him know you're here.”

“Thank you.”

Her gaze moved briefly towards Posy.

“And you must be the new intern. I've heard your name mentioned.”

Posy blinked.

“Mine?”

The woman smiled.

“Posy Marin, isn't it? Rafe mentioned that someone new had joined the executive team.”

Posy's fingers tightened around her pen.

Rafe had mentioned her?

She hoped he had said something sensible and professional, preferably something that did not involve her negotiating with chocolate.

“Yes, that's me. It's lovely to meet you.”

“Likewise. I'm Seraphina Vale.”

They exchanged polite smiles before Evelyn escorted Seraphina towards Rafe's office.

Posy watched them disappear behind the glass doors, then slowly turned back to her computer.

Seraphina Vale.

She had heard that name before.

It took another few seconds for the memory to settle into place. Chloe had mentioned it during one of their conversations about the company's executive team, explaining that Rafe was expected to marry a woman from one of the old families connected to Moonberry.

Posy's fingers stopped above the keyboard.

Oh.

She looked towards the closed office door.

That Miss Vale.

Rafe's fiancée.

The information was not entirely new, but seeing the woman herself made it feel suddenly real.

Posy lowered her gaze to the schedule in front of her and tried to concentrate on the meeting times.

She really did.

Unfortunately, she had just discovered that the handsome man who gave her chocolates and remembered her favourite flavours was engaged to a woman who looked as though she had never once misplaced a pen in her entire life.

It was a rather inconvenient thing to learn before lunch.

Inside Rafe's office, Seraphina removed her coat and placed it over the back of a chair.

“You look tired,” she observed.

Rafe continued reading the document on his desk.

“Good morning to you too.”

“I did say good morning when I arrived, and you replied without looking up from your paperwork. I decided to move on to something more useful.” She sat opposite him. “You've been working late again, haven't you?”

“I had several matters to finish.”

“You always have several matters to finish. I sometimes wonder whether you deliberately create more work for yourself whenever you have something on your mind.”

That earned her his attention.

Rafe set the document aside.

“Is there a reason you've come to discuss my working habits?”

“Must there be a reason for me to visit my future husband?”

His expression remained composed, but something in his eyes became more guarded.

Seraphina noticed.

She always noticed.

“I see,” she said quietly. “So we are still going to pretend that everything is perfectly ordinary between us.”

Rafe leaned back in his chair.

“I haven't pretended anything. Our arrangement remains what it has always been, and you know that I have never intended to mislead you about it.”

“An arrangement,” she repeated. “You make it sound so simple when you say it that way.”

“Would you prefer that I call it a promise neither of us was allowed to make for ourselves?”

Seraphina's expression changed.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then she looked towards the window, where the morning light fell across the city beyond the glass.

“No. I suppose I wouldn't.”

Their engagement had been discussed long before either of them had been old enough to understand what marriage would mean. Their families had treated it as a necessary agreement, something that would preserve their influence and strengthen a bond that had existed for generations.

Neither Rafe nor Seraphina had been given much opportunity to question it.

They had grown up understanding what was expected of them.

That did not mean they had to enjoy it.

“I spoke with my father yesterday,” Seraphina continued. “He wants us to confirm the date for the formal announcement. Apparently, the families are becoming impatient, and they believe leaving the matter unsettled for much longer will encourage unnecessary speculation.”

“Then they can continue speculating.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“You make rebellion sound remarkably effortless.”

“Only when the alternative is allowing other people to arrange every hour of my life.”

“Your life is not the only one involved, Rafe. Mine is being arranged just as carefully, and I have spent years learning how to smile through conversations in which everyone discusses my future without asking what I want.”

His expression softened, although his voice remained quiet.

“I know.”

“Do you?” She studied him. “Because lately, I have been wondering whether you've finally started to question the arrangement, or whether you have simply found something more interesting to occupy your attention.”

Rafe went still.

Seraphina had known him for years. She recognised the difference between his ordinary silence and the silence that appeared when a question had come too close to something he wished to keep private.

She folded her hands in her lap.

“There's someone, isn't there?”

“Seraphina.”

“You haven't answered me.”

“Because I don't believe my private affairs are the purpose of your visit.”

“That is a very polished way of avoiding the question.”

