na

throom stall until m

y chest feels li

t hide her

blouse, fix my hair with shaky hand

I whisper to my ref

out, walking back to my desk

locked on the screen but every time I hear a sound from his office,

't look up f

intment, send reminders and fix deadline, pretendin

control feels

the desk, I divert my focus from

message f

o

first day,

with confidence

smile tugs

e

g, b

o

en

happe

y comes

I stare at the screen

ends anoth

o

aking you o

ber Bar

thing hot, we are dri

essing on me, a small

e

. I'

e desk, ready to continue working, two coworkers stop b

soft curls give

ust be Elen

in, her voice warm. "We just wanted to

through the numb fog

it shyly. "It's

s."Join us, if you want. The cafeteria

icker of relief. "Y

rfect. We'll sw

a second, the office fe

oor behind

ps out and

ers in his hand, flipping through them with that usual

fts and our

, I swear th

ock with mine, c

for the day,"he says,

s to his

t hold me two

my name like it

my voice barely

and walks away withou

that when I finally breathe again, at least I

nd me at my desk and we wen

g plates, bursts of laughter,

, joke I watch them nudge each other

her sandwich, "how's the chaos treating

" I say, trying to

s smirks. "That's when

l this time and

e's asking the wrong questions, for a m

emails and answering calls and immediate

itted top, dark jeans, let my hair dry i

Uber acr

cool blue lights, the sign

the sidewalk lau

ells like citrus,

y, waving from a booth n

out to hug me. "You look... e

t. "Th

o the booth. "Te

he seat, rele

fine"

says, narrowing her e

I

didn't feel like a mistake until he labeled it one, then his voice on the phone this mornin

n't inter

, Julian Stone, she gasps so

er-shouts. "You sl

I hiss, burying m

e to excitement. "Are you telling me the man who ruined your l

gr

ays. "This is del

deliciou

ic but also he remembere

tight. "He told me to forg

ion softens

I whisper

ach our table. One dark-haired, one blond

e says with a smile. "Mi

. "Sure!" she chirps, mo

ile, not really in

er to me. "I'm Aaron" h

le

e," he says

faint b

d

over me, heavy,

uched the back of my neck w

wly, toward t

eath

li

the main floor. A drink in his hand.

isn't liste

taring

uiet, unreadable intensity, not co

art t

sight and whispers under

kly, pretending

feel

chi

. "You look tense.

l laugh. "Yeah

ing, but I ca

les under Ju

won't c

s he

he

t me like that after t

btly, mouthing, H

kn

he heat craw

something to him, but Julian's eyes don't move from me. Not onc

lou

hits me so har

jea

ting me off, after pretending Santorini m

jea

omething reckless, something hurt

tuck my hair behind my ear, and l

h for Juli

e attention, completely unaware he

rink, letting my lip

sn't have the power to pull

I glance

ssion has

jaw

d too firmly ar

me like I'm doin

belong

in, heat curlin

forward and whisper "Elena, he's about

per back even though m

t

ir sh

t before

ver our booth, t

eyes

ops mid-

lams again

tu

tanding right b

in that quiet, control

uncomfortable, like Julian didn'

to Aaron sharp, assessing

his voice low,

ath ca

hard. "I'm

aw fl

n't as

pers, "Oh my God,

sed. "Hey, man, we'

y, with the kind of expres

s his mout

an looks

, El

ove that his control stops

tead I stay seated

g slightly, but loud enough t

his eyes narrow, the green

e two words broke the su

the professional shield up, even though my hands are shaking beneath the table

Nora looks like she might pass out from sho

nsitioning from fury to something far m

situation, Elena," he

refusing to be the

, Julian slowly pushes his hands into

that this conversation is far from over then he t

he say to

, and disappears through the

in our booth shatters, Nora gasps, Aaron stares at

r eyes wide "Elena" she

arm. "He lo

you like you a