Rumors and Risks

Chapter 5: Rumors and Risks

The morning after the gala felt different.

Emma sat at her desk, her fingers hovering above the keyboard, but her mind replayed the rooftop—the warmth of Alex’s jacket on her shoulders, the feel of his arms pulling her close, the sound of his voice when no one else was listening. It was a night she would remember forever, but now, daylight had brought reality back into focus.

They were back at the office. Back to crisp emails, board meetings, and the unspoken rules they hadn’t technically broken—but had definitely bent.

Alex had arrived an hour earlier, walking past her desk with only the briefest glance. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm either. It was controlled. Measured. As if the man who held her the night before had vanished behind the suit again.

Emma sighed and returned to her work. She couldn’t let her feelings get in the way. Not now. Not when her job—and maybe her heart—were both on the line.

But by lunchtime, the whispers had started.

She caught them in the break room—the hushed voices that stopped the second she entered.

“She was at the gala,” someone murmured just as she walked in.

“With him,” another said under their breath.

Emma kept her head high, ignoring them, even as her stomach tightened. Rumors. She should’ve expected them. Alex wasn’t the kind of man who could go anywhere without being noticed—and she wasn’t invisible, no matter how hard she tried to be.

Back at her desk, she tried to focus, but the thoughts were relentless.

Had she crossed a line? Was this already spiraling into something she couldn’t control?

Her phone buzzed.

Alex: My office. Now.

Emma’s heart jumped. She smoothed her skirt and stood, pushing down the nerves as she made her way to his door.

When she stepped inside, he was standing by the window, hands in his pockets, jaw tense.

“Close the door,” he said without turning.

She obeyed, the quiet click behind her sounding much louder than it should have.

“There are rumors,” he said flatly.

“I know,” Emma replied.

He finally turned to her. His eyes were sharp again—CEO mode. “You know what they’re saying?”

She nodded. “They think something’s happening between us.”

Alex took a step toward her. “And what do you think is happening between us?”

Emma swallowed hard. “I think… something is.”

He stared at her for a moment longer, then his shoulders dropped ever so slightly. The weight of the world slipped just a fraction. “Emma, I can handle boardroom battles. Hostile takeovers. Legal wars. But I don’t know how to handle you.”

That confession pierced her deeper than she expected.

“You don’t have to handle me,” she said gently. “You just have to be honest with me.”

“I care about you,” he said quietly, almost like it pained him to admit it. “But if anyone finds out, your name will be dragged through every boardroom whisper. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Emma walked up to him, close enough to hear the uncertainty in his breath. “It’s too late for that, Alex. I already care.”

He looked at her then—not the way a boss looks at his assistant, but the way a man looks at the one person who terrifies him because she matters too much.

For a second, he reached out—his fingers brushing hers like he wanted to hold on and let go all at once.

“We need to be careful,” he said. “But I’m not walking away from this. From you.”

Emma nodded slowly. “Neither am I.”

And in that moment, they weren’t avoiding what was happening—they were acknowledging it, choosing it. Even if it meant walking a very fine

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