25. I’m Sorry
I’m Sorry
A lex’s voice broke through the silence, soft and uncertain. “T-they locked us inside? How’d they do that…?”
Cassie gave the handle a final shake and sighed. “We had some security issues a few years ago. We installed this thing so we could track who went in and out,” she said, slapping the small box on the wall. One guess who controls access.”
Alex didn’t move at first. Just looked down at their hands resting in their lap. Then they inhaled slowly, voice low and raw. “I r-really am sorry, Cassie.”
That hit like a shock to her system. The quiet sincerity in their voice.
The way it cracked just slightly pulled something loose in her chest. “I think you’ve apologized enough, Alex,” she said.
She saw Alex flinch ever so slightly, preparing for another blow.
And she knew she did that. She caused that.
Alex, sweet and caring. Always. Even when she gave them every reason not to be .
Cassie’s voice wavered but she didn’t stop. “No. I mean… I owe you an apology.”
Alex looked up, startled. Cassie moved to sit across from them, her jaw starting to tremble despite the strength in her spine. “For yesterday. For before that. For everything.”
She blinked quickly, but the tears came anyway, threatening to spill over. “I was so angry. Not just at you. At the whole damn situation. At Frank. At Eddie. Even Leah. At the system that let this happen. But mostly… at myself.”
Her voice cracked. She didn’t try to hide it. She owed Alex this. All of it. No matter how painful it was for her. “For not seeing it coming. For getting my hopes up. For wanting something so badly and not even imagining a scenario where it didn’t happen.”
A tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another. She swiped at them, frustrated, but the flood had already started. “I told myself you had to have known. Because if you didn’t, then what? Then maybe I just wasn’t good enough. Maybe I never had a chance.”
Her voice broke completely now, shoulders shaking as the words tumbled out.
“And that thought… it destroyed me. Because I’ve worked so hard, Alex.
I’ve fought for everything I have. And when it felt like someone just walked in and took it away, someone I…
cared about. Someone I thought cared about me.
It hurt so much I didn’t know what to do with it. ”
She was crying fully now, wiping at her face, trying to breathe, but still holding eye contact. “I was wrong. You’ve done everything you can to make this right. And I… I should have seen that sooner.”
Cassie paused. Her breath shaky, as she tried to hold onto her emotions a little longer. “I don’t hate you. I never hated you. I just… didn’t know how to handle how much I cared. And how much it hurt. ”
Alex didn’t move for a second. Just sat there, hands clenched together, jaw tight, like they were holding themselves still out of sheer force of will.
Then slowly, carefully, they stood and walked around the coffee table between them.
Tentatively, they sat on the edge of the chair beside Cassie…
close, but not touching. Not assuming. Their hand shook slightly where they placed it on the arm of the chair for balance.
Their voice was barely above a whisper. “C-cassie… I don’t think I’ve ever deserved someone’s grace as much as I do right now. And I don’t think I’ve ever hated myself more than I did when I realized what had been taken from you.”
They looked at her, their own eyes glassy now.
They paused, the shake in their breath mirroring Cassie’s.
“When I found out… when I saw your face that first day—” They looked down at their hands.
“I almost quit that week. I thought maybe the best thing I could do was leave. Let you take the job you deserved.”
They turned to her again, eyes wet but steady. “But then I thought… maybe the better way to fix this was to prove you were right. That the expansion project could work. That you were ready. That you’ve always been ready.”
Their voice dropped, the tears finally spilling over.
“Y-you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.
You didn’t deserve any of this. And I’m so sorry for the part I played in hurting you.
Even if I didn’t mean to. Even if I didn’t see it coming.
” They exhaled, tears trailing unbidden down their cheeks.
“I just wanted you to know the truth. All of it. And I wanted you to know that I never stopped caring. Not for a second.”
Cassie let out a quivering breath, trying to blink back the fresh tears that threatened to spill again.
She wasn’t sure how her heart could feel so full and so broken at the same time.
“I hated—,” she whispered, voice catching.
“I hated how much I liked you. How easy it was to fall for you before I even knew your name. ”
She gave a soft, bitter laugh, swiping at her cheek.
“And then when you walked into that office. When I realized it was you taking the job I thought was going to be mine. I felt like the world had just... I don’t even know.
Everything I thought before… felt like a lie.
A conspiracy. A giant joke everyone was in on… I was the butt of.”
She shook her head, looking down at her clenched hands.
“I told myself you had to have known. That you were just another rich kid handed something I’d worked my ass off for.
It was easier to be angry than to feel… hurt.
” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she exhaled hard, trying to pull herself together.
But she didn’t look away from Alex this time.
“I didn’t want to see you,” she said quietly.
“Because every time I did, it felt like I was being reminded that I wasn’t enough. ”
She paused, letting the silence stretch, her throat tight.
