The air between them was charged again, electric and heavy. Norah was beginning to recognize the feeling, the tension that appeared every time they stood too close, every time he looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world.
“Julian,” she started.
Then the door opened, and Owen appeared with absolutely terrible timing, as always.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Owen said, though the smile on his face suggested he was not sorry at all. “But Julian, you have a call from the San Francisco branch, and they’re insisting it’s urgent.”
Julian closed his eyes briefly, breathing in a controlled way, then stepped away from Norah. The professional distance felt wrong after the closeness of seconds earlier.
“Transfer it to the office,” Julian instructed, voice back in its commanding tone.
“Already transferred,” Owen said, eyes dancing between them. “And Julian, the Boston trip is confirmed. Departure Thursday morning, return Friday night.”
Norah’s stomach tightened because business trips usually meant Julian was away for days. She should have been relieved by the distance. Instead, the idea of several days without seeing him made something uncomfortable settle in her chest.
“Norah’s coming with me,” Julian said suddenly.
Both Owen and Norah looked at him in surprise.
“I am?” she asked intelligently.
“You are,” Julian confirmed, looking directly at her. “I’m going to need you there for the negotiations with Morrison Corp. You know the numbers better than anyone.”
It was a weak excuse because Owen knew the numbers as well as she did. No one pointed that out.
“Okay,” Norah agreed, because arguing seemed pointless and because a traitorous part of her wanted to go.
“Boston, then,” Owen said.
“Boston,” Julian repeated.
The way he said it sounded like a promise.
The hotel was ridiculously elegant, all marble, crystal chandeliers, and staff wearing white gloves. It was the kind of place Norah would never stay if she were paying out of her own pocket.
When they arrived at reception, the woman behind the counter gave them a trained smile.
“Mr. Cross, what a pleasure to have you back. We’ve prepared the presidential suite as requested.”
“Actually, I’m going to need 2 rooms,” Julian said, placing the corporate credit card on the counter. “Preferably next to each other.”
5 minutes later, they were going up in the elevator with electronic key cards for rooms 1847 and 1849. Their doors were literally side by side on the 18th floor, and the tension in the small elevator was palpable.
Julian stood on 1 side, Norah on the other. She could feel his gaze on her even without looking directly.
“Meeting is at 7,” he said when the doors opened. “Dinner after. Just the 2 of us. We need to discuss strategy.”
“Strategy,” she repeated.
They both knew dinner had nothing to do with business strategy.
The meeting with Morrison Corp went surprisingly well. Later, they sat in an intimate Italian restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel, at a corner table with low lighting and a candle between them.
It felt much less like a business dinner and much more like a date.
“You were incredible today,” Julian said, picking up his glass of red wine. “The way you counterargued the exclusivity clause was impressive.”
“You taught me well,” Norah replied, trying to keep her tone light, though the way he looked at her over the candle did strange things to her stomach.
“I didn’t teach you that,” he disagreed. “That was all you. You’re exceptional, Norah. And not just at work.”
The compliment caught her off guard, and she took a sip of wine just to have something to do with her hands.
“You’re different here,” she observed. “More relaxed.”
“Boston brings back good memories,” he said.
Something darkened in his eyes.
“And some bad ones.”
“Isabelle?” Norah asked gently, because she sensed it was about her. It was always about Isabelle when that expression appeared.
Julian was quiet for a long moment, swirling the wine in his glass, looking at the red liquid as if it contained answers.
“We got engaged here,” he finally said, voice low. “In this hotel, actually. I proposed to her in the presidential suite after a dinner exactly like this.”
Norah’s chest tightened with something she vaguely recognized as jealousy.
“What happened?”
“She cheated on me,” Julian said, simple and direct.
But Norah heard the pain at the edges of the words.
“6 months after the proposal, 2 months before the wedding. With my business partner. In my apartment. In my bed. I came home early from a trip. It was going to be a surprise. I’d bought flowers, champagne, all the things romantic men do when they’re in love and foolish.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“Found them there.”
Norah’s hand moved automatically across the table, covering his and squeezing.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
He finally looked at her, and the vulnerability in his eyes was heartbreaking.
“After that, I swore I’d never trust anyone again. Never let anyone close enough to hurt me like that. Built walls so high no one could climb them.”
He paused and turned his hand beneath hers to interlace their fingers.
“Until you showed up with your cardigans and your glasses and your way of biting your lip when you’re nervous. And suddenly, those walls started to crack.”
Norah could not breathe properly. She could only look at him, at their intertwined fingers on the table, at the way he watched her as if she were something precious.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, voice low.
