***
THE DELIVERY ARRIVEDwithin an hour.
I heard it before I saw it. The shift in noise carried down the hallway, voices rising over one another, the kind of disruption that didn’t usually happen in the middle of the workday.
A light knock sounded against my office door before it opened.
I didn’t look up right away. “Yes?”
“Did you order lunch for the entire building?” Elise asked.
I glanced up then, meeting her gaze evenly. “Yes.”
Her expression tightened slightly in thought. “Why?”
“A thank you,” I said. “The team’s been handling more since I took over.”
It wasn’t entirely untrue.
I could see it in her eyes that she didn’t believe me.
“Okay,” she said finally, though the word carried more observation than acceptance. “Well… everyone seems very happy.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Guess I can save the granola bar I was going to eat for another occasion,” Elise joked.
“I guess so.”
I brought my attention back to the desk in front of me, letting the file in my hands take priority even though I wasn’t reading a single word of it.
She didn’t leave right away. I could feel it without looking, the quiet shift in the room that came with her still standing there, still watching, like she was trying to decide if there was something she was missing.
After a moment, I glanced up.
Her expression had softened, just slightly. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough that it didn’t feel like the same distance she’d been keeping all week. There was something else there now. Curiosity, maybe. Or hesitation.
Like she was piecing something together and hadn’t quite landed on the answer yet.
She gave a small nod, almost to herself. “Thank you,” she said again, quieter this time.
I returned the nod, letting the moment settle without pushing it further than it needed to go.
Another second passed before she turned and walked out, the door closing softly behind her.
I stayed where I was, my gaze still on the file in front of me, though my focus had already shifted elsewhere.
Because there were two things I was certain of, one being that she hadn’t believed the explanation I gave her. And two, that hesitation? That was something I could work with.
ELISE
I DIDN’T UNDERSTANDwho Nathan was anymore.
A week ago, I had him figured out. Or at least, I thought I did. He was demanding, impossible to please, and entirely too comfortable expecting the world from the people around him. Working for him meant long hours, constant adjustments, and very little room for error.
I knew how to handle that version of him. What I didn’t know how to handle was this one. The one who had sat across from me in his office four nights ago, insisting I stay for dinner like it wasn’t completely out of character for him to want to be around me if it wasn't work related.
The one who had looked me in the eye and encouraged me to take the opportunity with Nia like it wasn’t going to complicate both of our routines. The one who had actually followed through.
