Chapter 2 : Eyes that Linger

The next morning, Eli arrived at the office thirty minutes early. The city was just beginning to stretch itself awake, but Cross Enterprises already hummed with quiet, calculated movement—like the company never slept, only waited.

He’d barely slept himself. Adrian’s text from the night before had burned into his thoughts, simple but loaded.

“You handled yourself well today.”

What did that even mean? Approval? Observation? A warning?

Eli had crafted—and deleted—half a dozen replies before finally turning off his phone. He wasn’t about to let a man like Adrian Cross worm into his head on day one. Or so he told himself.

But now, standing at his new desk just outside Adrian’s glass-walled office, he felt the air shift. Like the world around this man moved differently. Slower. Heavier.

At 8:06 a.m., Adrian arrived.

No fanfare. No entourage. Just the soft sound of Italian leather shoes and a presence that sucked all the air from the hallway.

He didn’t say good morning.

He didn’t need to.

He paused briefly at Eli’s desk, grey eyes sweeping over him—not just his clothes, but him. His face. His posture. Like he was scanning for weakness.

“You’re early,” Adrian said.

“You don’t seem like the type who tolerates lateness.”

That earned him a flicker of amusement. Barely there. A ghost of a smirk.

“Fair,” Adrian said. Then, casually: “Walk with me.”

Eli grabbed the tablet, heart lurching into a gallop, and followed him down the corridor.

They passed through offices that looked like sets from minimalist films—cool colors, clean angles, no warmth. Just money and efficiency.

As they walked, Adrian spoke in clipped commands—reschedule a call, decline an invitation, approve a merger meeting. Eli noted each without question, fingers flying over the screen.

But then, abruptly, Adrian asked, “Do you know what this company does?”

Eli blinked. “Cross Enterprises is a multinational consulting and investment group specializing in corporate turnaround strategies and... acquisitions.”

“That’s the website answer,” Adrian said, stopping to face him. “What do you really think we do?”

Eli hesitated, then said, “You find failing things and break them down so they can be rebuilt the way you want.”

A beat of silence.

Adrian tilted his head. “Interesting. And what makes you think I like rebuilding anything?”

“I don’t,” Eli said. “I think you like breaking things that don't work—and deciding what’s worth saving.”

Adrian stared at him for a long moment. Then, a soft, dangerous hum.

“You’re sharper than you look.”

“Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“It’s a warning,” Adrian replied, and turned away.

---

Back in the main hallway, a few staff members looked up as they passed. Their eyes lingered—not on Adrian, as expected—but on Eli.

Whispers followed behind them like smoke.

Who was the new guy? Why was Cross walking with him?

Eli kept his head down, but he felt the weight of Adrian’s eyes every few minutes. Glancing over his shoulder. Watching. Measuring.

By the time they returned to the executive floor, Eli’s pulse had never truly settled.

Adrian stopped at his office door and finally turned to him again.

“You handled that well,” he said. “For someone who’s barely breathing.”

Eli didn’t rise to the bait. “You give off a lot of secondhand suffocation.”

That made Adrian laugh—low and sudden. It was the first sound from him that felt human, not calculated.

“I like you,” he said simply, then stepped into his office.

The door closed behind him with a quiet finality.

---

Eli returned to his desk, fingertips cold against the tablet. He stared at the untouched cup of coffee on his side—one he hadn’t offered to Adrian yet.

Should he have?

Would that have looked eager? Or incompetent?

The rules were invisible here—but they mattered.

At 9:12 a.m., Eli’s phone vibrated on silent. One new message.

Unknown Number.

> You don’t flinch. Don’t start now. – A.C.

He stared at the screen. His stomach twisted.

This wasn’t just an employer watching his new assistant. This was surveillance. Attention sharpened into obsession.

But worse still…

He didn’t want it to stop.

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