“No,” she answered honestly. “You disarmed me.”
Something shifted in the air between them. Intensified.
Julian stood, pulling her gently with him.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
They entered the elevator together, and Julian pressed the button for the 18th floor. The doors closed, and suddenly they were in a very small and very private space, mirrored walls reflecting the 2 of them from multiple angles.
The tension that had been present all day, all week, since the Friday night when he carried her out of the bar, reached an unbearable peak.
“Norah.”
Julian said her name like a prayer, a warning, and a plea all at once.
“Yes.”
Her voice came out whispered.
“I shouldn’t,” he said, taking a step toward her. “You work for me. This is completely inappropriate. I’m your boss, and there are rules and policies, and—”
“Then why doesn’t it feel wrong?” she interrupted, taking her own step and eliminating more distance. “Why does it feel right every time you’re close?”
“Norah,” he repeated.
But now he was closer. Much closer.
“If I kiss you now, it won’t be light. It won’t be gentle. It won’t be something I can pretend didn’t happen later.”
“Good,” she answered, her heart beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. “Because I don’t want light. I don’t want gentle. And I definitely don’t want to pretend.”
Something broke in him. Norah saw the exact moment the last wall of resistance fell.
Then he was on her, hands on her face, fingers in her hair, pulling her in. His mouth met hers with an intensity that took all the air from her lungs.
The kiss was everything he had promised. Intense, but not without tenderness. Hunger and need and months of tension finally finding release. His lips moved against hers with an expertise that made her knees weak, his tongue tracing the outline of her mouth before deepening the kiss.
Norah melted completely against him, her hands gripping the lapels of his suit like an anchor.
He pressed her gently against the mirrored wall of the elevator, his body against hers, 1 hand still in her hair, the other sliding down to her waist, holding her close as if distance between them had become physically impossible.
She had never been kissed like this. She had never felt this consumed, this complete, this sense that nothing else existed in the world except the 2 of them. His mouth on hers. His hands on her. His heat surrounding her completely.
When they finally separated, breathless, he rested his forehead against hers, eyes still closed, breathing unevenly.
“I dreamed about this,” he confessed. “Since that night. Since I carried you. Since I put you in bed and you looked at me that way and said I was kind.”
“You are kind,” she whispered, fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “Even when you pretend not to be.”
He opened his eyes, and what she saw there hit her hard. Desire, yes, but also something deeper. Something dangerously close to real feelings.
“Stay with me tonight,” he asked.
Not demanded. Asked.
“Not like that,” he said, stopping and reformulating. “Just stay. Sleep in my room. I just want to hold you. Wake up with you there.”
“Okay.”
She interrupted him with a light kiss.
“Okay.”
The elevator shuddered, stopping at their floor. The doors opened, but neither of them moved for a long moment, still caught in each other and reluctant to break the moment.
“Norah,” Julian finally said, running his thumb over her lower lip, swollen from the kiss. “This changes everything.”
“I know,” she replied.
It meant so much. So many things they had not even begun to process. But then, all that mattered was that he looked at her as if she were his world.
Maybe, just maybe, he was becoming hers.
They became a secret, and that should have bothered Norah more than it did. But when Julian pulled her into the file room at 8:00 in the morning before the office filled up and kissed her against the shelves of old documents as if he had not seen her in years, even though only 12 hours had passed since she had left his apartment, it was hard to care about corporate policies.
“Good morning,” he murmured against her lips, firm hands on her waist keeping her pressed against him.
Norah smiled, because Julian Cross saying good morning with kisses instead of formal emails was still new enough to make her heart race.
“Good morning, Mr. Cross,” she said on purpose, using the formal title just to see how his eyes darkened.
It worked.
He kissed her harder, deeper, 1 hand moving up to her face while the other tightened on her waist.
“You know what that Mr. Cross does to me?” he said against her mouth.
Norah laughed softly because yes, she knew exactly what it did.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
A message from Leo.
“Owen’s looking for you. Urgent.”
Julian saw her expression change and stepped back reluctantly.
“Work?”
“Owen,” she confirmed, straightening her blouse. “Probably about today’s presentation.”
“I’ll see you at the 10:00 meeting.”
Before she could pull away completely, he pulled her back for 1 last quick kiss.
“And Norah, try not to get too distracted thinking about me.”
“Presumptuous,” she accused.
They were both smiling when she finally left, checking the hallway first because this version of them was a secret for now.
Only for hours.
