CHAPTER 3

Elliot's Pov

Three days later, I was still at Blackwood Tech and hadn't gotten fired yet, which felt like a miracle. Every day was the same, Aiden giving me impossible tasks, me finishing them and him looking at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t make sense. The tension between us kept growing until I felt like I couldn’t breathe around him.

Tonight was different, though, because Aiden asked me to stay late again. This time, he said we would work together on a presentation for a client meeting tomorrow. When everyone else had left and the office grew dark and quiet, I walked into his office with my laptop and sat in the chair across from his desk.

"We need to go through these projections," Aiden said, sliding a stack of papers across the desk. I took them, and our fingers brushed for just a second. Electricity shot up my arm, and I pulled my hand back too fast.

"Okay," I said, looking down at the papers because I couldn’t look at him. We started working, and the hours went by with only the sound of typing and the occasional shuffle of papers.

"Here," Aiden said, holding out another document. I reached for it, and our hands touched again. This time, neither of us pulled away right away. I looked up, and he was staring at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

"Thanks," I said as I took the paper. He cleared his throat and went back to his computer.

This kept happening over and over. Every time we passed papers, our hands touched, and each time the air grew thicker. I felt like I was going crazy because I didn’t know if he was doing it on purpose or if I was imagining things.

"Elliot," Aiden said, and I looked up. He was watching me again.

"Yes," I said. He leaned back in his chair.

"Why did you take this job?" he asked. The question caught me off guard.

"I needed work," I said, the easiest answer but he shook his head.

"No, I mean why this job," he said, gesturing around the office. "You could work anywhere with your skills, so why here?" I didn’t know what to say because the truth was complicated.

"I wanted a challenge," I said, which was partly true. He kept staring at me.

"We should keep working," Aiden said finally. I nodded, and we went back to the presentation, but something had changed between us. The air felt different, less tense, more like two people working together instead of boss and assistant.

"This section doesn’t make sense," I said, pointing to a chart on my screen. Aiden got up, came around the desk, stood behind my chair, and leaned over to look at my laptop. I could feel the heat of his body and smell his cologne. My brain stopped working.

"Where?" he asked. I pointed at the screen. He leaned in closer, his arm brushing my shoulder, and I forgot how to breathe.

"Oh, I see," he said. He reached over and took my mouse, his hand covering mine for a second. I felt my face get hot.

"It should be like this," he said, fixing the chart, but he didn’t step back. Instead, he stayed close, leaning over me, his hand still on the mouse covering mine. I could feel his breath on my neck, and my whole body tensed.

“Do you see it now?” His voice was lower, closer to my ear. I nodded because I couldn’t find my voice.

“Elliot,” he said, and the way he said my name made something twist deep in my stomach. I turned my head to look at him.

We froze and neither of us moved. I could see every detail of his face: the gold flecks in his blue eyes, the small scar above his eyebrow I’d never noticed before.

“This is a bad idea,” he said, but he didn’t pull away. I knew he meant whatever was happening between us right now.

“I know,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. His hand remained on mine, warm and steady.

Then Aiden moved. I thought he would step back, but instead, he brought his other hand to my face. His fingers were gentle, careful, as if I might break. Unconsciously, I leaned into his touch.

“Tell me to stop,” he said, his thumb brushing my cheekbone softly. My eyes fluttered closed for just a second.

“I….” I started, unsure what to say, but it didn’t matter. Aiden leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. My mind went blank.

The kiss was soft at first,as if he was testing me. But I didn’t pull away. Instead, I turned in my chair and reached up, resting my hand on the back of his neck, kissing him back.

His hand slid from my face into my hair, tilting my head back, and I felt like I was drowning in the best way possible.

I stood up without breaking the kiss. Aiden backed against his desk, trapping me close. His hands gripped my waist, pulling me in tighter. I could feel his racing heart against my chest, matching mine beat for beat.

“Elliot,” he breathed against my mouth, his voice rough and desperate. I’d never heard him like that before.

His hands roamed everywhere, in my hair, along my back, down my thighs. I couldn’t think of anything except how good it felt, how much I wanted more.

“Aiden,” I breathed, not sure what I was asking for. He seemed to understand and kissed down my neck. I tilted my head back to give him more room.

Then his phone rang.

We both froze. Reality crashed in, and panic flashed across his face.

“I……” he started, stepping back and running a hand through his hair, making it messy.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” he admitted, and my chest tightened because he was right, but it still hurt to hear it.

“Okay,” I said, sliding off the desk and trying to fix my shirt and hair.

“I’m sorry,” he said, but I shook my head.

“It’s fine,” I said, even though it wasn’t.

“Maybe I should go,” I said. He nodded but looked like he wanted to say more.

“Yeah,” he agreed. I grabbed my laptop and bag and walked to the door.

“Elliot, wait,” he called. I stopped but didn’t turn, afraid of what I might see in his face.

“This can’t happen again,” he said, and something broke inside me.