KAIA
Mornings were supposed to reset things.
Same roads.
Same signals.
Same unnecessary traffic that never moved when it should have.
Predictable.
I liked being predictable.
The one thing that baffles me is when predictability is my trait, why am I not able to predict what happens after yesterday?
I wanted to replace my mind with so many things. My work. My campaign. What I need for the house. What should I cook today?
But no, it was all the noises and applause from yesterday. But mostly it was him.
I looked out the car window, not out of curiosity but as a creature of habit.
The point is everything felt normal. And that was the problem.
Brain blank. Heart unaware for some reason.
I adjusted my cuff sleeve. It didn;t need fixing.
I just wanted control.
Control is good.
Still there was something slightly… off.
I picked up my phone, not because I had work but I just wanted to do something. I had never felt this uneasy in my entire life.
The car stopped outside the office.
I got off and straightened myself up. I was hoping everything would be…
Controlled.
Structured.
Unchanged.
But there he was just sitting with his venomous black coffee.
I didn’t look at him, I just… passed through.
NEIL
Laptop, open.
Document, open.
Numbers? Already up.
Mind? Blank.
I did not like my mood or mode of working one bit today.
I had decided to bring the cold distant analyzer back after yesterday.
I knew that there was nothing wrong that had happened. It was just an awkward moment. Or just something where my mind tried to convince me was awkward.
I closed the document and opened it again.
Closed.
Opened.
Closed
Opened.
All I could imagine was champagne.
She was late.
Not enough to matter.
But just enough to notice.
I did not look up immediately.
I did not have to.
The shift in the room was enough.
I pretended to complete the work and then looked up.
She was… different today.
Not her formals.
Not the setting.
She just felt different.
While she was setting up her laptop on the desk and all of her other stuff. She had adjusted her sleeves twice already.
That was unnecessary.
Unlike her.
She was interesting.
KAIA
“Hey, what if we plan an event where others’ voices could be heard in public?” I asked.
“How do we raise money for that?”
“It doesn’t have to be a big event, it’s like a small communication building. Like we hear you. You could even do it in a park?” I said.
“Okay, maybe I’ll even make it work with the numbers,” he said.
“So you’re just agreeing to me.”
“Yes?” he said with a confused look.
“No fights on how you think it’s a bad idea. Or it won’t work.” I asked.
“I agree that we have had our disagreements but this seems like a good idea that’s all. It’s not a big deal.” he went back to work with a cold expression.
“Why are you so quiet today, like no questions or curiosity?” I regretted that sentence the second it left my lips.
“You paid attention to that,” he said.
I stepped in closer.
He looked at me, his gaze not shifting.
“Nervous much?”
My instincts were telling me to go back. I had no idea what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. But it made him nervous which was kind of satisfying.
“Do you want me to think I’m nervous?” he asked, almost giving me a smirk.
I was embarrassed, I rolled my eyes and said “whatever jerk.”
I could feel that smile as I was trying to walk away.
“Kaia, what happened yesterday…” Before he finished that sentence I cut him off.
“It was one moment.” I sighed. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Exactly.” he said. It shouldn’t have affected me but it did.
He got up and in a second we were too close.
I felt his breath. My eyes were down, his muscles popped up through that powder blue shirt. As I lifted my eyes my heart started beating fast, my mouth was dry and his lips were… tempting.
He did not back down.
NEIL
She did not back down. I locked my eyes with her, the black eyes were enough for a man to get consumed. She wore a strong cologne, her lips were perfectly curvy, her hair was wavy and pretty. She was the epitome of beauty I never noticed.
KAIA
“You think that just… happens?” I asked.
His jaw tightened.
“It did.”
“That wasn’t random.”
“It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
There.
Denial.
Clear.
Precise.
Wrong.
NEIL
She moved closer again.
Not accidental.
Challenging.
“And you’re okay with that?” she asked.
I held her gaze.
“I’m focused on the work.”
Her lips parted slightly.
Not to speak.
Just—
reaction.
That didn’t help.
KAIA
“Of course you are,” I said.
I moved past him—
or tried to.
He didn’t move.
I stopped.
Too close.
Again.
“You’re in the way.”
“Then go around.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Then don’t.”
A pause.
Neither of us moved.
His presence wasn’t loud.
It didn’t have to be.
It was—
there.
NEIL
She was closer than before.
Not by much.
Enough.
I could see it now.
The shift in her expression.
Not irritation.
Not entirely.
Something else.
“You’re avoiding it,” she said.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m choosing not to make it something it isn’t.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“And what is it?”
That—
was a mistake.
KAIA
He didn’t answer immediately.
For the first time—
he paused.
That was new.
I stepped closer.
Closed the distance.
“Say it,” I said.
His gaze dropped.
Just for a second.
Then back to my eyes.
That second—
stayed.
NEIL
That wasn’t controlled.
It should have been.
It wasn’t.
“There’s nothing to say,” I replied.
Her breath hitched.
Barely.
I noticed.
Of course I did.
KAIA
“All right.” I said.
I did not step back and neither did he.
“Oh, so that’s why you didn’t walk away yesterday.”
“What?” he asked.
His expression did not change, but his eyes did.
“How could I forget, we are old enemies after all, I should’ve kept the same impression of you when we had that other meeting two years ago.”
NEIL
She shouldn’t have said that. But she did.
“Well you did walk away didn’t you? Just like last time where you did not even give it a chance to know what it could mean.” he took a breath and continued.
“I remember our conversation but you know more than that what i don’t recognise is the girl I have been working with for the past few days.”
My heart skipped a beat saying that and not in a good way.
Her lips were pressed together.
There was no answer.
KAIA
I exhaled slowly.
“This won’t happen again,” I said.
My voice didn’t shake.
Good.
NEIL
“It won’t,” I said.
It sounded certain.
It wasn’t.
KAIA
Silence.
Heavy.
Unresolved.
I should have stepped back.
I didn’t.
NEIL
Neither did I.
That was the problem.
KAIA
For a second—
just one—
everything felt too close.
Too clear.
Too—
Real.
“You know for someone who is so certain of the numbers and so obsessed with perfection doesn’t even have the guts to own up to his feelings.” I took a short breath.
“Denial may be your way to survive but let me make it clear this trait makes you a coward.”
NEIL
She brushed past.
Not intentional.
Not accidental.
Just—
close.
Closer than it should have been.
KAIA
I didn’t look back.
I didn’t need to.
I could feel it.
That shift.
That tension.
Still there.
NEIL
I stayed where I was.
For a second longer than necessary. This was the first time where life gave me a reality check and broke the arrogance wall.
I moved. I looked at her rushing to pack her stuff. I picked up my memo pad and started writing.
While I was almost there to keep it on her desk. She left.
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