The meeting was tedious, filled with numbers and projections Norah had already reviewed 3 times. Julian sat at the head of the table wearing the navy suit she loved, and every time their eyes met, it felt like an electric current. Pure chemistry. She was sure everyone could see it.
Her phone vibrated discreetly under the table.
A message from him, even though he was 10 feet away.
“Stop biting your lip or I’m going to have to interrupt this meeting.”
Norah bit her lip on purpose while looking directly at him. She saw his jaw tighten.
She sent back, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” he responded immediately.
She would have tested it if the conference room door had not suddenly opened and Isabelle Lauron had not walked in as if she owned the place, all elegance and poison wrapped in a white dress.
“Julian, darling,” she said, ignoring the other 6 people at the table. “We need to talk about Saturday’s charity event.”
Julian did not even look at her. His voice was professional and cold.
“Isabelle, we’re in a meeting.”
“I know.”
She approached, eyes sweeping over everyone until they stopped on Norah. Something changed in her expression. Something calculating and dangerous.
“But I’m sure your assistant can note this down for you. Right, Norah?”
The way she said assistant was pure venom.
“Of course, Miss Lauron.”
“Isabelle, please.”
She corrected her, but her eyes stayed on Norah, too sharp.
“Actually, Norah, you look different. More radiant. New face cream?”
Norah’s stomach tightened because the way Isabelle was looking suggested she knew. When Isabelle’s eyes moved from Norah to Julian and back, Norah saw the exact moment the pieces fell into place.
“The meeting continues now,” Julian said, voice sharp as a blade. “Isabelle, you can schedule with my secretary if you need to discuss events.”
It was a clear dismissal, but Isabelle smiled, and the smile did not reach her eyes.
“Of course, Julian. Always so professional.”
She looked at Norah.
“It was a pleasure, Norah. I’m sure we’ll talk soon.”
When she left, the tension in the room was palpable. Owen looked at Norah with an expression that confirmed all her worst suspicions.
He knew too.
Isabelle cornered Norah by the elevators when she returned from lunch.
“Norah, what a coincidence. Can we talk?”
It was not a request. Isabelle was already guiding her toward an empty conference room before she could refuse.
“I’ll be direct,” Isabelle said as soon as the door closed. “You’re sleeping with Julian.”
It was not a question. It was a statement.
Norah’s heart raced.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please.”
Isabelle laughed coldly.
“I’ve known Julian for 10 years. I know exactly how he looks when he’s interested in someone. And the way he looked at you in that meeting—”
A poisonous pause.
“I’ve seen that look before. Directed at me. So don’t insult me by playing innocent.”
“Even if there were something, it wouldn’t be your business.”
“Cross Global has very clear policies about relationships between superiors and subordinates,” Isabelle said, approaching. “Policies the board takes extremely seriously, especially when they involve the CEO. 1 word from me, and they’ll investigate. They’ll find out. And guess who’s going to lose their job in that scenario.”
Fear gripped Norah’s chest because Isabelle was right.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to end it,” Isabelle said simply. “Break up with him. Resign if necessary. Disappear from his life before this explodes and destroys his reputation. Because I may not be with Julian anymore, but I still care enough not to want to see him ruined by an—”
She examined Norah.
“Assistant.”
The word was pure insult.
“Think about it,” Isabelle said, turning. “You have until Friday to decide. After that, I take it to the board.”
When she left, Norah sank into a chair, hands trembling, mind racing.
All she could think was that maybe Isabelle was right.
Maybe this had been unsustainable from the start.
When Norah entered Julian’s office, he was on the phone, but he ended the call immediately when he saw her.
“Norah, you disappeared after lunch.”
“Isabelle cornered me,” Norah said without preamble.
His expression hardened.
“What did she say?”
“That she knows about us. That she’ll take it to the board if I don’t break up with you. That the company has policies. That I’m going to lose my job.”
The words came in a rush, and Julian was around her in seconds, hands on her face, forcing her to look at him.
“Breathe,” he ordered gently. “Breathe, Norah.”
“Julian. I’m just the assistant.”
She hated how small and insecure her voice sounded.
“You’re the CEO, and this is completely unbalanced. Maybe she’s right.”
“Stop.”
He interrupted her, thumb tracing her cheek.
“You’re not just anything. You’re everything. Understand? You’re everything.”
The words should have comforted her, but they could not erase the fear.
“The company, the policies—”
“I’ll deal with the policies. I’ll deal with the board. I’ll deal with Isabelle.”
The door opened without knocking, and Owen entered with an expression far too serious.
