Julian
I tore down the halls, doors and corridors blurring past me.
How did this happen?
What was all that commotion about?
What exactly made her faint?
Questions hammered my mind as I reached the elevator. I jabbed the button, but when it didn't come immediately, I bolted for the stairs instead.
I should have waited — but I didn't have that kind of time.
By the time I hit the ground floor, most people would be wheezing. Not me. Adrenaline was carrying me forward. Nothing mattered now except the girl in my arms. She had to be alright.
The wail of an approaching ambulance cut through the air.
"Come on... come on..." I muttered, as if my words could psychically make them drive faster.
They screeched to a stop in front of me. The EMTs rushed over, sliding her onto the stretcher. I followed them inside, answering rapid-fire questions about what happened — questions I couldn't answer, because I didn't even know myself.
But I did know one thing:
Whoever caused this... is going to pay.
⸻
Regina
I woke to the steady beeping of machines.
My head pounded — like I'd been hit by a bus, and then the driver backed up and hit me again.
What happened to me?
I cracked my eyes open, only to slam them shut again when the light stabbed through my skull. Groaning, I tried again, slower this time, letting my eyes adjust.
A hospital.
Why am I in a hospital?
Then it hit me — Kara.
She'd turned the whole company against me. And in doing so, she'd dredged up some... unwelcome memories.
I clenched my teeth. She's going to regret this. I'll make sure of it.
Turning my head, I spotted the reason I was here in the first place. Julian.
He was asleep in a chair, arms folded, suit jacket gone, sleeves rolled to the elbow. There was ink on his arm, curling into shapes I couldn't quite see. Tattoos. Part of a larger picture.
I wondered what the rest looked like...
And then — uninvited — my imagination supplied the image of Julian shirtless, tattoos on full display. Heat flooded my face, my heart rate spiking, which sent the heart monitor into a frenzy.
Great. Just great.
Julian jerked awake, alarmed.
"Gina! Are you alright?"
Gina. He called me Gina. Only Sarah used to call me that.
Rolling my eyes, I muttered, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about every little thing."
He didn't look convinced. In fact, he got up and left the room to find a doctor.
When he came back, the doctor looked like he'd seen a ghost. His hands trembled around his clipboard. What did Julian do to him?
The man cleared his throat. "Miss... um..." He glanced down at my file, clearly looking for my last name.
Panic flared. My mask was gone — they must have removed it when I collapsed. If anyone here had a cell phone, they'd know exactly who I was.
The doctor looked at me expectantly, but before I could answer, Julian stepped in.
"Is that necessary?" His voice was sharp.
The doctor paled. "Of course not."
"Good," Julian said. "We're here to find out what happened to her. Nothing else."
Freddie — according to his badge — cleared his throat again. "Miss, you had a panic attack. Did you engage in any strenuous activity beforehand?"
I shook my head.
"Then it was likely caused by stress or trauma," he continued. "Did anything like that happen before you collapsed?"
Silence.
The flashbacks returned — the whispers, the stares, the disgust. My hands clenched the bedsheets. Trauma. That was the answer.
"...Around the time it happened, I did get some unwelcome flashbacks," I said evenly.
Freddie nodded, clearly uncomfortable. "I'll refer you to a few therapists I know."
⸻
Later, in Julian's car, the ride was quiet except for a radio announcer droning about the stock market.
Why was he doing this? What about the girl from the movie theater?
My stomach churned. Maybe I had a tiny crush on my boss.
We pulled up to Cora's house.
"Thanks for all your help today," I said reluctantly.
"It's fine," he replied. "As CEO, I make sure all my employees are safe and accounted for."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to drive me to and from the hospital."
He paused. "Maybe I just want to."
The engine clicked off. Silence.
I froze.
Then he cleared his throat. "So... I'll see you tomorrow? As my assistant, of course — not the janitor. Though I wouldn't mind seeing that cleaning uniform again."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, that's not happening."
His expression shifted. He leaned in slowly. My pulse jumped. Was he going to kiss me?
Instead, he spoke low in my ear. "I don't like it when you roll your eyes at me. Don't do it again. Next time will have... serious consequences."
And just like that, he leaned back as if nothing had happened. "See you at seven."
Still stunned, I got out of the car. He waited until I was inside before driving off.
It was then I realized — I wanted to help him bring back his company. Partly because I owed him.
And definitely not because I had a tiny crush on him.