Cassidy
Consciousness returns slowly.
Not all at once, but in drifting fragments.
I can feel the soft leather beneath my cheek.
Cool air against my damp skin.
The distant hum of a computer.
A man’s voice, low and panicked.
My head throbs painfully, heavy and full of static, and for a few long seconds, I can’t understand why I’m on the sofa.
Then, as my eyes open, the light blinds me, and a memory slams into focus.
I’m in Harlan’s office.
The dizziness hits me again. Too many black spots in my vision.
Oh, no.
Fuck.
My eyes snap open. I didn’t even realise they had shut again.
I’m stretched across the sofa at the side of Harlan’s office, one of the cushions wedged awkwardly beneath my head. My blazer is gone, folded over the armrest beside me, and horror floods through me so fast it almost makes me nauseous again.
The folders that were stacked neatly on the sofa earlier now litter the floor beside me, papers spilling messily from one of them.
My chest tightens violently.
“No, no—” I shove myself upright too quickly, immediately reaching for the nearest folder.
Pain pulses sharply through my skull. The room sways. My breathing is unsteady, but I can’t just lie here after all the trouble I’ve caused.
I can picture the look on his face when he gets back and realises I’ve scented up his office.
“Cassidy.”
Harlan’s voice cracks through the office sharply enough that I flinch.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt immediately, crouching awkwardly beside the sofa to gather the papers with shaking hands. “I didn’t mean to—they were all neat before, I’ll fix it—”
“Stop.” The bark in his voice freezes me instantly.
My fingers tighten helplessly around the papers, but even if I wanted to, I can’t disobey an alpha’s bark.
The office falls silent. I can feel him watching me, his attention too sharp against my already-frayed nerves. He’s sitting on his desk, close to me, but not close enough to touch. Close enough that I know exactly where he is anyway.
The weight of his attention settles between my shoulders. My fingers twitch, and I try to carefully put the things in my arms back to rights.
“I said stop moving.” His tone is clipped. He’s angry.
So, so angry.
Humiliation crashes over me so hard my eyes sting.
I’m mortified. I can’t believe I’ve done something this fucking stupid.
I’ve fainted in his office whilst lying about what I’ve been doing.
I’ve made a huge mess of things, and I don’t know how I’m meant to fix this.
I look at my watch and try even harder to control the tears desperate to fall free. I’ve interrupted his day, even if I was only out for a few minutes.
My throat tightens painfully as I try to force myself back under control.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again because I don’t know what else to say. The words wobble embarrassingly.
A horrible burning pressure builds behind my eyes, and I duck my head quickly, trying to hide it before he sees.
For a moment, neither of us speaks. Then there’s the scrape of a chair. I hear Harlan exhale sharply through his nose before expensive shoes stop directly in front of me.
“Look at me.”
I can’t.
If I do, I might actually cry.
And crying in front of Harlan Mercer after fainting in his office will genuinely kill me.
“I’m okay,” I manage weakly, still staring down at the papers clenched in my hands.
Breathe, Cassie. Breathe.
It doesn’t help.
His silence stretches between us. I swear, I can feel the disappointment rolling off him.
“Cassidy.” My name in his mouth sounds like judgement. “That’s the third time you’ve lied about your well-being today.”
He pauses, and I can’t bring myself to look at him. To acknowledge the truth in his words.
“You collapsed. From exhaustion. Probably from not caring about your health and neglecting your needs,” he continues. “You’re incapable of looking after yourself. That is not what I’d define as healthy, never mind fine or okay.”
Something inside me cracks, and the tears I’d been holding back suddenly spill free despite how hard I try to stop them.
Mortification crashes through me instantly. I turn my face away, wiping furiously at my cheeks before he can properly see.
“I’m sorry,” I choke out. “I didn’t mean to make a scene. If you could just let me—”
He drops to his knees, and I cut myself off, shock filling my entire body when he reaches for me.
I jolt away from his touch. My cheeks are wet, and I’m so sweaty. If he touches me, he’ll be revolted.
He’s angry enough. I don’t need to make things worse.
Harlan sighs, leaning back on his ankles, giving me space, and I try harder to get control over my body.
“Look at me.” His voice is softer this time, but no less firm.
I can’t. If I look at him now, I’ll shatter completely. My body feels like it’s made of glass—one wrong move, and I’ll break.
“Cassidy,” he barks, and my eyes obey him rather than me. “This can’t go on any longer. This is not how anyone should behave, let alone you.”
