The door to his office is a work environment
YOUR BODY IS A STORY ARC
Ruby:
I’M MUTING ALL OF YOU
Ava:
See you in ten minutes when you unmute us, babe
CHAPTER 26
Ruby
Idrop my phone facedown on my desk.
My pulse has not slowed. Not even slightly.
Jaxon Cole is going to be the end of me.
JAXON
I should go back to work.
I should answer my emails. I should prepare for the next phase of the project. I should focus on the investor call scheduled for tomorrow.
I don’t.
I’m still leaning against the corner of the hallway where she left me, replaying the moment like a highlight reel.
The way she stepped back. The way her breath caught. The way she froze, not in fear, but in awareness.
The way she leaned into the moment even while trying to flee it.
I’ve been patient.
More patient than I usually am.
But now?
Now I’ve confirmed exactly what I suspected:
She feels it. Deeply. Viscerally. Completely.
She’s terrified of it.
Which means the next step has to be careful. Intentional. Steady.
I’m going to kiss her soon.
Not today.
But soon.
And the moment I do, her world will shift.
I push off the wall and head back to my office, sending one message on the way:
