Chapter 11

Helena’s POV

I nearly slipped as my heart did a flip at the sound of my name from him.

I could have expected it and probably shouldn't have been that surprised, but I did a 180 and nearly ended with a forced bow.

Barron was standing near the screen at the front of the room.

“Yes, sir,” I answered breathlessly.

“You mind staying for a moment longer?” He asked but I was pretty sure no wasn't an answer.

“No, Mr. Hale, I would be glad to,” I responded as I made my way closer.

He gestured to me to stop there and I halted immediately, feeling my cheeks burn up with the small crowd still around.

But they exited quickly, leaving the room almost empty within seconds.

When the door closed with the last person, he looked back down at the tablet in his hands and approached me slowly.

“The revised projections performed better than expected,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear that, sir,” I responded carefully and he nodded.

“Your analysis was correct,” he went on and that simple acknowledgement felt oddly satisfying.

“Thank you, sir,” I replied with a bow.

But that's when he looked up. “However,” he started and paused.

Of course there was a however.

“The onboarding model needs further testing before we finalize the strategy,” he added.

“That makes sense,” I remarked with a nod.

“And I want you working on that project directly,” he instructed and I nearly flipped.

My brows shot up immediately. “Me?” I asked and he gave me a straight look in response.

I arranged myself slightly and coughed. “With the analytics team?” I asked in a far more composed voice.

“No,” he replied dryly, then his gaze held mine in place. “With me,” he muttered and I actually took a step back now.

The words caught me off guard as I leaned on the nearest table for support.

“With you?” I asked again and he gave me the same straight face.

“Yes,” he responded this time.

I blinked once. That was most certainly unexpected.

“Is that a problem?” He asked after probably noticing my reaction.

“No, no. Of course not, sir,” I replied with a wave of my hands.

“Good,” he said firmly and tapped down on his tablet quickly. “You’ll have access to the necessary data by this afternoon,” he informed.

“Understood, sir.”

Then a brief silence followed his words, and for a second, I thought the conversation was over.

Then something inside me nudged forward, maybe it was that memory of our conversation last night.

Or maybe it was the strange feeling that I had imagined the moment between us.

But either way, I spoke up.

“Uhm, good morning, Mr. Hale,” I greeted nervously.

He looked up at me, paused then raised a brow slowly.

“Good morning,” he repeated in a dead tone.

Nothing like the relaxed man who had stood on the other side of the desk in my office last night.

Something in my chest tightened slightly as I slowly played out the realization. That moment had been temporary, just a late-night conversation between colleagues. Nothing more.

I nodded once and turned towards the door.

“Helena,” he called out again and I stopped.

“Yes, Mr. Hale?” 

“Don’t lose track of why you are here,” he said with a straight look on his face and I nodded instantly.

He's right, I can't let myself imagine anything more than what is here. Nothing.

I kept my eyes on him as he hadn't dismissed me and his expression remained unreadable.

“That project will require long hours,” he finally continued calmly. “Make sure you’re prepared for that.”

“I am, sir,” I replied and he nodded once.

“Good.”

That felt like the dismissal I had been waiting for.

And with that, I turned and left the conference room with my thoughts spinning.

Maybe I had imagined the whole tension last night. Maybe it never existed in the first place and I made more out of it than it was.

Maybe—

I forced the thought away and walked back towards my office.

The top floor was buzzing quietly with the repeated taps of keyboards and hushed conversations from all sides. 

I stared as screens glowed across the open workspaces as they must be settling back into their various tasks for the day following the meeting.

Everything looked normal again. Professional and ordered, just how it should be.

I slid into my chair and opened the analytics dashboard, forcing my mind back to the numbers.

If I was going to work directly with Barron Hale, I needed to stay focused. No distractions, and certainly, no second-guessing.

I had barely begun reviewing the projections when a familiar voice sparked from in front of me.

“Well, look who survived her first post executive strategy meeting,” the voice I immediately recognized to be Tessy called out.

I looked up and sure enough, Tessy was leaning casually against the frame of the door with her arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

“You’re supposed to be working,” I said as she walked in.

“So are you,” she replied lightly. “But I figured I should check if my best friend was still alive after facing the great Barron Hale,” she remarked as she leaned over on my desk.

I rolled my eyes, she wasn't to know it wasn't my first one on one conversation with him anyway.

“I’m perfectly fine,” I objected softly.

“That’s not what those shoulders are saying,” she teased.

“What are they saying?” I asked immediately, a bit fiercer than I intended.

“Helena,” she said slowly, reaching forward and studying my face with a hand on my shoulder. “You look like you just stepped out of a role in World War three,” she added.

I sighed and leaned back slightly in my chair, trying as much as I could to steady my breathing.

“It was just a little review,” I remarked and it sounded out more to myself than I believe it did to her.

“Just a review?” Tessy repeated dramatically. “You mean the talk with the CEO who makes grown executives sweat?”

“Okay, maybe it was a little intense,”

“A little?” She pressed on.

And I laughed softly despite my stressed up feeling.

“He’s a lot, maybe a bit too direct,” I explained and Tessy lifted a brow.

“Direct?” She asked.

“Yeah,” I replied as I sat up straighter.

“That’s the word you’re choosing for him?” She continued.

“Yeah, it’s pretty accurate,” I replied.

She shook her head, clearly amused. “Well, I'm glad you survived,” she said lightly. “And?” she added suddenly.

“And what?” I asked with my brow raised.

“What did he say, dummy?” She laughed amusedly.

I hesitated for a moment, not sure she needed to know. But answered all the same.

“He actually asked me to work directly with him on a project,” I said softly.

Tessy’s eyes widened immediately as she rose to her feet. “Wait… what?” She asked in a slightly raised tone.

“Yeah? Please keep your voice down,” I remarked as I leaned forward.

“Helena!” She screamed, doing the exact opposite as I threw my hands in the air.

She skipped back and shut my door before skipping back and leaning closer to me while lowering her voice.

“That’s huge as fuck,” she remarked.

“I guess so,” I shrugged.

“It is!” She exclaimed. “I mean, many have worked here for years. Hell, I've been here for months and he's never even called me into his office. But it took you just one day, woah,” she muttered with her lips remaining in an O shape.

I shrugged, trying as I could not to make a big deal out of it.

“That means you’ll be spending a lot of time with him,” she added with a smirk.

“I guess so,” I replied, hoping she would actually stop. I wasn't comfortable slacking off at work.

“And you don't look excited one bit,” she teased on.

“What's there to be excited for?” I asked with my hands raised.

She looked around carefully before leaning in and whispering, “haven't you noticed, Barron is hot as fuck, this could be your chance to get him laid.”

“Jesus Christ, Tessy,” I remarked, throwing a hand over her lips and looking around, hoping no one heard that. “That's not what I'm thinking at all,” I added as I let go of her.

“What? You've got to notice it at some point. Every lady dreams of having Barron in bed, you shouldn't be exempted from that,” she replied with a smirk.

And before I could reply, a notification appeared on my computer screen.