I set my glass down with a soft thud, meeting his gaze without blinking. “No.”
He tilted his head. “No?”
“One,” I said, voice even, “it was after work. She’s free to dance however the hell she wants when she’s not on my clock. Two,” I let my tone drop a fraction lower, the kind that made grown executives rethink their careers. “nobody in the company is stupid enough to bring it up to me. They know better.”
Dalton chuckled under his breath. “Scaring your own people into silence. That’s one way to do it.”
“And three,” I continued, ignoring the jab, “Elise is the most professional employee I’ve got. She’s earned the right to have a personal life without it being picked apart by people who wouldn’t last a day in her shoes. Anyone who questions that answers to me. And I don’t give second warnings.”
Dalton raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. You made your point.”
“Good,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Then we won’t bring it up again.” I took another sip of my brandy. “As for the progress I’m making... She’s a professional. Keeps her distance. I knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
And that was putting it lightly. I’d spent weeks testing boundaries; lunches that blurred into late-night check-ins, compliments that sounded too personal to be managerial. Every move had to be calculated, controlled. Not too forward, not too distant. I couldn’t scare her off, but I couldn’t let her see through me either. This wasn’t attraction, it was strategy. Or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
“And yet,” Dalton said, setting his glass down, “you’re still going through with it.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed on the bar. The sudden vibration made me tense, my fingers twitching slightly before I reached for it, hoping it wasn’t something urgent.
Elise:
Did you know there’s a speakeasy hidden behind a bookstore in Louisiana?
A second text followed before I could process the first.
Elise:
I just found it online. We HAVE to stop by. Can we stop by?
I stared at my screen for a moment, the words dancing in front of me. The excitement in her message was palpable, her enthusiasm almost tangible through the screen. My lips twitched at the corners before I caught myself. It was just a text about a place she wanted to visit, but the way she worded it made something in my chest tighten, like a string being pulled too tightly.
Elise:
I promise I won’t let it interfere with work! But if you refuse to come, I will find a way to guilt-trip you. Just letting you know now.
I exhaled through my nose, shaking my head with a slight smile. I couldn’t help it. She had a way of making me soften, even in moments like these. I typed back quickly.
Nathan:
I’m not easily guilt-tripped.
Her response came almost immediately.
Elise:
That’s what you think.
I couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped me at her text. It was silly, the way she kept pushing, playful, but relentless. There was something disarming about her, something that made my defenses feel weaker than I’d like to admit.
Dalton let out a low whistle. “Is that a smile I see?”
I quickly schooled my expression into something neutral, but it was too late. The grin that had crept onto my facewas already gone, leaving behind the unmistakable trace of amusement that I couldn’t quite suppress.
“No,” I said flatly, locking my phone and setting it down on the bar beside me, trying to ignore the tug at my chest.
“Oh, it definitely was.” Dalton leaned in, grinning like he just hit the jackpot. He took a slow sip of his drink, eyes never leaving me. “Come on, man, don’t tell me you’re getting soft over a text.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I muttered, taking a deeper drink of my brandy to steady my nerves.
