CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
I tried to act normal as I sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through my phone like I wasn’t hyperaware of every breath he took or every time his hand shifted on the steering wheel. But my head was a mess. Our kiss, the warmth of his mouth, the way he felt underneath me all played in a loop.
I told myself to stop thinking about it. To focus on work. To not look at his stupidly perfect jaw. Or mouth.
“You look beautiful today,” Nathan said suddenly, voice calm.
My head snapped toward him. “What?”
“You always look beautiful,” he repeated, eyes on the road. “That's one of your favorite blouses right? I remember the last time you wore it your hair was down. You parted it down the middle.”
I let out a small, surprised laugh. “You remembered that?”
“I remember everything about you.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but my cheeks warmed in response.
He didn’t say anything else, but I caught the faintest curve of his lips as we came to a stoplight.
When I glanced out the window again, I realized we weren’t taking the usual route to the office.
“Um, where are we going?” I wondered.
“Thought we’d stop for breakfast first.” Nathan responded.
“Breakfast?”
“You mentioned you like the muffins from Bakery Bliss,” he said. “I figured I should see what all the fuss is about.”
My heart does something stupid in my chest. Bakery Bliss is my favorite cafe. It was bright, airy, and unapologetically pink, with the best pastries in the city. It was also miles from the sleek, steel-and-glass environments Nathan preferred.
I stared at him, unsure of how to react. “So much for remembering things about me,” I looked at him pointedly. “You should know I hate being late for work.”
“I think your boss will understand.” Nathan smirked.
“I’m not so sure about that. I’ve heard people call him a hardass.”
“Office rumors. You can’t believe any of that stuff.”
I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing. “I’m his assistant, so I can confirm those are not rumors.”
Nathan snuck a glance away from the road, his own grin on full display. “Someone is mean when they haven’t had their coffee.”
“Oh no. That would be the lack of chocolate.” I said, fighting a smile.
When we pulled up in front of Bakery Bliss, I almost laughed. The pastel-pink awning looked like something out of a rom-com, and the smell of sugar and cinnamon hit the second we stepped inside.
The place was pink and unapologetically girly and Nathan—tall, suited, stoic Nathan looked wildly out of place.
I expected him to look uncomfortable, to want to torch every pink surface he could get his hands on, but he didn’t. Instead, he approached the counter like he was a regular, calm and unbothered.
A barista appeared behind the cash register. She was pretty and looked to be in her mid twenties like me. She also possessed long brown hair and pretty green eyes. Her nametag said her name was Holly.
Holly leaned slightly toward Nathan, batting her lashes like she knew the effect she had on men.
“Good morning.” she greeted, voice flirty. “What can I get for you, handsome?”
Nathan didn’t respond to her teasing. He looked at me instead. “Elise?”
“Um, I’ll have a small white mocha latte and a chocolate muffin,” I say quickly, pointing at the display.
Nathan turns back to the barista. “And a black coffee.”
Her grin faltered for a fraction of a second before she smoothly rang up our order like she’s not used to being ignored.
I reached for my purse, but Nathan shook his head. “I’ve got it.”
Of course.
When our order was ready, I grabbed my cup, expecting him to lead us toward the door. But instead, he paused, scanning the café before gesturing toward a small table by the window.
“Sit with me,” he said.
I blinked. “What about work?”
“Work will still be there in thirty minutes.”
“Nathan…”
“Please.”
I sighed, but my feet moved before my mouth could argue.
I couldn’t change what happened yesterday. I couldn’t change that everyone at the office had most likely seen the video of me grinding on Nathan. But I could control how I handled it moving forward.
And that meant boundaries. Professionalism. No more weakness.
I’ll apologize. I’ll tell him I got caught up in the heat of the moment. We’ll forget it ever happened and move on.
The plan looped in my head like a mantra as I gripped my coffee and muffin.
We sat in the warm light spilling through the window, the world quiet for once. Nathan sipped his coffee slowly while I pulled out my iPad from my purse, pretending not to notice that he was watching me.
My hands itched to fidget, but I tightened them around the Ipad instead.
“I have your agenda for the day,” I began.
“First, a creative review with the A&R team to go over new artist demos, followed by a meeting with the marketing team to finalize the upcoming summer release campaigns. In the afternoon, there’s a studio check-in with the recording artists and producers, and your fitting for your tux for the Fire and Ice Awards has been rescheduled to four.
” I rattled it off too quickly, desperate to anchor myself in the familiarity of my job.
Silence stretched, thick enough to choke me.
When I finally forced myself to look up, Nathan was leaning back in his chair, one hand braced against his jaw as he studied me.
Not the way a boss studied his assistant.
