Jason
The conference room felt like a cage.
Glass walls, polished table, gleaming floor — all designed to project power and transparency. But none of it could mask the gnawing sense of confinement curling in Jason's chest.
His gaze remained fixed on her. Catherine.
She hadn't looked at him again. Not since that brief flicker — that second-long glance that said everything and nothing all at once. She remembered him. He was sure of it. He wasn't some forgettable stranger. He was the man she'd kissed like she was drowning and he was the only breath left in the world.
And yet now?
She acted like he didn't exist.
That night had shattered something inside him. Not just the passion — though God, that had been unforgettable — but the way she'd opened up to him, the way she'd curled into his chest like she belonged there. He hadn't just touched her skin. He'd touched something deeper.
And now she was pretending it had all been meaningless.
Jason's knuckles went white where they clenched the edge of the table.
She was fire. And she had burned herself into him.
But if she thought he was going to walk away quietly, she didn't know him at all.
This wasn't a business transaction anymore. This was personal.
And he always closed personal deals.
---
Catherine
Her screen blurred.
Catherine blinked hard, trying to focus on the meaningless line of text she'd been editing for fifteen minutes. Her fingers trembled slightly as they hovered over the keys, betraying her.
Jason was here.
Not in her dreams. Not in the guilt-heavy corners of her mind. He was flesh and blood, walking through her office like he didn't know her. Like she was just another name on a payroll.
She hated how much that hurt.
The night they'd spent together had shaken her. It had been more than chemistry. There had been something real in it — raw and terrifying. That kind of connection didn't just happen. It wasn't normal.
And yet… he hadn't come after her. Not a word. Not a call. Nothing.
So she'd buried it. Pretended it hadn't meant anything. Built up her walls again and tried to forget.
But now he was here, and he was her boss.
And her body — traitorous thing that it was — still reacted to him like he was the only man in the world.
Catherine swallowed hard and sat up straighter. She wouldn't let him see her crack. If he wanted to pretend they'd never met, she could play the part.
But God, why did it feel like her heart was being pulled in two?
---
Rina
Rina chewed her gum thoughtfully as she leaned against the filing cabinet, watching the tension in the room like it was her favorite soap opera.
She didn't know what had happened between Catherine and the new CEO — but something had. She could smell it. The way Catherine avoided looking at him. The way he kept glancing at her like he was memorizing the curve of her face.
And now that tall, broad-shouldered man with the jawline of a Greek god was marching out of the conference room with purpose.
Toward them.
"Oh boy," Rina muttered under her breath, eyes widening slightly.
---
Jason
He didn't stop to think. He just walked.
Every step toward her desk felt like crossing a battlefield. Employees glanced up, startled by his direct approach, but Jason didn't care. His eyes were locked on Catherine.
She looked up at the sound of his footsteps. Her expression froze the second she saw him.
"Catherine," he said, his voice low and deliberate.
She stood, slowly, her features arranged in a carefully neutral mask. "Mr. Wilson."
His jaw tightened. "So we're doing that?"
Her lips pressed together. "Doing what?"
He leaned in just slightly, lowering his voice. "Pretending we're strangers."
A flicker of emotion crossed her face — guilt, maybe. Or pain. He couldn't tell.
"I'm at work," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "We should keep things professional."
Jason stepped closer, just enough that only she could hear. "That's not why you're pretending."
Catherine didn't answer.
He took a breath, steadying himself. "I don't know what happened after that night, why you left the way you did. But don't stand here and tell me it meant nothing."
She flinched. "You don't get to make this about you."
He blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You think you can just waltz back into my life like you didn't disappear first?" she hissed, low enough not to be overheard. "You didn't look for me."
"I did," he said, voice quiet but firm. "You vanished. No number. No last name. You left while I was asleep."
Catherine faltered. "I had my reasons."
"Then tell me."
A long pause.
Then, softly, she said, "I was scared."
Jason's chest tightened. "Of me?"
"Of… everything." Her voice cracked. "Of how much I felt. How fast it happened. I didn't trust it. I didn't trust myself."
He nodded slowly. "Then trust me now."
She looked at him, eyes wide and uncertain, like a girl standing at the edge of a cliff.
Before she could answer, Rina's voice cut through the tension.
"Wow. Do you two want a moment? I can clear the floor if this is a scene."
Catherine stepped back quickly, cheeks flushed. "I should get back to work."
Jason didn't stop her, but his eyes followed her as she sat down and immediately buried herself in her laptop again, avoiding his gaze.
He turned to Rina, who arched an eyebrow. "Subtle," she said.
Jason gave her a look, then turned and walked away.
But the damage was done. The crack in the wall was there now — and he wasn't going to let it close.
---
Rina
As soon as Jason was out of earshot, Rina turned to Catherine with a slow grin.
"Okay. That was… something."
Catherine didn't look up. "Don't."
"Don't what? Ask why the hottest man I've ever seen just told you he wanted your trust in the middle of the office?"
"It's complicated," Catherine muttered.
Rina leaned on her elbow. "Sounds romantic. And hot. Complicated and hot is kind of my thing."
Catherine groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"Just tell me one thing," Rina said gently. "Do you still want him?"
Catherine hesitated.
"Yes," she
whispered. "But wanting him is what got me into this mess in the first place."
Rina nodded, her tone surprisingly soft. "Yeah. But maybe it's also the only way out."