جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

He had both hands gripped tight on the edge of the plastic tray, leaning his entire body weight forward just to keep himself upright.His head was bowed, and his shoulders heaved as he dragged in shallow, desperate breaths.Dozens of loose papers and manila folders were scattered all over the floor around his feet.He was trying to ride out a massive dizzy spell, and he looked incredibly fragile doing it all alone."Jett," I said softly, keeping my voice low so I wouldn't startle him and make him lose his balance.He gasped and snapped his head up, his blue eyes wide and clouded with confusion.He tried to stand up straight and force a polite smile, but his knees immediately buckled under his weight.He slumped back against the side of the machine, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the plastic again."I'm fine," he choked out, his voice weak and breathy."I just... I dropped the copies on the floor."I crossed the room in two long strides and stopped right next to him.I reache

Monday changed the way everything worked between us, and the rest of the week quickly fell into a quiet, comfortable routine.Ren refused to let me work through my breaks anymore, and he made a strict rule that I was not allowed to eat lunch at my own desk.It was Thursday afternoon, and I was carrying two brown paper bags from the corner deli down the hallway.I pushed his office door open with my shoulder and walked inside, kicking the door shut behind me with the heel of my shoe.Ren was sitting at his desk, staring at a bright spreadsheet on his computer monitor while rubbing the back of his neck.He looked up when he heard the door click, and the tense lines around his mouth instantly softened."Tell me you brought the spicy mustard," he said, pushing his keyboard away to clear a spot on his desk."I brought extra, just in case they forgot to put it on the sandwiches again," I replied while setting the bags down.I pulled the wrapped food out of the bags and handed him his order,

The heavy door clicked shut, and I just sat there staring at the smooth wood for a long time.I listened to the soft sound of Jett’s footsteps walking across the carpet in the anteroom.He dropped the empty paper bags into the small trash can next to his desk and settled back into his squeaky office chair.My heightened hearing picked up the steady, calm rhythm of his heartbeat through the thick walls.I leaned back in my leather chair and let out a long, heavy breath.The tight tension that usually lived in my shoulders was completely gone.I turned my head and looked out the massive window behind my desk.The rain was still beating against the glass in a steady rhythm, washing over the grey city skyline.I loved this quiet time we spent together every afternoon.I made sure we ate our food behind a closed door all week so the rest of the company could not bother us with their endless complaints.I loved watching him relax and let his guard down while we talked about boring office go

I dropped the empty brown paper bags into the small plastic trash can under my desk and sat down in my squeaky chair.My stomach was full of warm soup, and my nerves were finally calm after spending an hour hidden away in Ren's office.I reached for my computer mouse to wake up my monitor, but a flash of movement caught my eye.I looked up through the glass panels set into his office door and saw him reaching for his private phone.The heavy wood blocked out the actual sound of the ringer, but I could tell by his rigid posture that he was not expecting a call.He lifted the receiver to his ear, and the relaxed, easy version of my boss vanished in a split second.I watched his broad shoulders tense up under his expensive dress shirt, pulling the fabric tight across his back.His jaw clenched so hard I could actually see the muscles ticking under his skin from across the room.The warm, safe atmosphere we just spent an hour building shattered, replaced by a sudden rush of cold corporate

Family politics.The words echoed loudly in my head, confirming exactly what my sensitive ears picked up through the glass.He was talking about the older families and the council demanding he honor whatever dark arrangement they had set up.My heart squeezed painfully in my chest, and a hot wave of anxiety twisted my stomach.I wanted to drop my bag on the floor, step closer to him, and ask him what was really going on in his life.I wanted to ask him if he was in actual danger, and if these older families were going to hurt him for refusing their treaty.I wanted to tell him that he did not have to carry all this stress by himself because I was right here willing to listen.But I bit the inside of my cheek hard and forced myself to stay completely quiet.I was just his secretary, and I had to remember my place in this building.I lived in a terrible neighborhood, I could barely afford my weekly groceries, and I was secretly carrying a child that defied all logic.I had absolutely no