I'd trusted him from almost the beginning. Believed his story. Believed his motivations. Let him into strategy meetings and gave him access to sensitive information.
It was stupid and naive and completely unlike me.
But I couldn't seem to help it.
The next morning I stood outside Julian's door and tried to convince myself this was just another security check. Just another day of monitoring a guest under our protection.
The lie tasted bitter.
I knocked.
"Come in," Julian called.
He was dressed and ready—jeans and a dark blue henley that brought out his eyes. Hair still slightly damp from the shower. He looked young and alert and dangerously attractive.
I forced myself to focus on the purpose of this visit.
"Stefan's expecting you in his office in thirty minutes. He's going to walk you through Inferno's financial systems. Show you how we track revenue, expenses, legitimate versus under-the-table operations." I stayed in the doorway. Maintained distance.
"Okay." Julian grabbed a notebook from the desk. "Are you coming with us?"
"No. I've got other security matters to handle."
"Of course you do." Julian's tone was careful. Neutral. But I heard the subtext underneath.
You're avoiding me.
He wasn't wrong.
I'd been avoiding him since yesterday's meeting. Since he'd looked at me and saidyou see mewith an honesty that had hit harder than it should have.
"Let's go," I said.
We walked through the hallways in silence. I kept several feet of distance between us. Didn't let our shoulders brush. Didn't make eye contact.
Julian noticed. Of course he noticed. He noticed everything.
"This is going to be hard," he said quietly as we approached Stefan's office.
"What is?"
"Working together, if we keep dancing around this thing between us."
I stopped walking. Looked at him directly for the first time this morning.
"We're both adults. We can handle professional boundaries."
"Can we?" Julian's eyes held mine. "Because from where I'm standing, you're not handling them. You're running from them. From me."
"I'm maintaining professional boundaries."
"Those boundaries are arbitrary."
"They're necessary." My voice came out harder than intended. "You're under my protection, Julian. That means maintaining appropriate distance. Not letting personal feelings interfere with security."
"What are you afraid of?" Julian stepped closer. Just one step. But it closed half the distance between us.
"I'm not afraid."
