Chapter 33
Jessica stood before the private elevator, and her own reflection stared back at her from the elevator doors. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and tilted her head slightly, lost in thought.
Out of the blue, Zachary appeared right beside her, and her tilted head came to rest squarely on his shoulder.
Startled, she immediately straightened up, her eyes darting straight to their reflection in the elevator doors. He, too, tilted his head slightly, looking at her.
“Mr. Jones, how did you-”
Was this some kind of workplace deja vu? It felt as if they had stepped into one of those office
elevator run–ins.
“I mean, Zachary,” Jessica quickly corrected herself.
Zachary, on the other hand, appeared calm. “I’ll lead the tour.”
She had finally managed to escape his sight, only for him to follow her anyway. She wondered if Zachary seriously had nothing else better to do. Shouldn’t a CEO be swamped with work?
Just a couple of days ago, he looked all gloomy and stressed, as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Now, he had time to tag along with her for a house tour.
The bell sounded, and the elevator doors slid open.
Zachary stepped in first and pressed the button for the third floor. Jessica stood quietly beside him, the enclosed space filled with the subtle scent of sandalwood clinging to him.
She barely dared to breathe, feeling as if she might drown in his scent alone.
The elevator stopped.
The third floor opened into a massive study that resembled a private library. Further in, a long desk stretched about 20 feet, covered with calligraphy tools and ink.
Beyond that, a cozy little balcony hung outside, adding a touch of unexpected charm to the
space.
“Wow…”
Jessica let out a barely noticeable gasp, worried Zachary would think she was too unsophisticated. He glanced sideways at her, his lips quirking into a smirk. “I heard that you’re pretty good at calligraphy.”
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“Just so–so,” she replied quickly, not daring to claim she was that good.
Back when she spent two summers abroad with Hazel and Ginger, the latter had made her practice calligraphy almost every day. Jessica had a quick mind and picked things up fast, which impressed Ginger greatly.
Since then, whenever she lacked inspiration for her art, she would turn to writing.
Awkwardness hung heavy in the air, unspoken and palpable. Neither Jessica’s nor Zachary’s
hesitant steps could ease it.
“Are you into calligraphy as well?” she asked, as they aimlessly wandered between shelves.
At this point, she wasn’t even sure why she had come up in the first place.
“I am,
but I’m pretty much an amateur,” he said.
That was unexpected.
Jessica had always heard Ginger brag about how her son could do everything and learn anything in record time. The only thing he seemed to lack was emotional intelligence. Aside from that, he was practically flawless.
She let out a chuckle, thinking that there was finally something she was better at than he was.
“Teach me,” Zachary added.
She froze for a second, wondering if this was just an excuse to keep the conversation going.
They had reached the end of the row, with nowhere else to go. She turned, meaning to head
back, but he didn’t budge.
The space between the opposing bookshelves was barely five feet wide, and he was standing right in the middle of it.
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, hesitant. His eyes locked onto
hers.
Left with no choice, Jessica could only glance away and pretend to browse the books next to her. She randomly pulled one off the shelf just to break the tension and opened it.
Then, lo and behold, a classical intimacy manual–fully illustrated–sat in her palms.
Without hesitation, Jessica shut the book and shoved it back onto the shelf. She could hear Zachary chuckling in the midst of it.
The tension around them was overwhelming. With him acting like this, she knew exactly what he was thinking and where this was going.
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“Zachary, you-”
He cut in, saying, “I still want to kiss you.”
She was rendered speechless. Did it have to be today? Was it some kind of international kissing day that she wasn’t aware of?
Jessica felt like she was on fire. Her ears burned crimson, her cheeks flushed, her palms
sweaty, and even her toes felt hot.
Her hands clenched into fists, and her thumbs pressed so hard against her index fingers that they went pale from the pressure.
“Damn it, man. Just do it already. Stop setting such a dramatic scene!” she screamed inside her
head.
In moments like this, it was impossible to pretend to be all upstanding.
Zachary stood against the light, his expression hidden in shadow, his perfect profile lost in darkness. His silhouette overshadowed Jessica, and not a single movement of hers escaped from his sight.
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