The next day, the office buzzed with the usual morning rush—emails, phone calls, the clack of shoes on polished floors. Sienna stepped into the building with purpose, clutching a slim folder filled with updates for a project review. But when she reached her desk, she stopped short.
Another bouquet.
This one was smaller than yesterday's, but just as elegant—deep red ranunculus, creamy gardenias, and pale pink roses nestled in a sleek black crystal vase. Beside it sat a box of dark chocolate truffles tied in gold ribbon, and a small note resting on top.
To keep your energy up for another day of bossing me around. —C
Sienna's face flushed instantly.
Letty was already peering over from Accounting. "He's not even being subtle anymore."
"I—It's just chocolates," Sienna muttered, trying to shove the note into a drawer.
"It's gourmet truffles, and that's a two-hundred-dollar vase," Letty said, eyebrows raised.
Sienna exhaled, flustered but undeniably glowing. She grabbed her report folder and made her way down the hall.
She sat back down for a moment, staring at the flowers again. Her fingers brushed the soft petals, her pulse skipping as she traced the edges of the card. This was more than flirting. More than teasing. Cassian was... sincere. And her heart—usually wrapped in iron—was cracking open like a soft bloom in sunlight.
She was falling for him.
Hard.
And it scared her just as much as it thrilled her.
She opened her drawer, pulled out a compact, and checked her reflection. Just a little blush, a touch of mascara—nothing too much. And yet, as she dabbed gloss onto her lips, she felt ridiculous.
You're not putting on makeup for your boss, she told herself.
Except she was.
She rolled her eyes at her reflection, gathered the folder, and headed down the hall with her pulse thudding in her throat.
Cassian's office was quiet, sunlight pouring in through the tall windows and casting sharp angles across the room. He was at his desk, flipping through paperwork when she knocked once and stepped inside.
"Report from yesterday," she said, placing the folder neatly on his desk.
He didn't even glance at it.
Instead, he stood.
"Close the door."
Her heart stuttered.
She obeyed.
And the second the latch clicked, he was in front of her—pulling her in by the waist, his mouth crashing down onto hers.
The kiss was immediate, hungry. His hands slid beneath the hem of her blouse, up her spine, fingers splayed wide. She gasped, and he swallowed the sound, pressing her back against the edge of his desk.
Sienna's hands fisted in his jacket as he deepened the kiss, biting at her lower lip before soothing it with his tongue. She moaned into him, melting against his body like wax under flame.
"Cassian—" she breathed when he finally let her go, lips hovering over hers, their foreheads pressed together.
"You drive me crazy," he murmured.
She was breathless. "You started it."
He smiled, brushing her hair back from her flushed face. "And I'm not stopping."
She laughed softly, and he took her hand again, lacing their fingers together.
"You need my hand to steady yourself?" he teased.
She giggled, eyes twinkling. "No, you just like holding it."
"Guilty," he said with a grin.
She sighed, resting her free hand on his chest. "By the way, you have a nine a.m. with the Donovan team. Don't forget."
He groaned, head tilting back. "You make everything better and worse, Caldwell. I need another kiss to survive the morning."
She rolled her eyes—but leaned up anyway.
And kissed him again.
This one was slower. Sweet. Just a breath shared between them.
He looked dazed when they pulled apart. "You're going to ruin me, aren't you?"
She smiled, cheeks pink. "That's the plan."
By the time she stepped out of his office, Sienna felt like she was floating. Her lips were tingling, her skin buzzing, and her heart doing pirouettes in her chest.
She barely made it halfway to her desk before Letty and two others turned in their chairs to watch her pass with smirks far too wide to ignore.
Letty raised her brows. "You look like you just got kissed into next week."
"I—no—I did not," Sienna stammered, clutching her clipboard like a shield.
Another voice chimed in. "We're not judging. We're just... basking in the jealousy."
Sienna turned bright red. "Oh my god, we are not like that."
Letty laughed. "Sure. And I'm not addicted to espresso."
Sienna plopped into her chair, refusing to look at anyone, her whole body humming.
She was trying to act normal.
But her stupid smile wouldn't go away.
And neither would the feeling that she was one more kiss away from absolutely bursting.
She left his office feeling like she was floating, warmth blooming in her chest and a giddy buzz still singing in her veins. Her smile wouldn't quit, and she wasn't even trying to hide it.
And of course, everyone noticed.
But it was like that. She was just trying not to fall too fast.