Semua Bab When My Body Learned Your Name: Bab 31 - Bab 40

ANNAI was convinced everyone knew.The moment I stepped out of the elevator and into my department, that certainty wrapped around me like a too-tight coat. Every glance felt heavier than usual. Every pause in conversation felt deliberate. I imagined whispers trailing behind me as I walked—That’s her. She slept in his office. That’s the one.I kept my head down, shoulders squared, posture professional. Normal. Absolutely normal. Nothing to see here except an exhausted analyst returning to her desk after an obscene number of hours at work.Still, my face felt warm.I slid into my chair and powered on my computer, my fingers hovering over the keyboard as if I might forget how to use it. My reflection stared back at me from the dark screen—hair neat, makeup minimal but polished, expression carefully neutral.Too neutral, maybe.I adjusted the hem of my blouse, suddenly hyperaware of how good it felt. The fabric was soft, structured, nothing like the stiff, utilitarian clothes I usually w

ANNAEverything was going well.Suspiciously well.The music was loud enough to drown out my thoughts, the lights low enough that I didn’t feel watched, and my body had finally stopped holding itself like it was bracing for impact. Eva was dancing with abandon, Solange had somehow acquired shots I didn’t remember ordering, and Arian was deep in conversation with a woman who looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine.I was laughing. Actually laughing.Which was probably why I didn’t notice him at first.“Hey,” a voice said close to my ear.I turned, already smiling—then paused.He was tall, attractive in a polished way, wearing a blazer that probably cost more than my monthly grocery bill. His smile was easy, confident.“Hi,” I said cautiously.“I’ve been trying to get your attention for like five minutes,” he said. “I was starting to think you were ignoring me on purpose.”I glanced behind him, half-expecting Eva to be pulling faces or Solange to be giving me an exaggerated thumbs-u

ANNAThe shock didn’t come gently.It slammed into me all at once, hard enough to steal the air from my lungs.Not when his mouth claimed mine.Not even when my body responded like it had been waiting for permission.It came when my mind finally caught up.My hands flattened against his chest, fingers splayed, palms warm against solid muscle. I pushed—not hard, but enough to signal intent.“Carson,” I breathed, breaking the kiss just barely. “We can’t—”The rest of the sentence never made it out.He didn’t step back. He didn’t hesitate. He simply tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, closing the distance I’d tried to create like it had never existed.My breath hitched sharply.“Stop,” I said, but the word came out weak, unraveling as soon as it touched the air.His mouth found mine again instantly, swallowing the protest, turning it into something softer, slower. The kiss changed—not less intense, but deeper, more deliberate, like he was trying to make me forget why

CARSONThe office smelled like stale coffee and printer toner, but I barely noticed. My attention was elsewhere, focused entirely on the spreadsheets, projections, and reports spread across my desk. Everything had been fine yesterday. Everything should have been fine. And yet, there was a gnawing sensation in the pit of my stomach that told me otherwise.That’s when I saw her.Anna.She was sitting at her desk like she belonged there—which, of course, she did—but it was the way she moved, the sharp precision with which she reviewed documents, the slight furrow of concentration on her brow. I felt it before I even consciously registered it: a tension that was hers, but somehow it radiated, drew me in.Grace’s voice cut across the room.“Anna, study this file. Not just your department’s, but Carson’s,” she said, tone clipped and reluctant. She didn’t even look at me, as if I didn’t exist, which I knew she wished she could have pulled off. But her hands shook slightly, betraying the fact

ANNAI woke before my alarm, heart already thudding in my chest. Today wasn’t just another day at the office—it was the day. The presentation. The one Carson had personally asked me to handle. I sat up in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying yesterday’s meeting over and over in my mind.I can do this, I whispered to myself. I’ve done the recalculations, triple-checked everything, and I know this report inside out. I can do this.But even as I tried to convince myself, a familiar tightness coiled in my stomach. I tugged my blouse over my shoulders and smoothed my skirt down for the fifth time. My hair had a life of its own, threatening to fall across my face in waves no matter how much I pinned it back. I glanced at my reflection and frowned. My usual “office-ready” confidence felt like a thin mask stretched over nerves that had no intention of calming.By the time I got to the office, the building hummed with the early-morning energy I both hated and secretly thrived on. People rush