Elias stepped out of the office building, eyes darting to the street. Not a single cab in sight. He sighed, already feeling the weight of the long day.
"Looking for a cab?" Damien's voice came from behind, calm and steady.
Elias turned to see his boss leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "Yeah. Seems like the whole city has run short of cabs tonight."
Damien smirked, pushing off the wall. "Hop in. I'm headed your way."
Elias blinked, hesitation flickering in his eyes. "It's okay sir, I'll wait up a bit more, I don't want you to take the trouble"
"It's getting late, and as your boss it's my responsibility to ensure that my workers are safe. Damien replied in a soft tone
Elias being a little hesitant muttered "Thank you, I.. I didn't expect you'll help." Damien shrugged, already walking toward his car. "Don't make a habit of it."
Caught between gratitude and caution, Elias followed. He climbed into the back seat just as Damien settled in beside him.
The driver started the engine, the quiet hum filling the car.
Damien cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "You know, you should speak up more in meetings."
Elias rolled his eyes but didn't argue. "And you should try easing up a bit."
A rare, almost amused look crossed Damien's face. "We're getting along famously." Silence settled, thick and awkward, until Elias broke it. "You don't usually offer rides, do you?"
Damien glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his gaze unreadable. "No. But tonight's been... unusual."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "Unusual, how?"
Damien's jaw tightened, eyes fixed on the road. "Let's just say the usual routines are getting disrupted."
Elias was about to ask for clarification when his hand brushed against Damien's as he adjusted the window control. Both froze, their eyes locking briefly, an unspoken question lingering between them. Then, almost too quickly, they pulled their hands away, as if embarrassed by the contact.
The air felt charged now, every sound amplified the hum of the engine, the distant city noise, even their breathing.
After 40 minutes of driving the car slowed, approaching the gated entrance to Elias house.
When they stopped, Damien turned to look back at him, expression softer than before. "Here's your stop."
Elias nodded, still caught in the moment.
"Thanks for the ride," Elias said quietly while getting down from the car. Damien's lips twitched into a brief, almost shy smile. "You're welcome."
And with that, he started the car again, driving through the gates and leaving Elias with a heart pounding louder than the engine's roar.
Elias stayed by the gate, watching the car disappear down the long driveway. His chest felt tight, and for a moment, he couldn't catch his breath. Why did a simple ride home leave him feeling this way? He shook his head, trying to clear the confusion.
"Get a grip," he told himself. "He's just your boss.
But as he turned to head inside his modest apartment, his mind replayed the fleeting moment their hands brushed, the way Damien's eyes had lingered longer than necessary. His cheeks warmed at the memory. It was unsettling.
Inside, the silence of his room wrapped around him like a familiar blanket. He dropped his keys on the table and sank into the bed. His phone buzzed—Marissa, his colleague, checking in.
"Long day?" her text read.
Elias smiled and typed back, "You have no idea."
Meanwhile, miles away, Damien parked the car in the garage of his sprawling mansion. The silence of the house pressed down on him, but not in the way Elias felt the quiet. Here, the silence was cold, heavy with secrets and control.
Damien sat back for a moment, eyes closed, running a hand through his hair. The image of Elias in the back seat, the hesitant glance, the quick pull away—stayed with him. It irritated him how much that small moment unsettled him.
He shook his head. No feelings. Just... frustration. Control.
His phone buzzed on the console, it was a message from his best friend.
"So, how's the new guy? Breaking you down yet?"
Damien smirked and typed back.
"In your dreams, I told you he's just my employer, Stop feeding your imaginations." He pocketed the phone and stood, heading inside his house.
****
The early morning light filtered softly through the tall office windows as Elias balanced a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a small, neatly wrapped package in the other. His heart raced a little, he wasn't sure if it was the caffeine or the fact that he was about to enter Damien's lair again.
Damien sat behind his polished mahogany desk, eyes glued to his laptop screen. Without looking up, he muttered, "what do you want."
Elias hesitated, then gently placed the coffee and the package beside Damien's keyboard. "My mom made these," he said quietly, "thought you might like them."
For a moment, Damien's cold gaze flicked up to meet Elias's. The usual steel softened, if only just a little.
