Chapter 5 THE RULES BEGINS TO BREAK

The Rules Begin to Break

The morning after the kiss should have been ordinary.

But it wasn't.

Amara stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at the mark he'd left not on her skin, but somewhere deeper, somewhere she couldn't scrub clean with soap or silence. She could still feel his breath near her lips. Still hear the words he'd said in the elevator.

"If I cross that line, there's no going back."

And then he did. And she let him.

She wasn't supposed to let him.

Not with a man like Elijah Blake. Not with someone who could erase her with a signature. Not with someone who carried storms in his chest and locked doors behind every look.

But she had kissed him.

And he had kissed her back.

Worse he hadn't regretted it.

Now, she had to walk into his office like everything was normal.

A New Kind of Silence

The air on the sixtieth floor was sharper that morning. Too quiet. Too aware.

Amara stepped off the elevator with a perfect mask of professionalism but her eyes betrayed her. They searched instinctively for his shadow.

Elijah's office door was closed.

Her heart thudded, but she didn't knock. She just slid behind her desk and opened her inbox. Nothing from him. Not a memo. Not a reminder. Not a single unread message marked urgent which was his usual tone.

She should've been relieved.

But instead, she was... disappointed.

The silence was louder than any cold remark he could have made.

Inside His Fortress

Elijah hadn't slept.

The kiss replayed on a loop in his mind, slower each time, like a frame-by-frame dissection of every second he shouldn't have allowed. Her hands on him. His on her. Her lips parting just enough. The sound she made when he deepened it.

He'd meant to stop it.

But he didn't.

And now? Everything was unraveling.

He couldn't concentrate. Couldn't read the third-quarter projections without seeing her mouth. Couldn't take a phone call without remembering the feel of her waist beneath his palms.

He closed his laptop and stared at the skyline. Cold glass. Endless city.

But it was her reflection that haunted him now.

Rules on Fire

They lasted two days.

Two long days of distance. Of almost-sent messages and fake busywork. Of avoiding eye contact and staying late after the other had already left.

But tension doesn't obey calendars.

And on Friday morning, the dam finally cracked.

It started with a meeting.

A quarterly review with the European partners. Elijah walked into the boardroom in a stormy charcoal suit, expression unreadable. Amara was already there, seated at the far end of the table, reviewing slides.

When their eyes met, it was brief.

But charged.

Static hummed between them.

The meeting dragged on for two hours. Elijah spoke in his usual sharp, surgical rhythm. Amara presented flawlessly. No mistakes. No stumbles.

Until the final slide.

One of the European partners an older French investor named Jules leaned forward with a smirk.

"Your assistant is very... poised," he said. "Beautiful and clever. Rare combination, Mr. Blake."

Elijah's jaw tightened. "She's not here to be admired."

Amara froze slightly.

Jules chuckled. "No offense. Just an observation."

Elijah's eyes flicked to Amara's for the first time that day.

The air between them ignited.

Everyone noticed it but no one said a word.

Unspoken and Unraveling

After the meeting, Amara packed her laptop in silence. Elijah waited until the others had cleared out.

"Amara."

She stopped.

He moved closer. "Come with me."

She hesitated. "Where?"

"My private conference suite."

She hesitated. "Is this a meeting or something else?"

"Both."

Behind Closed Doors

The door shut with a soft click behind her.

The room was smaller than the main boardroom. No windows. Just dark wood, low lighting, and a thick silence.

Elijah stood with his back to her, hands in his pockets.

"Did the comment bother you?" he asked.

"What comment?"

"About you being beautiful."

She didn't answer.

He turned to face her. "Because it bothered me."

Her chest rose slightly.

"I didn't like someone speaking about you like that," he said. "I didn't like watching him look at you like you were available."

"I'm not," she whispered.

His voice dropped. "I know."

"But neither are you," she added.

They stood in silence.

Then

"I should fire you," he said suddenly.

She blinked. "What?"

"Before this gets worse."

She stepped forward. "Then do it."

He looked at her. "I don't want to."

"Then don't say it."

He clenched his jaw. "This was never supposed to happen."

"I'm not sorry it did."

Silence.

"I've never..." he started, then stopped. "This isn't what I do, Amara."

"I know," she whispered. "It's not what I do either."

He stepped forward, slowly. "I can't promise I won't ruin this."

"I'm not asking you to promise anything."

"You should."

"Why?" she said. "Because I'm falling for you and I don't know what the hell to do with it?"

He stopped.

"What did you just say?"

She froze.

He stepped closer.

"Say it again."

She breathed, barely a whisper. "I think I'm falling for you."

His mouth crashed into hers like a storm breaking. Hard, hungry, unrestrained.

This kiss wasn't like the elevator.

It was everything he'd been holding back and everything she'd been afraid to admit.

What Follows Fire

They didn't sleep together.

But it was close.

Too close.

They kissed like the room was spinning. Like the world outside the glass didn't exist. Like they didn't care that they were both on the edge of something dangerous.

But eventually, Amara pulled away, breathless.

"We should stop."

"I know," he murmured.

They stood inches apart, not touching but tethered by something electric and alive.

"This changes everything," she whispered.

Elijah didn't reply.

Because deep down, he knew she was right.

Someone Is Watching

Outside, down the hallway, a figure leaned against the wall.

Cassandra DeWitt.

Head of strategic partnerships.

Smart.

Ruthless.

And once long ago Elijah Blake's on-again, off-again flame.

She'd seen everything.

And unlike the others?

She didn't intend to let this story end with a happy ending.