The office felt smaller today, tighter somehow, as if the walls themselves were pressing down on her. Liora slumped into her chair, staring at the email on her screen. Adrian had asked her to rewrite the Holloway project. Not tweak it, not polish it, rewrite the whole thing. Again. Her chest tightened, part frustration, part exhaustion.
She hated how much control he had over her work. Every word, every sentence scrutinized. Every "almost there" or "try harder" felt like a personal indictment. She loathed him, yes, but it wasn't just his demands, it was how easy it was to feel trapped under his gaze, how impossible it was to just…breathe.
Her phone buzzed. Liora glanced down to see a message from Ethan, her neighbor and closest friend outside the office. "Surviving the tyrant today?"
She couldn't help but grin. "Barely. He made me redo Holloway's project. Like, all of it. Again."
Almost instantly, his reply came. "Ugh. You've got the patience of a saint. How do you even deal with him?"
Liora leaned back, rubbing her temples. She didn't have a real answer. "Deal with him" wasn't about charm or strategy, it was about survival, staying sharp, and never giving him a reason to doubt she could handle it. She imagined Ethan shaking his head at her over coffee, probably already teasing her mercilessly.
She didn't respond. Instead, she opened the project file again, scrolling through her previous submission. Adrian's comments were sharp, precise, and unrelenting. "Not thorough enough." "Lacks perspective." "Redo section three." Each note chipped away at her patience. She hated how his perfectionism bled into every part of her day, how it made her second-guess herself.
By the time the clock hit six, she finally packed her bag, shut down her laptop, and headed for the elevator. The ride down was quiet except for the hum of machinery, the soft footsteps of other employees. She avoided eye contact, as always, wishing she could just disappear into the evening.
Outside, the city was alive with lights and noise. Liora sighed, inhaling the cool air, wishing she could just leave the day behind. Her phone buzzed again. Ethan. "Coffee at mine? You need to rant before you explode."
She smiled, a real one this time. "On my way."
The walk to Ethan's apartment was brief, a few streets away. They'd been neighbors for years, a connection that had grown from casual hellos to late-night talks and shared laughter. He was the one person who knew when to listen and when to just make her laugh until the edges of her anger softened.
Ethan greeted her at the door, a mug of steaming coffee in hand. "So? Spill. Tell me how much Adrian tortured you today."
Liora sank into the couch, letting out a frustrated laugh. "He made me redo Holloway's project. Every word. Every sentence. And for what? It wasn't even wrong. He just…decides I'm not good enough, and it's exhausting."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like the perfect reason to dump him in a volcano."
She snorted. "I'd love to. But no, I have to survive. He's the boss. If I mess this up, I'm the one paying for it."
They sat together, sipping coffee, talking, but her mind kept drifting back to the office. Adrian's words, his expectations, they lingered. There was something about the way he held power, the way he didn't need to shout or rage, that made every small correction feel like a test she could never pass.
But the deal was already forming in her mind, the one she couldn't refuse. Adrian had called her in earlier with a proposition, a professional challenge she couldn't turn down if she wanted to keep her position. It wasn't just about the project anymore, it was bigger, a step closer to recognition, a chance to prove herself. But the catch was simple: she had to do exactly as he said. No arguing, no negotiating. Just complete it, perfectly, on his terms.
Liora pressed her lips together. She hated feeling trapped, but she also hated the thought of letting an opportunity pass. She glanced at Ethan, who was watching her with a gentle smile. "You're going to nail it," he said softly, almost as if reading her thoughts.
She smiled faintly. "I hope so."
The night stretched on with the two of them talking, but Liora couldn't shake the tension building in her chest. Adrian wasn't cruel, not exactly. He was demanding, exacting, impossible sometimes, but there was also something else, something unspoken, that made her skin prickle every time she thought of him. She loathed him, yes, but she also…didn't fully understand the pull he had over her.
For now, she would focus on the project, the deal she couldn't refuse, and surviving another day under his watchful eye. Tomorrow would bring its own challenges, but tonight, at least, she had coffee, Ethan, and the small comfort of knowing someone was rooting for her outside the office walls.
And as she walked home later that night, the city lights blurring past, Liora felt a strange mixture of dread and anticipation. She hated Adrian, she really did. But she also couldn't deny that the next step in this project, this deal she couldn't refuse, was a step into something much bigger. Something that might change how she saw him. Something that, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't escape.