"I don't do Favors" Damien replied, voice low but less sharp than usual. Elias smiled faintly, "Consider it an appreciation for the other night."
Damien's eyes lingered on Elias longer than necessary, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them.
Without breaking the gaze, Damien finally spoke, "You didn't have to do this."
Elias shrugged, "I wanted to," you helped me out yesterday so it's only right I thank you properly.
The room grew quieter except for the faint hum of the city outside. Their eyes met again, and for a moment, the distance between boss and employee felt... smaller.
Damien reached for the coffee, his fingers brushing against Elias's as he took the cup. Both of them flinched slightly but said nothing.
"Don't expect me to get soft just because of a cup of coffee," Damien said, clearing his throat as if to break the sudden tension.
Elias smirked but kept his voice steady. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Damien took a small sip, then glanced at the wrapped package. "What's this?"
"Snacks," Elias said. "Homemade. My mom swears it's better than anything from a bakery."
Damien's eyes narrowed, as if trying to read something behind Elias's calm exterior. Then, almost reluctantly, he unwrapped the package and took a bite.
"Hm," Damien muttered, surprised. "Not bad." Elias felt a small thrill. "Told you."
For a moment, they just looked at each other, the usual tension between them softening into something quieter, something more fragile.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a colleague peeked in. "Boss, your meeting is starting in five."
Damien blinked, the spell broken. He stood quickly, his usual cold mask slipping back into place.
"Get ready," he said sharply, and Elias nodded, stepping back.
But as Damien turned to leave, he paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Don't make a habit of this," he said, voice low.
Elias smiled to himself as the door closed behind him. "No promises."
Later that afternoon, Elias sat at his desk, the remnants of the snack package beside his laptop. He tried to focus on his work, but his mind kept drifting back to that moment in Damien's office-the brief touch, the way Damien had looked at him when tasting the snacks. It was subtle, almost nonexistent to anyone else.
Damien, meanwhile, was sitting in his own office, staring out the window. The city skyline looked cold and distant, but his thoughts weren't on the view. They were on Elias. The way he'd held himself, calm and steady, even under Damien's biting words. It irritated Damien more than he wanted to admit.
Damien's phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was Marissa, his assistant. "Mr. Quinn, there's a visitor downstairs," she said, voice cautious.
Damien straightened. "Send her up."
Moments later, the door opened and Marissa stepped inside.
"Your fiancée is coming up here to see you sir" Marissa said, lowering her voice. Damien's jaw tightened. "Didn't you send her the package I ordered for her?" Marissa shook her head. "She said she wanted to come pick it up herself." Damien stared after her as she left. And muttered "Great."
Damien rubbed his temples as he waited, the silence in his office thick. A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Come in," he called, voice controlled.
The door opened, and Vivian stepped inside. She moved with the effortless confidence of someone used to turning heads. Her smile was radiant, and the scent of her perfume lingered in the air long after she closed the door behind her.
Elias, who had been passing by Damien's office on a quick errand, stopped in his tracks when he saw her. He froze, staring for a moment longer than he should have.
He could get a good view from the glass door. But something inside him tightened, a strange ache that he didn't want to name. His gaze flicked back to Damien, who stood behind his desk, expression unreadable. Vivian laughed at something Damien said-a sound so soft, so intimate and Elias's chest constricted.
Damien noticed Elias lingering near the doorway but said nothing. He gestured toward Vivian with a brief nod, inviting her to take a seat.
Elias, pretending to busy himself with some papers, could feel his heart racing. Every subtle movement between Damien and Vivian seemed amplified, and yet, he couldn't look away.
Vivian's eyes swept the office casually, landing briefly on Elias. She smiled politely, her presence confident and luminous, but it wasn't directed at him. Still, he felt it, the invisible pull of her energy in the room.
Damien's gaze flickered toward him just once, sharp and assessing, he gave him a hard glare before returning to Vivian.
Elias exhaled slowly, leaning against the wall just slightly, as if trying to disappear. The tension in the room was tangible, and he could feel the strange, unnameable electricity buzzing between him and Damien, even with Vivian there.
He turned slightly to dahlia, whispering, "Does she always come here all the time." Dahlia only chuckled softly. "Welcome to their world."