🖤
Caleb Garcia had rules. Strict ones. Clear ones. Unbreakable ones.
—
He didn't mix work with emotions. He didn't chase people. He didn't explain himself. And most importantly, he didn't lose control.
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But today, every single one of those rules felt irrelevant.
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Because Cassy was leaving.
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Not physically. Not yet. But emotionally, she already had.
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"Sir, your 2 p.m. meeting—"
"Cancel it."
Adrian blinked. "Again?"
"Yes." No hesitation. No explanation.
—
Adrian studied him carefully. "…This is about her, isn't it?"
Caleb didn't answer. Because silence was already an answer.
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Across the office, Cassy stayed focused. Working. Typing. Reviewing.
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Like nothing had changed. Like nothing existed beyond her desk.
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But she felt it. Of course she did.
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That presence. That awareness. That tension in the air.
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She just refused to look up.
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Until, "Cassy."
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Her name. Not "Miss Williams." Not "secretary."
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Just Cassy.
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Her fingers froze. Just for a second. Then slowly, she looked up.
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Caleb stood in front of her desk. Not at his office. Not calling her in.
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Here. In her space.
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"Yes… sir?" she said carefully. That hesitation, that distance. He heard it. And didn't like it.
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"Come with me," he said.
Cassy blinked. "I'm working."
"I know." A pause. Then, "Come anyway."
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That wasn't an order. That wasn't a request.
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It was something else.
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And that alone made her stand.
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They didn't go to his office. They didn't go anywhere inside the building.
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They walked out. Again.
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"Where are we going?" she asked softly.
Caleb didn't stop walking. "Somewhere you won't pretend."
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That answer, that line, made her chest tighten.
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They stopped at the same place as before. The quiet street corner. The one where everything had started to shift.
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Cassy crossed her arms slightly. "You shouldn't be doing this."
"I know." Immediate.
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"Then why are you?"
Silence.
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Caleb turned to face her fully. And for the first time, there was no control in his expression. No calculation. No distance.
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"Because you're pulling away," he said. Direct. Honest. Unfiltered.
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Cassy looked away. "That's my decision."
"No," he said immediately. "That's your reaction."
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She frowned slightly. "…To what?"
A beat. Then, "To me."
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Silence. Heavy. Real.
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Cassy exhaled slowly. "You don't get to decide how I react."
"I don't," he admitted. A pause. Then, "But I get to ask why."
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That honesty, that openness was new. Too new.
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Cassy hesitated. Then answered quietly, "because I don't want to get hurt." There it was. Finally.
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Caleb stilled. Because that answer, that vulnerability was something he hadn't prepared for.
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"And you think I will?" he asked.
Cassy met his gaze. "I don't know," she said softly.
A pause. Then, "that's the problem."
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Silence.
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For once, Caleb didn't respond immediately. Because for once, he didn't have certainty.
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Instead, he stepped closer. Slow. Careful.
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"I don't make promises I can't keep," he said quietly.
Cassy's heart tightened slightly. "…That's not an answer."
"I know." Another step closer.
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"But it's the truth."
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She didn't move. Didn't step back. Didn't step forward.
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Just stood there. Listening.
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"I don't know what this is," he continued. "But I know I don't want you to walk away from it."
Silence.
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That line, that honesty, that lack of control—
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It was everything he had avoided his entire life.
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Cassy swallowed lightly. "…That's not enough, Caleb." There it was. His name again.
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"But it's more than you had yesterday," he said.
A pause. Then, "Isn't it?"
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Cassy didn't answer. Because he wasn't wrong.
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But he wasn't right either.
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And that was the hardest part.
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She looked at him for a long moment. Then took a small step back.
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"I need time," she said softly. Not rejection. Not distance.
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Just… space.
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Caleb didn't stop her. Didn't argue. Didn't push.
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Because this time he understood.
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And that was new too.
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"…Take it," he said quietly. A pause. "But don't disappear."
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Cassy nodded slowly. "I won't."
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And for the first time, the distance between them didn't feel like an ending.
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It felt like something waiting. Something unfinished. Something real.