Chapter 13 New Rules

Chapter 13: 13 New Rules

The moment we stepped out of the elevator, the atmosphere of the executive floor pressed in, thick with unspoken questions. The quiet awareness from the ride solidified into something tangible, a third presence walking between us. I could feel the weight of every glance from the assistants we passed, the subtle tilting of heads, the way conversations dipped just a fraction in volume before resuming at a more careful pitch. They were watching, and they were drawing their own conclusions. Let them. It was all part of the landscape now, a terrain I was learning to navigate.

I followed him toward the glass doors of his office, my steps perfectly matched to his, the rhythm of our movement a silent conversation. The door clicked shut behind us, sealing us in the quiet, controlled space of his domain. The familiar scent of him—cedar, smoke, and something darker that my body recognized before my mind did—wrapped around me, a constant reminder of the night before. I moved toward my desk, the one positioned diagonally from his own, a place of clear visibility but also stark exposure. I had been working here for days, yet today it felt different. More permanent. More like a designated spot on a game board where the rules had just been rewritten.

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