The message burned in her inbox like an ember that wouldn't go out.
They're watching you now.
Be careful who you trust.
R.J.
No signature. No trace. Just fear, coded in restraint.
Amara closed her laptop slowly, as if that could stop her hands from shaking. Her office didn't have walls, it had glass. Transparent. Exposed. She sat perfectly still in her chair, willing her breath to steady.Be careful who you trust.She thought of Seth.
Of how his eyes softened when he called her dangerous. Of how he said he wanted to protect her but never once told her the truth. That night, she didn't go home.
She stayed in the building not out of obligation, but defiance. She needed to *know*. What they were hiding. What he wasn't saying. The file was gone. The message was gone. But her memory wasn't.
At 10:17 p.m., she walked the quiet hallway to the executive wing.
The lights were dim. Seth's door was half-open. She pushed it gently.
He was at his desk, coat off, white shirt sleeves rolled, glasses low on his nose as he read a file by desk light.When he looked up, something unspoken passed between them."You're not supposed to be here," he said, voice low."I know." He sat back slowly, studying her. "Then why are you?"Amara stepped inside, closed the door behind her.
"Because I don't want to be afraid anymore," she said. "And I don't want to pretend I don't know what's happening in this company."Seth stood, walking toward her, slow and deliberate."You shouldn't be involved in this."
"But I already am." He stopped in front of her, not touching, but close enough that her skin knew he was there."This is bigger than you think," he said."Then tell me."A pause.Then: "I can't."Silence pressed against the walls.
And finally, Amara whispered, "You're protecting the wrong people."He flinched.
Then something broke in him. He reached up slowly, gently and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
His fingers lingered against her cheek. "I've tried not to see you," he said. "I told myself you were too young. Too new. That it wasn't right." Amara's heart slammed against her ribs. "But every time I walk into this office, I look for you."She didn't speak."I look for your voice. You're calm. Your eyes. I memorize the way you carry pain like a secret, and it kills me that no one else notices."Her breath shook."You think I'm invisible," she whispered."No," he said. "I think you're everything I don't deserve."Then he kissed her.And the world narrowed.It wasn't soft. It wasn't rushed.
It was restrained like every emotion he'd buried was being held behind that kiss, *barely allowed to bleed through*.She kissed him back. Not because it was smart.
Not because it was safe.But because **for the first time**, someone saw her not as a convenience, not as a project… but as a woman worth wanting. When they pulled apart, the air was trembling."I shouldn't have done that," he whispered."I'm glad you did," she said.She left the office ten minutes later.Her hands were still shaking.But not from fear.From fire.She'd crossed a line and she didn't regret it.
But at 2:00 a.m., her phone buzzed.Unknown number. One message:
You've made your move.
Now it's ours.
R.J.