Crossed Lines

Chapter 5

The image of Emma Moore after the gala is flawless. The compliments from her colleagues come swiftly. Some look at her with a mix of admiration and respect; others, more timid, try to approach her. Emma smiles, accepts the compliments with a slight blush and calculated humility, fully aware of her role perfectly executed. Inside, she feels a cold satisfaction. Finally, they see her as she wanted: an efficient and trustworthy secretary, someone who has managed to stand out without drawing too much attention.

The shift in her environment becomes more apparent with every praise received, but Emma knows that, in reality, nothing has changed. She has simply reached the place she always wanted in the shadows, without revealing her true intentions. To be recognized, to be dependable… but without being too approachable.

Meanwhile, at Carter Enterprises, the gala marks a turning point. The appearance of Arthur Williams was no accident. Arthur, a retired telecommunications magnate, had long rejected any dealings with the Carter family after a scandal that had marked them all. However, he was a key figure in Benjamin’s father’s past, and his return to the business world signals new opportunities for the company: new investments, new contracts, new bridges. For Benjamin, regaining Arthur’s trust is the final piece he needs to solidify the company’s international expansion, something that had been out of reach for years. When he finally secures a meeting with Arthur, he experiences something he hasn’t felt in a long time: a personal pride that makes him look to the future with a hunger for more. For the first time in years, he sees a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s energized, motivated by the challenge.

That same night, Benjamin takes time to go over a few details with Emma in his office. After the gala, a calm seems to envelop them, but there’s an invisible tension hanging between them. As they discuss trivial matters and review corrections, the atmosphere thickens. At one point, Benjamin casually mentions:

" Sometimes you have to stop pretending everything is perfect..."

Emma pauses for a moment. That phrase… she’s heard it before. Or rather, she’s said it before. It was hers—or more accurately, Anne’s—in another time. And she said it to him… at the gala.

Benjamin watches her, waiting for a reaction. Their gazes meet for a moment, the space between them seems to vanish, and a charged tension settles in the air.

" Isn't that so? " he asks in a low voice.

Emma, gathering her inner strength, looks away and responds curtly:

" Sometimes... Mr. Carter, it’s better to focus on the work rather than the illusions. Especially between boss and secretary."

Emma’s response is like a sharp blow. Benjamin leans back in his chair, a barely perceptible smile on his lips, but something in his gaze betrays surprise. He’s not used to such direct answers.

" Direct... " he says, unable to hide his surprise ". It’s not common to hear something like that around here."

Emma picks up some papers, her posture still impeccable. Not a tremor in her hands. Calm is her shield.

Emma steps back, with a stance that leaves no room for doubt. Benjamin, hearing her sharp tone, feels a small pang of confusion.

" If I was too kind, I apologize. That wasn’t my intention, to leave room for misinterpretation. Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

The silence lingers between them. Benjamin watches her maintain her upright posture, her unshakable calm. There’s something in her tone, something in her attitude, that reminds him of his ex-wife, Anne. But he quickly pushes that thought aside. Emma walks away with the same calculated distance she showed when she arrived, and something stirs in his stomach, as though he’s forgotten something important, but he doesn’t know what. He feels perplexed.

"Professionalism... " Benjamin murmurs, his voice softer, almost to himself.

That response, that look. She’s not just a professional secretary, he thinks. There’s something else about her, something he refuses to acknowledge but cannot ignore. The question arises before he can stop it.

" Who are you, really, Emma Moore?"

Later that night, Lucas intercepts Emma in one of the building’s hallways. The conversation is brief but heavy with subtle venom. Lucas warns her, with a veiled tone, about "secretaries who want more than they should." It’s a threat disguised as advice, one that Emma picks up on immediately. He tries to intimidate her, insinuating that her place is clear: she should stay in her role, with no further ambitions.

Emma maintains her composure, her gaze fixed on him with a calmness that is almost unsettling. Yet, inside, she feels a stab of anger. Lucas is seeing it all wrong. The rules of her game are far more complicated than Lucas could ever imagine.

And she would never again make the mistake of getting involved with Benjamin Carter.

On Saturday morning, Anne Walker is in her apartment, a discreet, sober space, almost devoid of personality. Nothing that screamed ostentatious luxury, but everything perfectly measured. A reflection of who she had become. Entering the bathroom, she sheds the clothes she wore throughout the week — a professional yet impersonal outfit — and replaces it with something different. Her attire today wasn’t haute couture, but it was a carefully calculated choice. The black dress, fitted to her body, was simple, yet elegant. What had once been a choice over the years, a symbol of her past, was now a battle outfit. The innocence that once shone in her eyes had long faded. It had been replaced by the cold determination of someone who knows exactly what she wants, someone no longer playing by chance.

She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, contemplating her reflection. The face she saw was the same, but something had changed. There was no room for doubt, for hesitation anymore. She wasn’t the same person she used to be. Time had shaped her, and her eyes reflected that experience, that awareness that everything she had achieved up to this point had been a strategy, and the future would be no different.

The phone vibrated on the kitchen table, breaking the morning silence. It was a reminder. The meeting with M&S was approaching. Anne didn’t need to do much more than a simple touch-up to her makeup, a precise stroke of lipstick, before taking her coat and heading out. The appointment was confirmed, and everything seemed in order.

Upon arriving at the café, she blended into the crowd of customers enjoying the peaceful murmur around them. Everything in the place was designed to offer calm, allowing important conversations to flow uninterrupted. She didn’t need to stand out, not today. She knew exactly how to be invisible when needed.

The M&S representative, a man in his fifties with a neatly trimmed beard and calculating eyes, was already there. Next to him, a cup of coffee untouched, signaling he was waiting for someone. Anne didn’t bother to wait any longer. She walked toward him with the confidence of someone who already knows the conversation is won before it even begins.

" Mrs. Walker, a pleasure. " The man said as he stood up immediately, extending his hand. Anne’s gaze didn’t change. She took it firmly, but without haste.

" The pleasure is mine, Mr. González. " She responded.

The waiter served them, but neither of them hurried to eat. They both knew the coffee wasn’t the important thing, it was the conversation that would follow.

" I heard your firm is exploring new opportunities for further expansion. " Anne began, straightforward, her tone direct but without forcing the pressure.

González nodded, the answer to Anne’s question already implicit in his gesture. The firm had been considering other alternatives, but previous negotiations had failed. Anne’s offer wasn’t a coincidence. She had been aware of the growing unrest within M&S to find the key that would connect them to the future, but previous decisions had been tainted by a lack of vision.

" Yes, we’re exploring new routes " González replied, maintaining a neutral tone.

Anne smiled faintly, sensing the emptiness of his response.

" What M&S is proposing is interesting, but it’s not what you really need " she said, her words short and precise.

The representative looked at her, intrigued but cautious. He knew that something wasn’t going to be as simple as it seemed. Anne never took a step without carefully measuring each potential consequence. The calm with which she spoke concealed the precision of her strategy, one that had already been plotted in her mind, carefully designed to leave no room for doubt.

Anne offered a tempting alternative: a quiet collaboration with an emerging company that, by coincidence, had ties to her family. There were no threats, no boasts. Just an irresistible offer, one they couldn’t refuse.