“Julian, we need to talk now.”
“Owen, this isn’t the time.”
“It’s about the board,” Owen interrupted, looking between them. “Isabelle already went to some members. Planted seeds. They’re asking about inappropriate relationships in the office.”
He sighed.
“Julian, you’re going to have to choose. Either Norah or the company. Because the board won’t approve this. Ever.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Norah saw something break in Julian’s eyes. Saw the weight of the choice settling in. And she knew that no matter how much he felt for her, Cross Global was everything he had built. It was his entire life.
“I’ll resign,” she said before he could speak. “Tomorrow I’ll write the letter.”
“No,” Julian said firmly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Julian, be realistic,” Owen said, voice tired. “You know what the board is like. You know they won’t accept this. And if you push, they’ll remove you as CEO. They’ll destroy everything you built.”
“Then let them destroy it,” Julian said.
Norah’s heart stopped because he could not be serious.
“I’m not choosing the company over her. I won’t.”
“Julian,” Norah started.
But he kissed her, desperate and intense, as if trying to convince her through touch that this would work.
When they separated, reality was still there, heavy and inevitable. Owen looked at them with pity.
“You have until Friday,” Owen said quietly. “After that, the board votes. And Julian, they already have the votes to remove you.”
Norah woke in Julian’s apartment the way she had for the last 2 weeks, wrapped in expensive sheets that smelled like him. For 1 perfect, illusory moment, she pretended everything was fine. There was no board. No Isabelle. No ultimatum.
Then Julian came out of the bathroom at 7:30 in the morning, already dressed in a full suit. The expression on his face told her everything she needed to know before he opened his mouth.
“We need to talk,” he said, standing in the middle of the room.
Too distant. Too controlled.
Norah’s stomach sank because she knew that tone. It was the tone he used in difficult meetings. The CEO tone, not the boyfriend tone.
“No,” she said, sitting up in bed and pulling the sheet around her body. “No, Julian. Don’t do this.”
“The board votes today at 2,” he continued as if she had not spoken, hands in his pockets, posture rigid. “Owen confirmed they have the votes to remove me if I don’t end this. If I don’t let you go.”
“Then let them remove you,” she said desperately, getting out of bed. “You said you wouldn’t choose the company over me. You promised.”
“I’m not choosing,” he interrupted, finally looking at her.
The pain in his eyes was so intense it physically hurt.
“I’m protecting you, Norah. You don’t understand. If I force this, if I make them remove me, Isabelle won’t stop. She’ll come after you. She’ll destroy your reputation. She’ll make sure you never get work at any decent company in Manhattan. She has enough connections to do that. And I won’t let your career be ruined because of me.”
“My career,” Norah repeated, incredulous. “Julian, I don’t care about my career. I care about you.”
“And I care about your future,” he said, voice breaking slightly at the edges. “You deserve someone who can give you everything. Someone who doesn’t put you in this impossible position. Someone who—”
“No.”
Norah interrupted, crossing the room until she stood in front of him, hands on his chest.
“Don’t do this. Don’t pretend this is about protecting me when it’s about you being afraid. You’re afraid to fight for this. To fight for us.”
“I’m not afraid,” he said.
But his hands came to her face, thumbs tracing her cheeks, contradicting the words.
“I’m being realistic. This was never going to work anyway. I’m your boss. You’re—”
“Your assistant,” she finished bitterly. “I know. Isabelle reminded me. You’re reminding me now. Apparently, it’s all I am.”
“You know that’s not true.”
Julian pulled her against him, forehead resting against hers.
“You’re everything to me. Everything. But that’s exactly why I can’t be selfish. I can’t keep you trapped in this when it means you’ll lose everything.”
“You’re all I want,” Norah whispered, eyes burning with tears she refused to let fall. “Please don’t do this. Please.”
He kissed her.
It was different from all the other kisses. Desperate and final, tasting like goodbye.
When they separated, his eyes were closed as if looking at her was too painful.
“I need you to resign,” he said. “Today. Before the vote. So it’s clear that it’s over. So the board has no reason to continue.”
“No.”
“Norah, please.”
“No,” she repeated more firmly, stepping away from him. “If you want to end this, then end it. But I’m not going to make it easy for you. I’m not going to resign and pretend this was my choice when it clearly wasn’t.”
“Norah—”
“I’m going to get dressed and leave,” she said, picking up her clothes from the floor where they had been abandoned the night before, when they had still been happy, when they had still been them. “And you’re going to do what you have to do, and I’m going to do what I have to do. But don’t ask me to make this pain easier for you.”