He gave her a measured look.

She returned it without flinching.

“I am not asking because I want to quarrel with you,” she said. “If there is someone you care about, I would rather know than spend the next several months pretending that the two of us are preparing for a marriage we both secretly resent.”

Rafe looked down at the document on his desk.

He could have dismissed her question. He could have reminded her that their engagement was a matter between their families and that his personal feelings had little to do with the arrangement.

Instead, he thought of pink hair, a heart-shaped chocolate, and a young woman who had asked him whether he was feeling all right when she had no reason to believe that her concern could mean anything to him.

“I have been spending time with someone,” he admitted at last. “She works here, and I have no intention of allowing my personal feelings to interfere with her position or the choices she makes for herself.”

Seraphina watched him carefully.

“You sound very protective of her.”

“I'm being careful.”

“Those aren't always the same thing.”

“No,” he agreed. “They aren't.”

She leaned forward slightly.

“Does she know about me?”

The question settled between them.

Rafe did not answer immediately, and Seraphina's face grew more serious.

“Rafe, if she is important to you, she deserves to understand the circumstances before she becomes more deeply involved. Whatever our families expect, I will not have another woman discovering the truth after she has already been hurt by it.”

His gaze returned to hers.

For the first time that morning, he looked genuinely troubled.

“I know.”

“Then you need to decide what you intend to do. I cannot promise that our families will accept a change in the arrangement, and I will not pretend that challenging them will be easy. But I will not spend my life forcing affection where it does not exist, and I would rather face their displeasure than enter a marriage built on resentment.”

Rafe studied her for a long moment.

“You've changed.”

“No,” Seraphina replied. “I think I have simply become tired of pretending that being obedient is the same as being happy.”

Something almost like respect passed between them.

For years, he had considered Seraphina a fellow prisoner of their families' expectations. He had never blamed her for the engagement, and she had never blamed him for the position they had both inherited.

Now, for the first time, he wondered whether they might be able to help each other find a way out.

“I won't make promises I cannot keep,” he said. “But I won't dismiss what you've said, either.”

“That is all I ask for today.”

She rose and collected her coat.

Before leaving, she glanced at him again.

“And for what it's worth, I hope she makes you happy. You have spent so much time making certain that everyone around you is satisfied that I would quite like to see you do something simply because you want it.”

Rafe's expression softened.

“Thank you, Seraphina.”

She nodded, then walked towards the door.

Her hand rested briefly on the handle before she turned back.

“One more thing. If you intend to continue giving chocolates to the young woman who has caught your attention, you might want to remember that people notice things. Especially people who have known you for years.”

Rafe stared at her.

Seraphina smiled.

“Have a pleasant afternoon.”

And with that, she left.

For several seconds, Rafe remained seated, looking at the closed door.

Then he exhaled slowly and returned to the document on his desk.

He had a feeling his life was about to become considerably more complicated.

Posy was arranging the afternoon schedule when Seraphina emerged from Rafe's office.

She stood immediately.

“Miss Vale, is there anything I can help you with before you leave?”

Seraphina adjusted the sleeve of her coat.

“No, thank you. I was only here to speak with Rafe, and we've finished our discussion.”

“I'm glad. I hope everything went well.”

“It did, in its own way.”

There was something thoughtful in her expression that made Posy wonder what they had discussed. However, she knew better than to ask questions about a private meeting.

Seraphina glanced at the papers on Posy's desk.

“Are you enjoying your position here?”

Posy brightened.

“Yes, very much. I'm still learning a lot, and sometimes I have to check the same instructions twice to make sure I haven't missed anything, but everyone has been helpful. I think I'm getting more comfortable with the work every evening.”

“I'm pleased to hear that. It can take time to settle into a new environment, particularly when you're working so closely with someone who expects a great deal from the people around him.”

Posy smiled.

“Mr. Fitzgerald can be quite serious, but he's been kind to me. He explains things when I need help, and he doesn't make me feel silly for asking questions.”

Seraphina regarded her for a moment.

“I'm glad.”

Posy could not tell whether the response was simple politeness or something more complicated.

Before she could think of anything else to say, Seraphina offered her a warm smile.

“I hope your time here continues to go well, Posy. It was lovely meeting you.”

