Cassie’s POV
"What were you both doing?" She asked firmly.
"Nothing." I continued. "He was just helping me get something off my face."
Her eyes moved slowly between the two of us, clearly not buying a single word of what I’d just said. She knew something else had been going on in here before she walked in.
"Damien was literally about to kiss you. Don’t tell me I’m wrong."
"Kiss me?" I forced out a laugh. "Why would he want to kiss his own employee? I’m just his assistant."
Damien stood there silently, completely unbothered, then excused himself and stepped off the elevator without another word.
I watched him go, still processing what had almost happened. He’d genuinely, actually tried to kiss me.
CeCe looked at me, visibly hurt. "What’s really going on between you two?"
"Me and Damien?" I let out a surprised laugh. "Absolutely nothing."
"You know exactly how I feel about him. He can be with literally anyone else, but not you." Her voice softened. "You’re my friend, Cassie. I still have feelings for him, and I don’t want whatever this is to ruin us."
I didn’t quite know how to respond to that, honestly. It sounded less like a simple request between friends and more like something else entirely — a warning, maybe, dressed up in softer words.
"There’s nothing going on between us. I promise."
She pulled me into a tight hug. "I trust you won’t do that to me."
I smiled and stepped off the elevator, though something about that exchange sat strangely with me. Did she just emotionally corner me into promising something?
Back at the office, Damien was already at his desk, fully absorbed in work. I sat down and started catching up on emails.
The intercom buzzed.
"Mr. Blackwood’s office, how can I help you?"
"There’s a delivery driver waiting downstairs for you."
A delivery? For me, specifically? I genuinely had no idea who it could possibly be from at this point.
Damien looked up from his screen, and our eyes met across the room.
"Who was that?"
"Nothing important, just a delivery."
His expression darkened slightly, though he said nothing.
"I’ll be right back, sir." I stepped out of the office and found the delivery man holding a bouquet, a box of chocolates, and food.
I took everything from him.
Peonies.
A handwritten note was tucked inside, signed Edward.
I called him immediately. He picked up on the second ring.
"Hey, Cass. Did you get what I sent?" His voice came through warm, low, soft.
"I did. What’s all this for?"
"Nothing really — just wanted to remind you that you’re as beautiful as peonies. I remembered your friends used to call you that in school, since you loved them so much."
I smiled, remembering that nickname, how much I used to love hearing it.
"Thank you for the flowers. I genuinely love them, but please — don’t send things to my office again. My boss hates anything romantic showing up here."
He let out a deep laugh, genuinely amused by the whole thing.
"He needs to loosen up a little."
"I should get back to work before he loses his mind."
"Alright. Talk soon."
I hung up, still smiling, genuinely surprised by how romantic Edward turned out to be. Maybe I should actually give this a real chance.
As I turned back toward the building, I caught sight of Damien standing by the glass window on the top floor, watching.
He’d clearly been watching for a while. This is going to be a rough rest of the day.
I rushed straight to CeCe’s office. She glanced up from her phone.
"Cassie, do you not know how to knock?" Then, noticing the massive bouquet in my arms, "And why on earth are you carrying that enormous flower arrangement around with you?"
"Please, can I leave these here? I can’t walk into Damien’s office with this — he’ll probably throw it in the trash."
She laughed. "Do you have a boyfriend now?"
"Not exactly. More like... a potential one."
Her smile widened, something like genuine relief behind it, probably because it meant Damien stayed out of the equation.
"Set them down by the wall there." She pointed to an open spot.
"Thank you so much." I rushed back toward his office.
I pushed the door open quietly, bracing myself — but the office was completely empty. Damien wasn’t anywhere near his desk.
Drama king. Where’d he go now?
I sat down and went back to work, not thinking much of it.
A few minutes later he walked back in, avoiding eye contact entirely, heading straight for his desk.
"Cassie." He gestured for me to come over.
"Yes, sir."
"Explain that." His voice was tight, clearly forcing something back.
"That was just Edward. He sent a few things."
"During work hours? He couldn’t find a more appropriate time?"
"I’m sorry, sir. I’ve already told him not to do that again."
His jaw tightened visibly, something simmering behind his eyes that he was clearly working hard to keep contained.
"It won’t happen again," I added quietly.
"Are you two actually together, then?" There was a clear edge to his voice now, something that sounded suspiciously, unmistakably like jealousy underneath it all.
"No, we’re just friends. Honestly, I don’t know why he went that far."
His expression stayed mostly unreadable, though something in it suggested he wanted to say far more than he actually did.
"Make sure it doesn’t happen again." He paused. "And I don’t want him anywhere near this building."
I just nodded along to everything, not pushing back.
"You can go."
I walked back to my own desk slowly, aware the entire time of his eyes tracking my every move. I sank into my chair, and over the next hour I kept catching him glancing over at me every so often, like he couldn’t quite help himself.
First he nearly kisses me in the elevator. Now he’s interrogating me about Edward. If he actually had something to say, I wished he’d just say it.
—
I was curled up on the lounge chair that evening, a bowl of cereal balanced on my lap, deep into an episode of my favorite show.
Perfect. Exactly what I needed after today.
I’d showered the second I got home that evening, changed into my most comfortable sweatpants and an old tank top I’d had since college, finally feeling like myself again.
My phone buzzed — a reminder from Dylan about tomorrow’s date, confirming he’d pick me up.
Right. The date. I’d completely forgotten about it. At least tomorrow meant no Damien for a day, small mercies.
I took another bite of cereal.
My door opened, and Kate walked in looking unusually pale. Her skin had always had this natural glow — something was clearly off.
"Hey. Didn’t think you’d still be up."
"Just unwinding before bed." I shifted over on the couch. "You coming from the program?"
"Yeah. Dylan’s dealing with a lot more than just Damien stealing his girlfriend, apparently. Something tied to their mother’s death."
"What actually happened? And why does he keep talking to Damien like nothing’s wrong between them?"
"He said he’s trying to move past it by forcing himself to stay in contact."
I thought about that for a long second, turning it over in my head. "So Damien probably has absolutely no idea his own brother’s still carrying all of this around with him."
"Probably not," she said, already pulling her clothes off to shower in my bathroom.
"You’re just... showering here now?"
"Yeah. I think I’m better off staying with you for a while."
"Are you still taking those pills?"
"Yes, Cass. They genuinely help. No racing thoughts, no weird dreams. Just sleep."
"Does anyone at the program know you’re taking them?"
"No. They’d make me stop immediately. Nobody actually understands what I’m dealing with, so please — keep this between us."
"Kate, that stuff isn’t good for you. You look pale. You haven’t had a real night’s sleep in weeks. I think you might actually be dependent on it at this point. Please try cutting back, or I’ll have to tell someone."
"You wouldn’t actually do that to me, would you?" She looked at me, searching my face, genuinely worried about my answer.
"I mean it, Kate. This isn’t safe."
She disappeared into the bathroom without another word. I went back to my show. She came out eventually, changed into pajamas, and was asleep within minutes — clearly already medicated.
I just hope, whenever I finally do step in properly, it isn’t already too late by then.
My phone lit up. A text from Edward.
Hey you. How’s your day been? Hope it wasn’t too stressful. Just wanted you to know I’ve been thinking about you.
My whole face lit up reading it, warmth spreading through my chest despite myself. I genuinely had no idea if this was real affection or some carefully orchestrated kind of love bombing — but whatever it actually was, I was already falling for it completely, no questions asked.