*******

Sending Allison off was a quick affair full of tears and hugs. Christian and I weren’t the only ones who showed up to send her away; her parents also decided to share in the farewell.

On any other day, I would have been trying my best to stay out of their way, trying to get Allison’s mother to look at me with something other than annoyance, but today, I was grateful she was there.

The interaction between Christian and I was nearly nonexistent, and if the parents were paying attention, they would be beaming at this new development. Allison did notice, but her parents were all over her, that she didn’t have the time to comment on it.

I would be receiving a phone call, and without a doubt, Christian would be getting one, too. I just hoped it wouldn’t be a two-way call because I would move away to avoid discussing what happened last night.

Christian wanted to talk about it; I could tell by the way he kept looking at me. I needed to find a way for us not to go back to the office together. We needed to keep the distance between each other for our relationship to maintain the energy it has always had.

And who is to say that if he wouldn’t ask me to forget that anything happened when we spoke. I just wanted to jump ahead of the schedule and do that for us. There was no need for us to talk about it.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” I told Allison as she hugged me goodbye.

“And I’m going to miss you more. I’m going to come and visit soon, or if Christian plays the role of the good boss, he could give you a vacation, and you can come to spend it with me.”

Her words invited Christian into the conversation, but I only rewarded it with a laugh. It’s Christian who spoke.

“I also need a vacation, so maybe we could both take one and then head over to visit you.”

“The boss and his secretary on a trip together, sounds like a plot for a romance movie,” Allison said.

My heart rate picked up, but I played it off by rolling my eyes and shoving Allison a little. I didn’t tell her how I felt about her brother for her to keep mentioning it around him. I said I would speak to him about it, but I was no longer confident that it would happen.

“It sounds like a horror movie, in all honesty,” I said, following it up with the most awkward laugh ever to leave my mouth.

Allison most definitely saw through it because she squinted her eyes at me before shifting her gaze to look at her brother, who I’m certain was already looking at me. I wanted to look over to their parents and beg them to join the conversation because the children were having a secret conversation I didn’t know how to join.

“It won’t be horror,” Allison said finally, “maybe melodrama. A lot of people are into office romance these days.”

Which was the absolutely worst thing she could have said at that moment. “Not us, though. We like to keep things professional, right?”

Christian looked at me like I’ve grown two heads since I last spoke. I nodded a little to urge him to back up my claim. Allison looked between us again, and when Christian spoke again, it felt like there was no reason.

“Yes,” he said, nodding, his eyes never leaving mine. “We like to keep things professional.”

And I followed it up with a little, “Yay.”

Allison opened her mouth to say something, but the call for her flight came through, cutting her off.

“Oh baby,” her parents were around her again. “It’s time for you to go.”

Allison hugged all of us again, with me being last.

“ I’m going to call you immediately when I land, so make sure you stay by the phone, and don’t miss my call.”

**

Avoiding someone you worked directly with was a fine art, but I managed it gracefully. It’s not something any other person could do, but because I had access to all of the schedules, I knew when to be somewhere, when to slip out, when I was needed, the amount of words needed to not go overboard and slip into informal settings.

If there was some type of award for this type of thing, I would have broken the previous record and set a new one that would be hard to beat. Christian had tried to talk to me, but the walls I’d built up specifically to control this situation were impenetrable.

I was a force to be reckoned with.

Christian had a meeting to attend in the boardroom. On any other day, I would have gone in at least five minutes early to inform him about it, but now, I planned on going in a whole minute before the time so there would be no room for small talk. Only rush, rush, rush.

The key to surviving this whole situation was to avoid looking in the general direction of what led you to this position in the first place. In this case, that would be Christian’s lips.

When I talked to him, I made a whole show of looking anywhere but at his lips or eyes, for that matter. I looked at his forehead, which was sometimes covered with his hair. I adjusted my black gown and picked up the documents that would be needed for the meeting.

It’s mostly just teams presenting their ideas, especially the areas they have been asked to improve on. The last meeting was full of bad ideas, if it was to be put nicely, and even then, Christian still managed to keep his cool. I hoped that it would keep going that way in today’s meeting.

Once it was one minute to the time, I knocked once on the door and pushed it open. “It’s time for your meeting, sir.”

Christian nodded, and I stepped forward to pick up the documents he would need for the meeting. He watched me as I moved around his space, taking the tablet, but he said nothing.

I didn’t want him to say anything, but now, I was forced to consider the possibility that he knew that I was avoiding him, and he was just letting me get away with it.

“We can go now,” I said to him, heading towards the door, and hoping he was following closely behind me so we could get this meeting out of the way and then the rest of the day. It was awkward now, but in a couple more weeks, it would be so normal that we would wonder if there was a time we spoke as friends.

I couldn’t wait for that time, that is, if the awkwardness doesn’t kill me first. Allison has been trying to get me to tell her what was happening, but I insisted that everything was fine. I have no idea if Christian has said anything to her about the kiss, but I keep it in mind to tell her when I’ve figured things out.

“Wait!”

I froze in the spot, not turning around because I was scared of what his next words would be and was in no way ready to have the conversation. Any conversation at that.

“Or no. Nevermind. Let’s go, we’re going to be late for the meeting.”

Relief flooded my body as I walked out of the door, aware of Christian following me out of the office, and to the meeting we were already late for. I just needed to keep my head together for the remainder of the day.

As I walked alongside Christian to the boardroom, I kept a safe distance. It was a subtle gesture, but one that spoke volumes about the tension between us. One that he could tell, given this new development only happened after the kiss.

As we entered the boardroom, Christian’s demeanor transformed. He stood tall, his shoulders squared, and the staff scrambled around to get things ready. He took his seat and I sat next to him, taking notes of each presentation.

I still could not get the kiss out of my head. I was gradually losing my mind. Christian was a natural-born leader, and it was clear that his team respected and admired him. He spoke with authority, yet his words were laced with kindness and empathy. He was the kind of leader who inspired loyalty and dedication, and I was drawn to him even more.

As the meeting progressed, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Christian. His eyes sparkled with passion, and his smile could light up a room. I felt a flutter in my chest and knew I was in trouble. I had tried to keep my distance, but it seemed my heart had other plans.

Christian turned to me with a warm smile when the meeting finally adjourned. “Thanks for joining me, Fiona. I appreciate your support.”

I nodded, trying to play it cool, but my heart raced. Has his voice always been this husky? Or was this a recent development?

“Of course, Christian,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’re an excellent leader.”

I was scared that he must have suspected I was avoiding him, but he didn’t seem to notice too much. Maybe it was just a kiss to him, and I’ve been beating myself up about nothing. I was disappointed.

Before I could step out of the boardroom, he had me cornered. I felt grateful that all of the staff had rushed out as soon as the meeting was over.