Chapter 7 Seeing You #2
But Noah had started noticing almost everything.
He wondered if Adrian noticed him too.
The thought followed him into the meeting.
The morning passed quickly.
There were presentations, client questions, revisions, and another round of discussions about the campaign launch. Noah stayed focused on the work, but part of his attention remained fixed on Adrian.
He watched the way Adrian handled difficult questions.
The way he calmly redirected disagreements.
The way his expression barely changed when someone challenged him.
Adrian was almost impossible to read.
Almost.
Noah had discovered that there were cracks.
Tiny ones.
A glance held too long.
A pause before answering.
A brief smile.
A change in posture.
Things most people probably wouldn't notice.
Noah noticed.
And now he wanted to know why.
At lunch, Marcus called.
"How's the glamorous international assignment?"
Noah stepped outside the client building.
"Mostly spreadsheets."
"Romantic."
"You're obsessed with that word."
"I'm concerned about you."
"Why?"
"Because you're spending eight weeks with Adrian."
Noah laughed.
"You say that like I'm being held hostage."
"Are you?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Marcus paused.
"Anything interesting happen?"
Noah looked through the glass doors toward the lobby.
Adrian was speaking with Elena.
Noah lowered his voice.
"Maybe."
Marcus immediately sounded interested.
"Maybe?"
"I don't know."
"That sounds serious."
"It's not."
"Then why are you saying it like that?"
Noah hesitated.
"Have you ever thought Adrian might not actually dislike me?"
Marcus went silent.
Then he laughed.
"What?"
"I'm serious."
"You're asking me whether Adrian Cole likes you?"
"I'm asking whether he dislikes me."
"Those are not the same thing."
"I know."
Marcus laughed again.
"Noah."
"What?"
"You've been living together for three days."
"Four."
"That's worse."
Noah smiled.
"I'm just asking."
"Doesn't he?"
"I don't know."
"Then why are you wondering?"
Noah looked down.
Because something had changed.
Because Adrian's behavior didn't match his words.
Because every time Noah thought he understood the man, another detail complicated the picture.
"I think he's fighting something," Noah said.
Marcus was quiet.
"Like what?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe you should find out."
The call ended a few minutes later.
Noah returned to the building.
He didn't know whether Marcus's suggestion was serious.
But the idea had already taken root.
Maybe Noah needed to stop guessing.
Maybe he needed evidence.
The opportunity came that afternoon.
A problem with the regional presentation required them to review the final creative sequence together.
Adrian stood beside the conference table while Noah opened the presentation on the large screen.
"The transition here is too abrupt," Adrian said.
Noah looked at the slide.
"I think it's intentional."
"It doesn't feel intentional."
"That's because you're reading it as a strategist."
Adrian looked at him.
"And you're reading it as a creative."
"Exactly."
They continued discussing the sequence.
Usually Noah would have stood across the table.
Instead, he moved beside Adrian.
Closer.
Adrian noticed.
Noah knew he did.
He could feel the subtle shift in Adrian's posture.
Noah pointed toward the screen.
"If we move this frame here, the transition becomes smoother."
Adrian looked at the screen.
"That creates another problem."
"What?"
"The emotional pacing."
Noah leaned closer.
"Show me."
Adrian pointed toward the screen.
Noah moved closer again.
Their shoulders nearly touched.
Adrian stopped speaking.
Only for half a second.
But Noah saw it.
The hesitation.
The slight tightening of Adrian's jaw.
The brief change in his breathing.
Then Adrian stepped away.
"You're right about the transition."
Noah stared at him.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine."
"You seem distracted."
"I'm not."
Noah smiled.
"Sure."
Adrian gave him a warning look.
Noah turned back to the presentation.
His pulse had quickened.
He hadn't imagined it.
Adrian had reacted.
Not because Noah had challenged him.
Not because the presentation was difficult.
Because Noah had moved closer.
The realization sent a strange warmth through him.
He tried to ignore it.
He couldn't.
They continued working.
Adrian remained professional, but Noah could sense the tension now.
Every time Noah moved closer, Adrian became slightly more rigid.
Every time their hands nearly touched over the keyboard, Adrian pulled back.
It wasn't hatred.
Noah was certain of that now.
But if it wasn't hatred, what was it?
The question followed him through the rest of the afternoon.
That evening, they returned to the apartment separately.
Adrian went directly to his room to take a call.
Noah stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the counter.
He thought about the morning.
The staring.
The instruction card.
The late-night office.
The almost-kiss.
The praise.
The way Adrian had looked at him during the presentation.
The way his composure had cracked when Noah deliberately moved closer.
Noah finally understood what had been bothering him.
Adrian wasn't treating him like someone he disliked.
He was treating him like someone he was trying very hard not to notice.
And that was a completely different problem.
Noah leaned against the counter.
A slow smile appeared.
For the first time, he seriously considered the possibility that Adrian Cole didn't hate him at all.
Maybe Adrian was fighting something else.
And Noah had a growing suspicion that whatever it was had something to do with him.
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