Chapter 267 We Need To Talk

• The office was unusually quiet as the workday wound down, the soft hum of computers and the faint ticking of the clock on the wall marking the passage of time. Isaac sat at his desk, eyes focused on the glowing screen in front of him, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Across the room, Eleanor stood by the filing cabinet, her fingers trailing over the manila folders, though she wasn’t really looking at them. Her mind was preoccupied too.
• They had been keeping their relationship hidden for weeks now, a thrilling but delicate dance that neither of them had anticipated. During meetings, Isaac would catch her eye from across the table, his lips curling into the slightest of smiles, and she would return the gesture with a quick glance, a flicker of warmth in her eyes that made his chest tighten. In the hallways, their fingers would brush in passing, a subtle connection that sent sparks through both of them. But now, the thrill of secrecy was slowly being overtaken by the weight of it. The constant need to be cautious, to hide their feelings, was becoming a strain.
• The final minutes of the day ticked away, and one by one, the other employees began to pack up and leave, the office growing quieter with each departure. Eleanor, lingering a little longer than usual, hesitated by Isaac’s desk. She stood there, fidgeting with the cuff of her blouse, her usual confident demeanor replaced by something more nervous, more uncertain. She glanced at him, her heart racing, but her words were caught somewhere between her thoughts and her lips.