No, his gaze was heavier and sharper. The kind that burned straight through fabric and skin until it landed somewhere too private.
I swallowed hard. “That’s… that’s everything.”
He didn’t respond. Didn’t even blink. Just sat there, eyes locked on me like he could still taste last night lingering between us.
Heat crept up my neck, my pulse thundering in my ears.
“I’ll, um, get the reports you asked for yesterday when we arrive at the office and put them on your desk. And I can make these coffee to go—”
“Elise.”
The way he said my name was low and deliberate and stole the rest of my sentence from my lips.
“Yes?” My voice cracked. Perfect.
His mouth twitched, like he knew exactly what he was doing to me. “You seem tense this morning.”
I forced a laugh that sounded nothing like me. “Me? No. Not at all. Just trying to do my job.”
“Your job,” he repeated, his eyes never leaving mine. “Interesting. Because if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were nervous about being around me after last night.”
My breath caught. My carefully rehearsed apology that we should forget the kiss, that it was unprofessional and it won’t happen again, dissolved like sugar in water. Because the truth was written in the small curve of his mouth, the challenge in his stare.
He wasn’t going to let me bury this.
I gripped the Ipad tighter, trying to remember how to breathe, let alone how to form words. “I'm not.”
“Good,” he murmured, leaning forward now, elbows braced on the table. His voice dropped in a way that made my knees wobble.
My throat worked around words I wasn’t sure I wanted to say, but I forced them out anyway.
“About last night.” Nathan’s brows lifted slightly, though his gaze never wavered.
“It was beyond inappropriate,” I continued, each syllable tasting like glass.
“And it can’t happen again. We should forget it happened and move on. ”
Nathan didn’t say anything at first. He just studied me, eyes unreadable, expression still and composed in a way that made it hard to breathe. The quiet stretched long enough that I started to fidget with the edge of my sleeve.
“No.”
My head snapped up at the lone word. “No?”
He didn’t look away. “No. I want you, Elise. And all last night did was prove that you want me too.”
My stomach flipped. “That’s not—”
He shook his head once. “Don’t tell me it’s one-sided.”
Heat rushed through me, part anger, part something else I didn’t want to name. “You’re reading into it,” I managed. “It was the heat of the moment. It won’t happen again.”
Nathan leaned forward, forearms braced on the table. “You can call it whatever you want. Pretend it was the music or a lapse in judgment. But I know what I felt, and I know you felt it too.” His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that made my heart stutter
I swallowed hard, forcing my gaze down to my tablet. “It can’t happen again. You’re my boss.”
He exhaled, slow and deliberate. “I’m very aware of who I am to you. But that doesn’t change what’s between us.”
I pressed my lips together, trying to steady my breathing. “You’re making this complicated.”
Nathan’s mouth curved, though it wasn’t quite a smile. “No, Elise. You are. I’m not confused about what I want.”
My pulse jumped. “Nathan…”
He leaned closer, his voice quiet enough that only I could hear.
“You can try to hide behind professionalism, but I’m not going to pretend that kiss didn’t happen.
I’m not going to act like you’re not the only thing I think about lately.
” The words landed heavy, sharp and honest “Tell me you don’t want me,” he said quietly. “Look me in the eye and say it.”
I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.
Nathan sat back, satisfied. “That’s what I thought.”
My throat felt dry. I hated how easily he could dismantle every wall I built. How a single look from him could leave me unraveling.
I forced a breath and pushed back my chair. “We should go,” I said, hoping my voice sounded steadier than I felt. “You’ll be late for your meeting with A&R.”
Nathan didn’t move to leave, but his gaze followed me as I gathered my things. “Running away isn’t going to change anything.”
“I’m not running,” I said quickly, slipping the tablet into my bag. “I’m doing my job.”
He finally stood, tall and deliberate, like he was giving me the illusion of space without ever really offering it. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself.”
I looked up, irritation flickering through the nerves twisting in my chest. “You’re unbelievable.”
He smiled, small and knowing. “So I’ve been told.”
I reached for my coffee, desperate for something to do with my hands, but when I turned toward the door, he stepped just close enough that I had to tilt my head to look at him.
“You can keep pretending,” he said quietly. “Pretend that it didn’t happen, pretend that you don’t want it to happen again. But we both know better.”
My pulse skipped. “You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”
“Not when it comes to you.”
The words hit low in my stomach, making it impossible to hold his gaze for long. He didn’t give me a chance to respond, already heading for the Maserati as if he hadn’t just set my entire bloodstream on fire.
I followed behind, cheeks blazing, silently cursing the fact that no matter what boundaries I set, Nathan Edge clearly knew exactly how to undo me.