“But that wasn’t fair. To you. And it wasn’t true.
Any of it. You didn’t take anything from me.
You walked into a mess you didn’t create, and you tried to fix it.
Even when I made it impossible.” Her gaze softened, lips trembling as she added, “You cared. Even when I didn’t deserve it. And I see that now.”
Cassie reached out slowly, fingers brushing Alex’s hand. She didn’t take it, just let the contact speak for her. “I’m still mad,” she admitted, voice soft. “Not at you. Not anymore. Just… at all of it. But I don’t hate you, Alex.” Taking their hand now, she squeezed it gently. “I never really did.”
Fresh tears shimmered in Alex’s eyes, their voice barely audible over the weight of everything between them. “Thank you,” they whispered, then paused. They drew in a deep, trembling breath. Their voice heavy but hopeful. “Do you think I could hug you?”
Cassie nodded, eyes still wet. “Yeah,” she breathed. “Yeah, I think I… would really like that. ”
Alex stood slowly, giving her time to change her mind, but when Cassie stood and leaned in too, the embrace that followed was quiet and grounding; arms around each other like they were holding together the pieces they’d both been trying to carry alone.
It wasn’t fiery or desperate. It was warm. Solid. Safe.
When they finally pulled apart, Cassie didn’t go far. Her fingers still grazed Alex’s side, her gaze searching. And then, softly, she leaned in. Just a breath and brushed her lips across Alex’s jaw. Barely there. A whisper of contact.
Alex stilled, eyes wide, heart visibly in their throat.
And then—The door burst open.
“Okay, I gave you so much time,” Kellan declared as they swept into the office like a human exclamation point.
“I thought I was going to hit menopause waiting out there.” They froze for half a second when they took in the teary eyes and lingering closeness, then, without hesitation, wrapped both of them in a giant hug, arms flung around their shoulders.
“I knew it!” they grinned, squeezing tight.
“You two were so overdue for a good cry and a little emotional breakthrough. God, I love being right.”
They pulled back just enough to look between them, eyes sparkling with affection. “Now. Please tell me you’re gonna kiss soon so I can really brag.”
Alex groaned, blushing deeply as they buried their face in their hands. Cassie let out a shaky laugh and smacked Kellan’s arm.
“Could you not right now?” she said, but there was no heat behind it, only fond exasperation.
The moment, heavy just seconds ago, melted into something warmer. Softer. Lighter.
Kellan grinned, eyes twinkling. “Okay, okay. No kissing… yet. But can we talk about what is about to happen? ”
They stepped back, spreading their arms like a showman. “Are you ready to nab the biggest client The Sharpe Agency has ever had?”
Cassie exchanged a look with Alex, her expression deepening into something determined, confident. Alex mirrored it. “Yeah,” Cassie said. “We’re ready.”
They each split off to grab their laptops and essentials from their offices. A few minutes later, they reconvened—this time in the conference room, sunlight pouring in like a promise.
Cassie and Alex settled in across from one another, laptops open, focus clicking into place like a switch had been flipped. The moment for vulnerability had passed. Now came the moment for action.
But Kellan, hovering in the doorway, held up a finger.
“Wait… don’t start without me. I’ll be right back with caffeine and pastries.
” They pointed at both of them with a mock-serious expression.
“I want synergy when I return.” Then they vanished down the hall with a dramatic, “Don’t mess this up while I’m gone! ”
The door clicked softly behind Kellan, and for a moment, the room felt still again.
Cassie looked down at her laptop, then over at Alex. “That was… a hell of a morning.”
Alex huffed a quiet laugh, their hand brushing the edge of the conference table. “Understatement of the year.”
They sat in silence for a moment, comfortable this time.
Cassie turned her chair slightly toward Alex. “I meant what I said before. About all of it.”
Alex met her eyes, something tender but steady in their gaze. “I know. And I heard you. Really heard you.”
Cassie nodded once, then cleared her throat and pulled her laptop closer. “Okay, okay. No more crying before noon.”
Alex gave a small smile. “Is that a rule now? ”
“Absolutely. Also… no kissing in the office. Apparently.”
Alex flushed again, chuckling softly. “I wasn’t planning on it. Not yet, anyway.”
Cassie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t challenge the “yet.” Instead, she tapped her keyboard. “Alright, let’s make sure we don’t look like emotionally wrecked disasters when we present.”
Alex leaned in, peeking at her screen. “Agreed. Let’s be the competent, highly professional, emotionally wrecked disasters they pay us to be.”
That made Cassie laugh, truly laugh, for the first time in a while.
And that’s exactly how Kellan found them five minutes later when they burst back in, coffees balanced precariously in one hand, a bag of pastries dangling from the other. “Okay, lovebirds and business nerds. Time to work.”