The implication of his words slices through me.
Not how anyone should behave, let alone you.
Of course, this is worse because it’s me.
My stomach twists violently, the nausea bubbling without restraint. I can’t believe I’ve let this happen.
Harlan’s spent weeks watching over me, correcting me every single time I mess something up.
I’ve been a burden he never once asked for, and now I’ve proved him right once and for all.
I’ve fainted in his office whilst he’s trying to discipline me for not being good enough.
“I know, I know I’ve been causing issues,” I whisper, the words barely audible. “I keep apologising, and I know it’s not good enough.”
Harlan’s brows pull together slightly, and the intensity in his gaze makes me want to look away, but I can’t. He’s got me pinned, his command holding me here, frozen and exposed.
“I’m not talking about your apologies,” he says, his voice low. “I’m talking about you.”
“I know I’ve caused all of this,” I continue quickly, my voice shaking harder the longer he looks at me.
“I know I shouldn’t have been looking through things that weren’t mine or staying late, and I know this probably looks really bad, but I thought if I could just fix it before anyone noticed, then—”
“Cassidy.”
The word sends panic skittering down my spine. Somehow, I’ve said the wrong thing again.
Tears blur my vision harder, hot and impossible to stop now.
“I’m sorry,” I choke out. “I know you’re frustrated with me. I really am trying to be better.”
Something dangerous flickers across Harlan’s face, his control tightening so visibly that my skin prickles.
His jaw tightens hard enough that I can see the muscle jump beneath his skin, and suddenly, all of his focus narrows entirely onto me in a way that makes my pulse stumble unevenly.
“Frustrated,” he repeats flatly.
The word sounds wrong coming from him.
“I collapsed in your office and made a mess of your work,” I say weakly, gesturing helplessly towards the files all around us. “You have every right to be upset with me for being careless.”
For one horrible second, he actually looks genuinely shocked.
Then, Harlan drags a hand down his jaw and looks away, like he’s trying to gather himself before speaking.
He looks furious in a way that has nothing to do with the scattered papers or the fainting.
Not even the lying from earlier.
When he finally does speak, his voice is lower.
“I do not care about the fucking paperwork.”
The force behind the words makes me drop my gaze to my lap instead. My heartbeat races painfully, and my palms are bleeding where my nails have pressed into them.
I don’t understand what else could be bothering him.
“From the very first day, you assumed you were being punished,” he says finally.
Each word clipped and deliberate, the fury impossible to miss.
“You were moved because you were being exploited, Cassidy. You were overworked and manipulated into taking on everyone else’s responsibilities whilst running yourself into the ground. ”
He gestures at me now as if saying ‘look at the proof.’ My eyes widen.
My thoughts feel sluggish, like I can’t make them catch up to reality. Surely, this isn’t true.
“That’s…” My voice comes out small. “That’s not really what happened.”
His expression darkens instantly, and I hate that he’s down on my level, sitting on the floor in front of me.
It makes it harder to hide from his anger.
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” I shake my head weakly. “They just needed a little bit of help. Nobody was exploiting me.”
“And you decided that meant sacrificing yourself for them?”
The question hits too close to something raw inside me. I look away immediately.
Harlan swears quietly beneath his breath.
“You were moved so you didn’t keep doing work that was never yours to begin with,” he continues, anger bleeding through the rigid control in his voice now. “And here you are, an absolute mess after doing it again. Yet, you still think I’m angry because you inconvenienced me?”
My throat tightens painfully. Because… isn’t it?
“You don’t understand,” I whisper. “I still did everything I was supposed to. I chose to do it. I can still fix—”
“No,” Harlan says harshly. “You don’t understand.”
The intensity behind the words makes my chest tighten.
He shifts closer without touching me, close enough now that I can see the strain pulling at the corners of his eyes, the frustration carved hard into every line of his body.
“This,” he says tightly, gesturing towards me with visible restraint, “is not normal behaviour.”
Shame burns through me instantly. “I know.”
“You’re fainting from exhaustion, Cassidy.”
The tears start falling harder again no matter how desperately I try to stop them.
“I know,” I repeat brokenly.
His jaw flexes.
And for one brief second, something flashes across his face so raw it steals the breath from my lungs entirely. He turns, composing himself.
When he turns back towards me, his hazel eyes fix directly onto mine.
“Wait here,” he barks, then storms from his office.
The command hits hard enough that my spine straightens automatically.
The words settle deep beneath my skin, my body obeying before I can even think about arguing.