That night, the office had a peculiar vibe, as though the walls held the memory of the nearly shared moment between Aria and Mr. Reid. The facility had become quiet, with only the dim overhead lights and the waning brightness from outside illuminating it. The majority of the staff had left. Aria pretended to complete her work while she sat at her desk, but her mind kept returning to the look he had given her earlier. Her body responded before her head could catch up, despite her attempts to ignore it—she needed focus, not distraction. She gasped at every sound coming from his office. She felt a surge of excitement even at the little sound of a drawer closing. She questioned whether she was dreaming or if he was experiencing the same strain.
Finally gathering her belongings, she hesitated, not knowing if she should go silently. Despite the boundaries they were meant to uphold, it felt impolite. She got up, straightened her blouse, inhaled deeply, and made her way to his office. Light streamed into the dark hallway via the slightly open door. She gently knocked. "Enter," he said in a familiar, quiet voice. He was examining documents while bending over his desk when she entered. She could see by the fleeting flicker in his eyes that he didn't anticipate seeing her again tonight when he looked up. He asked in a controlled tone, "Heading out?" yet something softened behind it. Aria nodded, not understanding why her heart began to pound more forcefully.
Although that wasn't the true reason she arrived, she stated, "I wanted to return the earlier file." He observed her for a time, clearly picking up on the faint tremble in her voice. He closed the folder and said, "You're staying late a lot." "Are you overworking yourself or managing the workload?" She shifted her weight and gulped. "All I want is to succeed." He walked around his desk and nodded slowly. He said, "You are doing well," in a softer voice than she had anticipated. "Better than I thought." The intimacy of his presence made her heart skip a beat, yet his words warmed her chest. He didn't need to touch her, so he didn't. Just being close to him caused a subtle, indisputable current to flow through her. She pondered whether he too experienced it.
She smelled the subtle whiff of his perfume as he passed her to switch off a lamp; it was warm, clean, and unnerving in the greatest way. With his hands in his pockets, he stopped close to the window to see how the city lights blended with the pitch-black sky. Without turning, he abruptly said, "You remind me of someone." Uncertain of what that meant, Aria blinked. "Who?" After hesitating, he glanced over his shoulder. "Someone is motivated. Someone who was unaware of their own potential Attracted by the unadulterated quality of his voice, she moved in closer. "Did they succeed?" she murmured. A slow smile tugged at his mouth. "More than they anticipated." since they ceased to hold themselves back. She felt a faint thrill as the sentence remained between them, heavy and suggestive.
Standing a little distance away from him, Aria wasn't sure if she should answer or just wait for the stillness to end. Mr. Reid turned completely, the warm office glow softening his enigmatic visage. He murmured, almost too softly, "You don't have to be cautious around me." Her breath caught. She answered, "I'm not cautious," but the truth was shown by the faint crack in her voice. He moved in near enough to pull her into his gravitational pull, but not far enough to breach a line. "You are," he muttered, "but I'm not sure if that's because you're being cautious or because you're being professional." She was struck by the words more deeply than she had anticipated, and all she could do was stare back, torn between two responses that she wasn't ready to say out loud.
His intense yet patient gaze lingered on her, waiting for something she was unable to provide just yet. In an attempt to gather her thoughts, Aria lowered her gaze. She said, "I just don't want to make a mistake." "You won't," he said in a tone that was almost comforting. "Not with me." Heat raced through her chest at that admission. To stop her hands from shaking, she made herself breathe slowly. Despite her body's resistance, she eventually said, "I should get going." He nodded, but it was clear from his look that the situation hurt him. "All right," he muttered. "Aria, good night." Her heart leaped once more at the slow, deliberate way he pronounced her name. Attempting to conceal the mounting heat in her cheeks, she turned to face the entrance.
His words halted her as she went for the doorknob. "Aria." Slowly, she turned to face him. Instead of approaching her, he rested against the edge of his desk with his arms crossed and an unreadable but unmistakable gaze on her. He said, "You can come to me if anything feels overwhelming." "Not only as your boss." Subtle but clear, the implication hovered in the air. With her heart pounding so loudly that it echoed in her ears, Aria felt her breath catch. Her voice was hardly steady as she muttered, "Thank you." He gave her a single nod, seemingly dismissing her, but the spark in his eyes made it clear that this was more than just a good night. Neither of them dared to respond to the invitation.
The air felt different as she entered the empty hallway; it was quieter and colder, but it was unmistakably electrified. For a minute, she leaned against the closed office door, allowing her heart to calm. She was aware that their tension was changing and becoming more intense than any of them had anticipated. Something perilous. It's magnetic. Even from behind the glass walls of his office, she could feel the weight of his gaze as she eventually made her way to the elevator, as though he was still watching her go. Her thoughts were consumed by his voice, his intimacy, and the fleeting moments that drew them back into each other's circle, even as the elevator's gentle hum filled the hallway. This was no longer a fantasy for her. He wasn't either.