Ten Years Later, Still Falling - Chapter 5: Chapter 5
You are reading Ten Years Later, Still Falling, Chapter 5: Chapter 5. Read more chapters of Ten Years Later, Still Falling.
His collar was so tight it made him look like a ripe tomato.
I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole—that's how awkward I felt.
He cleared his throat, voice stiff as he changed the subject. "I'll handle the wound myself. Don't worry about it."
After a beat, he added, "I already spoke to the driver. He'll take you home first so your boyfriend won't have to wonder where you are."
Boyfriend?
I froze for a second before remembering—that was the excuse I'd used earlier to shake off Liam.
I almost corrected him, then stopped myself. Why bother explaining? Especially when...
I glanced at him sideways. His expression was back to neutral, like nothing had happened. Even mentioning my "boyfriend" didn't faze him.
We might as well have been strangers—just a boss and his employee. Everything he'd done? Basic workplace courtesy.
Whatever.
The words died in my throat. Instead, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, hiding my discomfort. "Fine," I muttered, staring at my shoes. "I'll head back early."
I didn't see the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
Thanks to the quick response, the tabby cat would recover fully with some TLC. Edward's arm got patched up too—vaccine administered, risk eliminated.
After that day, we fell back into routine. The tabby? After some back-and-forth, Edward agreed to foster it until we found it a permanent home.
The project kicked off chaotically. I was drowning in work, pulling late nights, stumbling home exhausted—no bandwidth left for overthinking.
Slowly, I got used to Edward being around.
Given our history, you'd think it'd be weirder. But ignoring the past came surprisingly easy. We settled into something almost comfortable—strictly professional, of course.
Work pressure kept mounting. Team morale was fraying. Liam? Nowhere to be seen most days, leaving me to mediate between design and engineering.
Problem was, I wasn't department head. My authority had limits. The design team kept pushing for bigger budgets to chase better results, but as cost-control? I couldn't just rubber-stamp their wishlist.
I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole—that's how awkward I felt.
He cleared his throat, voice stiff as he changed the subject. "I'll handle the wound myself. Don't worry about it."
After a beat, he added, "I already spoke to the driver. He'll take you home first so your boyfriend won't have to wonder where you are."
Boyfriend?
I froze for a second before remembering—that was the excuse I'd used earlier to shake off Liam.
I almost corrected him, then stopped myself. Why bother explaining? Especially when...
I glanced at him sideways. His expression was back to neutral, like nothing had happened. Even mentioning my "boyfriend" didn't faze him.
We might as well have been strangers—just a boss and his employee. Everything he'd done? Basic workplace courtesy.
Whatever.
The words died in my throat. Instead, I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, hiding my discomfort. "Fine," I muttered, staring at my shoes. "I'll head back early."
I didn't see the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
Thanks to the quick response, the tabby cat would recover fully with some TLC. Edward's arm got patched up too—vaccine administered, risk eliminated.
After that day, we fell back into routine. The tabby? After some back-and-forth, Edward agreed to foster it until we found it a permanent home.
The project kicked off chaotically. I was drowning in work, pulling late nights, stumbling home exhausted—no bandwidth left for overthinking.
Slowly, I got used to Edward being around.
Given our history, you'd think it'd be weirder. But ignoring the past came surprisingly easy. We settled into something almost comfortable—strictly professional, of course.
Work pressure kept mounting. Team morale was fraying. Liam? Nowhere to be seen most days, leaving me to mediate between design and engineering.
Problem was, I wasn't department head. My authority had limits. The design team kept pushing for bigger budgets to chase better results, but as cost-control? I couldn't just rubber-stamp their wishlist.
End of Ten Years Later, Still Falling Chapter 5. Continue reading Chapter 6 or return to Ten Years Later, Still Falling book page.