Page 160 of One of Those Amnesia Stories

The more I learned about him, the more the ground seemed to shift beneath my feet. Every new piece of information was another small earthquake, cracking the foundation of the story I’d spent so long telling myself.

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped onto his floor.

Rohan looked up from his desk, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before he composed himself.

“He’s free,” he said, nodding toward the closed door.

I nodded and approached.

I pushed the door open.

Cassian was at his desk, hunched over his computer, the blue light from the screen casting shadows across his focused face.

“Just give me two minutes,” he said without looking up, his fingers still flying across the keyboard. “I’m almost done with this.”

I let the door close behind me.

“How did you know I was coming here?”

His head snapped up.

Surprise flooded his features.

“Alessia.”

He was on his feet in an instant—too fast. His knee connected sharply with the edge of his desk.

He winced, grabbed at it, then straightened as though he could somehow pretend the last five seconds hadn’t happened.

“What are you—what are you doing here?” he asked, rubbing his knee absently.

I watched him hobble, a smile threatening to break through.

“I’m treating you to lunch.”

I paused, letting the words settle.

“To thank you. For taking care of me when I was sick. And for the paintball. It helped. More than I expected.”

His face softened, surprise melting into something warmer.

“Alessia, I told you. You don’t need to thank me for any of that. I wanted to—”

“Oh.” I turned toward the door, reaching for the handle. “So should I take the lunch offer back, then?”

“No.”

The word came out so fast it was almost desperate.

He was already moving, rounding his desk and heading toward me.

“Absolutely not. Let’s go. Right now. I’m ready.”

I hid my smile, keeping my back to him.

“Didn’t you just say you needed two minutes to finish something?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t need it. It can wait. Let’s go.”