She dressed in silence, feeling his eyes on her the entire time. When she was ready, when she reached the door, he spoke 1 last time.
“I love you,” Julian said.
The words should have been beautiful. They only hurt.
“I love you, and that’s exactly why I’m letting you go.”
Norah closed the door without answering because if she spoke, if she admitted that she loved him too, she would completely fall apart.
The resignation letter took 20 minutes to write and 5 seconds to deliver to HR.
Effective immediately. No notice.
When she returned to her cubicle to get her things, Leo was there with wide eyes.
“Norah, what did you do?”
“What I had to do,” she said, putting photos and pens into a box. “I resigned.”
“Because of him?” Leo asked quietly. “Because of Julian?”
She did not answer, but she did not need to. The answer was clear on her face, and Leo hugged her tightly while she finally let the tears fall.
2 weeks later, Norah was in her apartment with Mara, who was on her couch for the 5th time that week, trying to convince her to get out of bed.
“Honey, you need to eat something that isn’t ice cream. You need to change out of pajamas. You need to stop watching sad movies and crying.”
“I’m fine,” Norah lied. “Obviously. Perfectly fine.”
Her phone buzzed with a message from Leo.
“Julian is destroyed. Owen said he doesn’t sleep, doesn’t eat. The company’s suffering because he can’t focus. He’s a complete disaster.”
Good, Norah thought bitterly.
At least it was not just her.
Julian was in the office for the 16th consecutive hour. His eyes were red from exhaustion. 3 empty coffee cups sat on the desk.
Owen was fed up.
“You’re an idiot,” Owen said, entering without knocking. “A complete and total idiot.”
“Owen, I’m not in the mood.”
“You love her,” Owen interrupted. “You’re miserable without her. The company is suffering because you can’t concentrate on anything except how you ruined everything. And yet you’re here pretending you did the right thing.”
“I protected her.”
“You protected yourself,” Owen corrected brutally. “You got scared and ran. And now you’re both destroyed. And for what? For nothing. Because the company is still here. The board is still here. But she’s not. And you’re miserable.”
“What do you want me to do?” Julian finally exploded. “The board made it clear.”
“The board made nothing clear because I talked to them,” Owen said, throwing a folder onto the desk. “There’s no policy against relationships, Julian. None. I checked personally. The employee handbook, the corporate guidelines, everything.”
Julian froze.
“What?”
“Isabelle lied,” Owen said. “She made up the rule. Planted fear in the board about possible scandals. But there’s no actual policy. She manipulated you, and you fell for it completely.”
The silence that followed was absolute.
Owen saw the exact moment realization hit Julian. Saw the anger, pain, and regret all at once.
“She lied,” Julian repeated, voice dangerously low.
“She lied,” Owen confirmed. “And you let Norah go for nothing. You destroyed both of you over a lie.”
Julian was already getting up and grabbing his jacket.
“Where is she?”
“Probably at her apartment hating you,” Owen replied. “But Julian, it’s going to take more than apologies to fix this.”
“I know,” Julian said, already at the door. “But I’m going to try. I’ll beg if I have to. Because I can’t live like this. I can’t live without her.”
The rain started at 7:00 and had not stopped. It was the kind of storm that made Manhattan look gray and desolate. Norah was on the couch, wrapped in blankets, watching the same romantic comedy for the 3rd time that week because apparently she was a masochist and liked reminding herself that happy endings existed for everyone except her.
Mara had left an hour earlier after making Norah promise she would shower and eat something real. They were promises Norah obviously did not intend to keep because changing out of pajamas required energy she did not have.
She was considering ordering Chinese food for the 4th time that week when she heard loud knocking at the door. Insistent and urgent.
Her heart did the stupid thing where it raced, because for 1 irrational second, she thought it might be him.
Obviously it was not. Julian had made it very clear 2 weeks earlier that protecting her meant letting her go. It was probably Mara, who had forgotten something, or Leo, coming to force her out of the house.
Norah opened the door and froze completely.
It was him.
Julian Cross stood in her building hallway, soaked from head to toe. His hair dripped water. His suit was completely ruined. He was breathless, as if he had run there.
“Norah.”
He said her name like a prayer.
She should have slammed the door in his face. She should have screamed. She should have done anything except stand there staring at him like an idiot.
“What are you doing here?” she managed, her voice weaker than intended.
“I’m an idiot,” he said directly. No beating around the bush. “A complete and total idiot. And I need you to forgive me.”