“You too. Have a safe journey.”

Seraphina left the executive suite, and Posy watched the reception doors close behind her.

Then she sat down again.

She had imagined meeting Rafe's fiancée would feel uncomfortable, but Seraphina had been perfectly pleasant. There had been no cold remarks, no disapproving looks, and no indication that she considered Posy a threat.

If anything, she had seemed thoughtful.

That made the situation more difficult to understand, not less.

Posy looked towards Rafe's office.

She liked him.

There was no point pretending otherwise, at least not to herself. She liked the way he listened when she spoke, the way he remembered little things about her, and the way his voice softened whenever he addressed her directly.

She liked that he could make her blush with a simple compliment and then continue his work as though he had done nothing unusual.

But he was engaged.

And no amount of chocolate could change that fact.

Posy drew a quiet breath and returned to her schedule.

She would continue doing her job, remain professional, and stop allowing herself to become distracted by a man who belonged to someone else.

It was a sensible decision.

A very sensible decision.

Unfortunately, she had barely finished convincing herself when Rafe's office door opened.

“Posy, could you come in for a moment?”

Her heart gave a small, unhelpful flutter.

She stood, collected her notebook, and walked towards him.

“Yes, of course.”

Rafe waited until she entered before closing the door behind her.

“I wanted to ask whether you had finished organising the product feedback.”

“I have. I also added the comments about the strawberry filling and the packaging suggestions. I can send you the summary before the afternoon meeting if you'd like.”

“That would be helpful, thank you.”

He paused, studying her face.

“Is everything all right?”

Posy blinked.

“Yes. Why wouldn't it be?”

“You've been unusually quiet since Seraphina left.”

She looked down at her notebook.

“I was just thinking about the schedule.”

“Is that all?”

His tone was gentle, without the teasing confidence he usually brought to their conversations.

Posy considered telling him that she had been thinking about his fiancée. She considered asking whether he was happy with the engagement, whether he had chosen it himself, and whether the chocolates he gave her meant anything beyond kindness.

But she was his intern, and he was her boss.

She didn't know whether she had the right to ask those questions.

So she smiled.

“I'm fine, Mr. Fitzgerald. I promise. I was only trying to remember whether the afternoon meeting had been moved to two-thirty or three.”

“Two-thirty,” he answered. “And you don't have to pretend to be cheerful around me when something is bothering you.”

The words caught her off guard.

She looked up.

“I'm not pretending. I am cheerful most of the time, you know. It's one of my better qualities.”

“I've noticed.”

Her cheeks warmed.

He continued, “But you're also allowed to have a quiet day. You don't have to smile through everything simply because the people around you expect you to.”

For a moment, Posy forgot every question she had been trying not to ask.

He had noticed.

Not just her work, or her chocolate preferences, or the little things she said without thinking. He had noticed when she was trying to hide what she felt.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I'll remember that. And I'll tell you if something is wrong, although I might need a little time to find the right words first.”

“Take all the time you need.”

She smiled, this time without forcing it.

“Then I'll send you the report before two-thirty.”

“I'll look forward to it.”

Posy turned towards the door, but his voice stopped her.

“Posy?”

She looked back.

“I'm glad you're here.”

Her fingers tightened around her notebook.

He said it so simply, without trying to make her blush or turn the moment into a joke. That made it much harder to dismiss.

“I'm glad too,” she replied, her voice a little quieter than before.

She left his office with her heart fluttering and her cheeks warm.

Rafe watched the door close, then lowered his gaze to the papers on his desk.

Seraphina's words returned to him.

If she is important to you, she deserves to understand the circumstances.

He knew she was right.

He also knew that Posy had begun to matter to him in ways he could no longer dismiss as curiosity or passing amusement.

For now, he would give her time. He would be honest with himself about what he felt, and he would not allow his family's expectations to determine what Posy was permitted to mean to him.

Outside his office, Posy sat down, opened her report, and tried very hard not to think about the man behind the glass doors.

She lasted almost a full minute.

Then she glanced at the small piece of chocolate still resting beside her keyboard, smiled to herself, and returned to work.

She had a job to do.

A very important job.

And absolutely no time to fall for her engaged boss.

At least, that was what she intended to tell herself.

End of Chapter Five