Private meeting

They hadn’t made it far down the hallway when Richard slowed and nodded toward the corner office at the end of the row.

“Walk with me a sec?”

Emily blinked. “Sure.”

He held the door for her, ushering her into his office—spacious, warm with dark wood, soft amber lighting, a quiet hum of distant traffic outside the windows. A long leather couch faced the desk, but he gestured to a pair of chairs arranged for conversation.

“Sit,” he said. “I won’t keep you long.”

She lowered herself slowly, bag still on her shoulder, legs crossed at the ankle.

Richard settled into the other chair, hands folding casually over one knee. “I want to be honest with you, Emily. I’ve had a bad feeling about Martin for a while now.”

Emily’s eyebrows lifted.

“I can’t say anything definitive yet,” he continued, tone even, “but I’ve had IT running some checks. Cross-referencing emails, HR reports, a few other internal complaints. It’s been… slow. But I don’t like patterns. And Martin’s showing some.”

Emily felt her pulse rise—not from fear, but something closer to vindication.

“I’d forgotten you were back today,” Richard added, smiling faintly. “It was pure luck I ran into you outside that office. I’m heading out in an hour—client meetings across three states, probably gone all week. If I hadn’t caught you…”

He let the sentence trail off.

Emily swallowed. “Thank you. For walking in with me.”

He waved that off. “You handled yourself well. Didn’t let him steer the tone.”

There was a brief silence. Then Richard stood, straightening his jacket.

“Come on. Let’s get you back to your day. No one should be buried in paperwork their first day back.”

She stood too, grateful and—oddly—flushed. He opened the office door for her.

As she stepped through, his hand moved with hers, arm brushing forward to hold the door—but just as she passed, his knuckles grazed softly across the side of her chest. Quick. Almost careless.

She didn’t flinch. Didn’t stop.

The door clicked softly closed behind her.

She took four steps down the hallway, her heels tapping steady.

And then she stopped.

Did that just happen?

Her heart thudded once, hard. A single beat of heat and uncertainty.

Then she moved on.