“Julian—”
“She lied,” he interrupted, taking a step forward, water dripping onto the hallway floor. “Isabelle lied. There’s no policy. No rule against relationships. She made it all up. I believed it and let you go. And it was the biggest mistake of my life.”
The words took a second to process. When they did, anger came in waves.
“You let me go.”
She practically screamed.
“You broke up with me. You made me resign. You made me believe I wasn’t enough. And now you show up here soaking wet, telling me it was all a lie?”
“I know,” he said, and the pain in his voice was palpable. “I know. I have no excuse. I was afraid. Afraid to fight. Afraid to risk everything for you. And I ended up losing the only thing that really mattered.”
“You can’t just show up here and—”
“I love you,” he interrupted, voice firm now. “I love you, Norah Quinn. I’ve loved you since that night when you sent drunk texts saying I was inappropriately gorgeous. I’ve loved you since I carried you out of the bar and you said I smelled like power. I’ve loved you since the first day you walked into my office with those glasses and that cardigan and pretended not to be dying of nerves.”
Tears were running down her face now, mixed with the rain coming in through the open door.
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
He came closer.
“And I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for it if you let me. I’ll spend every day proving that you’re everything to me. That I choose you over anything. Over the company. Over the board. Over everything.”
“Julian, I can’t go through this again,” she said, voice breaking. “I can’t love you and lose you again.”
“Then don’t lose me.”
He took her face in his wet hands.
“Stay with me. Forgive me. Give me another chance. And I promise I’ll never let you go again. Never.”
“How can I trust that?” she asked.
Even though she already knew the answer. Even though she could feel the walls she had built over the last 2 weeks starting to crack.
“Because I fired Isabelle,” he said. “Sent her away from the board, cut all ties. And because I came here in the rain like a complete romantic movie cliché to beg you to come back because I literally can’t function without you.”
It was so ridiculous, so absurdly cliché, that Norah laughed through the tears.
“You’re soaking wet.”
“I am,” he agreed. “And I’ll probably get pneumonia. But it was worth it if it means you’ll forgive me.”
“You really are an idiot,” she said.
But her hands were already on the lapels of his wet suit, pulling him into the apartment.
“Is that a yes?” he asked hopefully.
“It’s a maybe,” she replied.
But she was smiling now.
“You’re going to have to convince me.”
He kissed her right there in the apartment hallway, wet and desperate and perfect.
The door of the apartment next door opened. 70-year-old Mrs. Chen peeked out and started to clap. Then more doors opened. More neighbors appeared. Suddenly there was a small audience watching Julian Cross kiss Norah like his life depended on it.
When they finally separated, breathless, at least 5 neighbors were in the hallway, smiling. Mrs. Chen shouted, “Finally,” in Mandarin before going back into her apartment.
“You’ve become a public spectacle,” Norah said against Julian’s mouth.
“I don’t care,” he replied. “Let everyone know. Let the whole world know that I love you and that I’m yours.”
In that moment, with him soaking wet in her apartment, neighbors gossiping in the hallway, and everything a complete and imperfect mess, Norah finally understood that this thing between them was worth every risk.
Months later, the plaque on Norah’s door said Chief Operating Officer, and it still felt surreal.
The promotion had come 2 months earlier, after she proved she could manage entire operations without needing anyone’s validation. Julian insisted it was purely merit, though everyone knew the CEO being completely in love with the COO had definitely helped.
The entire office knew by then. It had been impossible to keep it secret after Julian kissed Norah in front of everyone at the corporate Christmas party. The initial gossip eventually turned into acceptance, even affection.
Leo had a bet running on when the proposal would happen. Mara was Norah’s self-proclaimed maid of honor. Owen smiled smugly every time he saw them together, as if he had orchestrated everything from the beginning.
During a Thursday afternoon meeting, Norah’s phone buzzed.
It was a message from Julian, even though he was literally on the other side of the table.
“Dinner tonight. I have a surprise.”
Norah smiled and replied, “What kind of surprise?”
“The kind that involves you, me, and no work clothes.”
Norah bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud and saw Julian looking directly at her with the half smile that still made her stomach flip.
Owen rolled his eyes and murmured, “You 2 are impossible.”
But he was smiling too.
At the end of the day, Norah texted Julian.
“Come get me.”
This time, she added, “But never let me go again.”
The response came in seconds.
“Never again.”
When Julian appeared in her office 5 minutes later, tie loosened, smile on his face, hand extended toward her, Norah took that hand and let him guide her out.
This time, she knew with absolute certainty that it was forever.
