Sugar, Spite, and Shadows
(At the café, Lena stirs her latte nervously while Maya leans back, sipping hers like royalty.)
Maya (MC bestie)
You know, if you stir that any faster, you’ll open a wormhole.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(groans)
I just… keep replaying everything. Mr. Knight, the files, the way he stares like—
Maya (MC bestie)
Like you’re a bug under a microscope? Yeah, classic Knight. He probably even frowns at puppies.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(snorts)
That actually sounds accurate.
Maya (MC bestie)
Accurate? Please. That man hasn’t smiled since the Cold War.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
Maya!
Maya (MC bestie)
What? Someone has to tell the truth. If the world depended on Adrian Knight’s sense of humor, we’d all be extinct.
(Lena laughs despite herself, spilling a bit of coffee. Maya immediately grins in triumph.)
Maya (MC bestie)
Ah-ha! Look, you laughed. Progress.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(shaking her head) You’re impossible.
Maya (MC bestie)
And fabulous. Don’t forget fabulous.
(Meanwhile, back at the office, Adrian is deep in contracts when the door bursts open. Ethan saunters in, all charm and trouble.)
Adrian Knight
(without looking up) You again
Adrian Knight
Like one misses a toothache.
Ethan
Ouch. And here I thought we were friends.
Adrian Knight
Friends don’t walk into my office uninvited.
Adrian Knight
(coldly)
Say what you came to say and leave.
Ethan
Fine. Just thought I’d mention your secretary. She’s got a certain… spark.
(Adrian’s pen pauses for half a second, but he doesn’t look up.)
Adrian Knight
She has work to do
Ethan
So do I, but here we are. You know, she’s actually fun. She smiles, she jokes—
Adrian Knight
(cutting him off)
Ethan.
Ethan
What? You don’t like jokes?
Ethan
(smirking)
That’s fine. Lena laughed at them.
(Adrian finally looks up, his expression sharp and unreadable. Ethan just grins wider, clearly entertained.)
(Later that afternoon, Lena heads back from running an errand, balancing a stack of folders. Just as she turns a corner, she bumps into Clare, who looks pristine in her designer heels.)
Clare
(arching a brow) Watch it. Those folders almost scuffed my shoes.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(flustered) S-sorry, I didn’t—
Clare
(smiling thinly) Careful, sweetheart. This place isn’t kind to… clumsy types.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(murmurs) I’ll… try to remember that.
Clare
(tilting her head, eyes sweeping over Lena) Good. Because around here, standing out for the wrong reasons doesn’t end well.
(Before Lena can reply, Clare strides off, perfume lingering in the air. Lena exhales shakily, adjusting her folders. From down the hall, Ethan passes by, raising a brow.)
Ethan
(teasing)
Survived Hurricane Clare? Congratulations, you deserve a medal.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(half-smiles)
Do they give medals for tripping over my own shoes?
Ethan
If they did, I’d make sure you got gold.
(Lena laughs nervously. Unseen, Adrian steps out of his office just in time to catch the sound, his gaze flicking between the two before retreating back into the shadows of his office without a word.)
(That evening, Lena texts Maya as she walks home.)
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(texting)
Clare hates me. Pretty sure she wants me dead.
Maya (MC bestie)
(texting) Please. If looks could kill, Clare would’ve been on death row years ago. You’re fine.
Lena Hart (shortcake)
(texting)
Easy for you to say. She’s perfect.
Maya (MC bestie)
(texting)
Perfectly fake. Remember that. Also, eat dinner. Not air.
(Lena smiles faintly at her phone, feeling a little less crushed.)
(Meanwhile, Adrian sits alone at his desk, the echo of Lena’s laughter with Ethan still annoyingly stuck in his mind. His jaw clenches as he forces his focus back to the documents, though the numbers blur.)
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