Until You (Off-Limits)

I stare at my screen, unable to focus. This rarely happens to me. No matter what’s going on in my life, I’m always able to lose myself in my work. But not today. Today all I can think about is Gray.

“So, has he figured it out yet?”

I freeze, my head turning toward Elliot, who is leaning against my desk. I was so deeply lost in thought, I didn’t even notice him walking over.

“What?” I ask, a hint of fear making my voice high.

Elliot grins. “Riley. Has he figured out who you are?”

I breathe a sigh of relief and shake my head, my eyes roaming around the room to ensure that this conversation is private.

“No, and he won’t.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “You do realize he’s spending a few hours a day trying to trace you, don’t you?”

I frown. “What? Why?”

Elliot laughs and glances at Riley, drawing his attention. “He’s obsessed with you. Both sides of you.” My eyes widen, and he smiles at me. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”

Elliot shakes his head. “Never mind. You’ll find out.”

He leans in, reaching for my keyboard. “Found some security threats in last week’s work,” he tells me, running me through them.

I bite down on my lip, frustrated. I can’t believe I missed that. I’ve been so distracted this past week, and it’s unacceptable. My thoughts have been on last weekend and on Gray, when I should’ve been focusing on work. This project is too important. I can’t let my team down like this.

“Hey,” Elliot says. “This is literally my job. I’d hate it if I didn’t find anything. It’s okay.”

I nod and grab my tablet to take notes while Elliot talks me through his concerns and potential fixes. It’s going to take me a few hours to resolve this, and it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. If I’d just been more focused, I wouldn’t have so much work to do now, causing delays.

Elliot looks up at me, a kind smile on his face. “We’ve been moving so much faster since you joined the team, Aria. You’re doing really well. We’re back on track to hit our deadline now, and when you joined, we were three months behind. Keep doing what you do. We’re lucky to have you.”

His words startle me in the best way. I can’t believe Elliot Evans just said that to me. I’ve been admiring his work for years now, and here we are, finally working together in real life.

“I know you’ve been busy, but did you see the new case that popped up on your platform?”

I frown and shake my head. I haven’t even opened the app in two days now. Every time I want to, I’m reminded of Ash. Lately Gray and I have been getting closer, and it’s making me feel guilty. Even though I know I’ll never be with Gray, I’ve found myself pulling away from Ash out of guilt.

“Check it out. It’s right up your alley. I signed up to join the case, and I reckon you’ll want to be involved too.”

He winks at me and walks away, and I grab my phone. I check the case logs and indeed, there’s a cold rape case. My heart breaks as I read through the files. This woman has been let down by the system repeatedly, and all her hope is officially lost.

I’m not at all surprised when I see Ash has already signed up to work this case, but I’m hit with renewed admiration for him. The number of cases he’s contributed to rivals mine. I click on my notifications hesitantly, pulling up my chat with him.

Ash: Did you see the new case? It’s been a while since one as tough as this one popped up. I signed up. You know we make a power couple, Nyx. You should join.

Ash: Hey, I haven’t heard from you in a while. Is everything okay?

I can’t help but glance at Gray’s office. His door is open, and I can see him sitting at his desk, his face hidden behind his screen.

Nyx: I saw the case. I’ll check it out 🙂

My phone buzzes, but before I can check my messages, Riley walks up to me.

“Was Elliot just talking trash about me?” he asks, his eyes narrowed, and I frown. I guess curiosity won. I knew he wouldn’t let it rest after he saw Elliot laughing and looking at him.

“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Riley.”

He crosses his arms and grins at me. “Do you want to bet I can rock your world, though?”

I mirror his posture and stare him down. “Do you want to bet I’ll report you to HR if you so much as try?”

His smile drops, a hint of frustration in his eyes. “Are you still mad about the way I treated you on your first day here?”

I stare at him, annoyed. I don’t get what his deal is. “No, I’m not,” I tell him honestly. “I’m just busy. We’re on a deadline, Riley.”

He looks away, and all of a sudden I’m worried that I was too harsh. I’ve become quite friendly with both Laura and Elliot, and I’ll often have lunch or coffee with them, but I guess I must’ve been harboring at least a bit of a grudge because I rarely hang out with Riley.

“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling worse by the second. “I was just about to go grab a coffee down the street, actually. Elliot and I took some notes that I need to think through. Would you like to come with me?”

He looks at me in disbelief, and then he smiles. “Huh, so you don’t hate me. I have some work to do, so how about we grab lunch together soon? There were some front-end issues I wanted to discuss with you anyway,” he says.

I nod. I feel like I’m losing control of everything, like I’m falling behind, like I’m not on top of things as much as I should be. I need to work harder.

I might not be able to control the feelings I’m developing for Gray, but this I can control.