The morning air felt unusually calm, almost too calm for a Thursday. I stood outside the office building for a moment, coffee in hand, breathing in deep like that could somehow wash off last night's weird tension. The call, the message and Ace's voice still lingered somewhere in the back of my mind, like a shadow I couldn't quite shake.
But I wasn't going to dwell on that. Not today.
I forced a smile, squared my shoulders, and walked into the building. The familiar sound of laughter, keyboard clicks, and that one printer that always made dying noises instantly made things feel… normal again.
"Morning, sunshine!" Ryan called from across the room, flashing me his usual too-charming smile. He had that boyish look sleeves rolled up, tie hanging loose and he always seemed like he was starring in his own office rom-com.
"Good morning, Ryan," I replied, trying to match his energy.
"Ohh another morning love show" Ava held her head like she was about to faint, I just smiled at her.
"You look tired," Emily said from her desk, giving me a sympathetic look over her glasses. "Don't tell me you were up all night again bingeing dramas?"
I let out a small laugh. "Something like that."
Ethan, sitting beside her, didn't even look up from his screen. "Translation, she was probably on her phone talking to her man."
I rolled my eyes. "You wish."
The easy banter made my chest feel a little lighter. Ava was arranging files near the window, humming under her breath, while Alex and Samantha were having one of their usual morning debates about which restaurant had the best coffee in town.
Mrs. Rachel, our supervisor, appeared a moment later, polished as ever, in her navy blue suit and red lipstick. "Good morning, team," she said briskly. "I hope you're all ready for another productive day."
A chorus of greetings followed.
Ryan walked over to my desk, leaning casually against it. "We missed you at the after-work hangout yesterday," he said. "Ethan tried to win at darts again, and failed miserably."
Ethan looked up. "I did not fail. I just… let Emily win."
I looked at them confused "y'all had another round?"
Samantha answered from where she was standing "you looked really down, we needed you to rest"
I felt left out but I was still grateful because I would not have wanted to go elsewhere that night too.
Emily rolled her eyes. "You missed the part where he almost broke the dartboard."
Their laughter filled the office, and I couldn't help but smile genuinely this time. It was easy to forget, for a moment, everything else outside this space, the drama, the tension, the phone calls. Here, it was just work, silly jokes, and people who actually seemed to care.
Ryan looked at me again, his gaze a little too soft, a little too curious. "You okay though? You seemed… distracted yesterday."
I looked away quickly, shuffling a few papers on my desk. "I'm fine. Just tired."
He didn't push, thankfully. "Alright, but if you need another funfair date to unwind, you know who to call," he said with a wink before heading back to his seat.
I laughed lightly, though my heart gave a small twist at the memory, that funfair, the night Ace had shown up uninvited, dragging me away like I belonged to him.
"Sharon, can you help me with the client list?" Mrs. Rachel's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Yes, ma'am," I said quickly, grabbing my notepad.
As I moved across the room, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in one of the glass panels, calm on the outside, but my eyes… my eyes still looked restless.
No matter how loud the office laughter got, part of me still couldn't drown out the low echo of that voice from last night.
After handing the list to Mrs Rachel, I walked towards my desk...
"Hey, Sharon."
I turned to see Ryan walking toward me calmly, that easy grin of his in place.
"Hey, Ryan," i said, matching his smile as I shuffled a few papers on my desk.
He leaned against the edge of my table, his eyes glinting with something I'd seen before, curiosity mixed with that playful interest he never quite hid. "I wanted to ask you something."
I glanced up, amused. "What is it this time?"
He chuckled softly. "Would you like to go out this weekend? Maybe dinner or somewhere quiet?"
For a split second, I felt the warmth of his tone tug my skin. I was about to say yes, the word already forming on my lips... but then, like a shadow creeping in uninvited, Ace's voice echoed in my head.
'I want you to accompany me somewhere this weekend.'
My chest tightened. The memory of that call his cold, unreadable tone stirred something I didn't want to name.
"I... I'm not free this weekend," I said quickly, almost without thinking.
Ryan's smile faltered for a moment, but he recovered just as fast, giving a small nod. "That's okay. Maybe some other time."
"Yeah," I murmured, watching him walk away, his usual brightness dimmed but still polite enough to toss me a parting smile.
As I sat there, my exhaled slowly.
I let out a slow breath and slumped forward, my forehead pressing against the cool surface of my desk. The office noise around me faded into a blur the clicking keyboards, the low hum of conversations, the sound of someone's laughter in the distance. It all felt so far away.
I wasn't thinking about work anymore. I wasn't even trying to. My mind was somewhere else, just stuck replaying last night's call over and over, the sound of his voice still echoing in my head.
Ace...
I exhaled shakily and sat up, staring blankly at my computer screen before finally reaching for my phone. My heart thudded hard against my chest. I didn't even know why I was doing this but I just needed to end the restlessness inside me.
Before I could change my mind, I stood and walked out of the office. The hallway felt colder than usual, or maybe it was just me. My fingers hovered over the number , that same unknown number and after a deep breath, I pressed call.
The phone rang once...
Twice...
Three times...
Each ring made my heart beat faster, like a countdown to something I wasn't ready for. By the fourth ring, I almost hit the red button to end the call but then I heard it.
"Hello?"
I froze... That voice wasn't his.
It was hers.
Diana.
My breath hitched. For a second, I couldn't even move. It felt like my whole body locked up. What was she doing answering his phone?
Before I could say anything, I heard a muffled sound like someone moving closer and then the unmistakable rustle of the phone being taken away.
"I'll be upstairs," his voice came next, firm, distant… unmistakably his. "Don't disturb me."
The next thing I heard was a door closing, followed by silence. Then his voice again, closer now.
"Hello."
That one word did something to me. I felt it, the strange pull I hated admitting existed. My hand tightened around the phone, my mind racing for what to say. But when I finally spoke, my voice came out cold and steady, not trembling like I expected.
"Let's go where you want," I said quietly. "I'm down for the weekend."
There was a pause, a long, heavy one that made my chest feel tight. I could almost hear his breathing, slow and measured.
Then he said, low and certain, "I'll pick you up."
And before I could respond, the line went dead.
I stood there in the hallway for a moment, staring at my phone like it had just betrayed me. The call was over, but his voice and the tone lingered in my head. I hated that it did. I hated that part of me didn't want it to stop.