CHAPTER 8: A SECRET CAUGHT

Nathaniel: POV.

I just couldn't stop staring at the blank screen with the cursor blinking. Today marks it three days with no word from Ava..

The knock came before I could sink any deeper into the frustration. Vanessa stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

She looked at my face and walked across the room. "Still chasing ghosts?" she said, sitting on the edge of my desk.

I didn't deny it.

Vanessa reached out and ran her thumb over the line between my brows. Her touch was warm. Familiar. "Let me bring you back."

She leaned in. The first kiss was soft. The second wasn’t. I grabbed her hair and kissed her hard. She made a low, hungry sound and climbed onto my lap, her knees pressed against my hips. The chair creaked under us.

I kissed her harder, my tongue pushing deeper, trying to fuck the thoughts out of my head. Her mouth was open and eager, tasting of mint. She rolled her hips against the hard length of my cock. For a few seconds, the noise about Ava went quiet.

Then Ava’s face came back to me anyway. Those sharp eyes. That last look between us. The way she had challenged me without saying a word. The memory hit me hard, unwanted and clear.

Vanessa pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. Her breathing had already changed. “Fuck me,” she whispered. “Right here.”

I nodded.

I kissed her again, deeper and rougher, pulling her tightly against me. Her hands dragged down my chest and tore at the buttons of my shirt. I let her. They came undone quickly. Her palms slid over my bare skin, then lower, straight to my belt. She had it open and my cock out within seconds. I shoved her blouse up, pulled her bra down, and sucked one hard nipple into my mouth while my other hand moved between her legs, pushing her trousers and underwear aside. She was already soaked.

And still, somewhere behind my closed eyes, Ava refused to leave.

I could still feel her absence, like another pulse. Even with Vanessa close to me, Ava’s face stayed in my mind. Those eyes. That pull. I tried to push the thought away, but it wouldn’t leave.

I pulled my fingers out, shoved my trousers lower, and she sank down onto my cock in one long, filthy slide. Tight. Wet. I gripped her hips and thrust up hard. She rode me with short, rough rolls, the wet slap of skin loud in the office. I sucked her nipple, bit it, fucked up into her deeper. She clenched around my cock every time I bottomed out

She whispered my name, her voice breaking this time. For a second, I almost lost myself. Almost. The chair creaked loudly. A pen fell to the floor. Neither of us stopped.

Then came the knock.

Soft at first.

Then firmer.

I froze. Vanessa went still in my arms, her breath catching against my neck.

A second knock. The handle turned.

The door swung open.

My assistant stood in the doorway, a thick folder clutched to her chest. She had expected an empty office or a quick signature. What she got stopped her cold.

Me and Vanessa, tangled together in the chair, clothes disordered, skin flushed, the evidence of what we had been doing impossible to miss.

Silence stretched.

The color drained from her face. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The folder shifted slightly in her hands. Her eyes went from my bare chest to Vanessa’s messy blouse, then back to me. She stood there frozen. She said nothing. The silence in the room felt heavy, almost suffocating.

No one spoke.

Vanessa was the first to regain her composure. She carefully adjusted her blouse, trying to restore some dignity to the situation, though there was no hiding what had already happened. I remained where I was, meeting my assistant’s shocked stare as the weight of every possible consequence crashed down on me at once.

She was always around. She noticed things, and worse, she loved to talk. Give her one little piece of information and somehow everyone would know about it by the end of the day. If she told anyone about what she had just seen, Damien would know I’d been sleeping with Vanessa.

Her voice, when it finally came, was barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back.”

She stepped back, almost hitting the doorframe, and pulled the door shut slowly. The click of the lock was hard.

Vanessa and I stayed where we were, suddenly feeling the cold between us. Her hands were still on my shoulders. Mine were still around her waist. Neither of us moved.

Then Vanessa spoke, her voice lower than usual.

"She's going to tell him."

I said nothing.

"Nathaniel." She grabbed my arm. "She's going to tell Damien."

I looked at the closed door.

My assistant had been with me for four years. She was loyal, but she talked too much sometimes. She always had something to say, even when nobody asked. But she knew when to keep certain things to herself. This wasn't just some small secret, though. This was his ex-girlfriend, the woman who had just resigned from the company in front of everyone, standing in my office while Damien sat three doors down the hall.

"I'll handle it," I said.

Vanessa stared at me. "How?"

I didn't answer her. I was already reaching for my shirt, already thinking about what I was going to say, already calculating how much time I had before the damage became irreversible.

I stood up, buttoned my shirt, and walked to the door.

I opened the door.

The hallway was empty.

My assistant was already gone.

I looked at her desk.

Empty.

My heart sank.

She had left without saying another word.

I reached for my phone.

Before I could call her, a message popped up on my screen.

It was Damien.

Nathaniel, come to my office. Now.