chapter 7

For a few seconds, Elena was too stunned to move. His tone wasn’t mocking, and his expression was free of the smugness she often saw on the faces of other popular kids. He seemed genuinely helpful.

“Uh, thanks,” she mumbled, her cheeks burning.

“No problem,” he said, handing her the books. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, and then he smiled—a small, lopsided grin that made her heart race. “Careful next time.”

That interaction played on a loop in Elena’s mind for weeks. It wasn’t much, but it felt monumental to her. For a brief moment, Elliot had seen her, acknowledged her. It was enough to fuel her feelings, to make her daydream about what it would be like to talk to him again.

But things changed during junior year. Elliot seemed to undergo a transformation, stepping into the role of the school’s golden boy. With his good looks, athletic talent, and quick wit, he became the center of attention. And with that attention came a sharper edge to his personality.

Elena wasn’t sure when it started, but she noticed his kindness being replaced by a casual cruelty. He teased classmates in ways that seemed harmless on the surface but carried a sting for the recipients. His charm turned into a weapon, disarming people before delivering a blow.

And then, he turned his focus on her.

The first incident was minor—a sarcastic comment about her outdated shoes that left her reeling. She laughed nervously, hoping to brush it off, but the look in his eyes told her he meant it. After that, the jabs became more frequent, more targeted. He nicknamed her “Mouse” for her quiet demeanor, and soon, others followed suit.

Elena’s crush didn’t vanish overnight. Instead, it twisted into something painful and confusing. She still noticed the way his hair caught the sunlight, the way his smile lit up a room. But now, those same features mocked her, reminding her of the boy who used his power to make her feel small.

One memory stood out sharply—a moment that encapsulated her conflicting feelings. It was the night of the homecoming dance. Elena hadn’t planned on attending, but her best friend convinced her to go. She spent hours preparing, borrowing a dress and curling her hair, hoping to blend in with the crowd.

When she arrived, she saw Elliot standing near the punch table, laughing with a group of friends. He looked effortlessly handsome in his suit, his tie loosened as though he didn’t care about the rules.

For a brief moment, their eyes met across the room. Her heart skipped a beat, and she thought—stupidly, naively—that he might come over and say something kind, the way he had in the hallway that day with the books.

Instead, he smirked, leaned over to his friends, and said something that made them burst into laughter.

Elena didn’t know what he said, but the look in his eyes told her it wasn’t good. The rest of the night was a blur of humiliation, punctuated by the sound of his voice cutting through her confidence like a knife.

By senior year, Elena had resolved to avoid him at all costs. Her crush had become a source of shame, a reminder of her foolishness for ever thinking he could be kind.

But even as she tried to forget him, her feelings lingered, tangled with the pain he caused. She hated him for what he did, but a small, traitorous part of her still remembered the boy who had picked up her books, the boy who had smiled at her as though she mattered.

Now, years later, sitting across from him as his secretary, those memories came rushing back with startling clarity. She couldn’t reconcile the man who offered her coffee and support at work with the boy who had made her cry herself to sleep.

The feelings she thought she had buried were still there—raw, complicated, and impossible to ignore.

Elena hadn’t anticipated that her new job would come with so much scrutiny, but it became evident as soon as she walked into the office that her relationship with Elliot—complicated as it already was—would become a source of speculation.

From her first day as Elliot Grayson’s secretary, whispers trailed her in the hallways. At first, she thought it was just the natural curiosity that came with being the newest hire. But it quickly became apparent that the attention stemmed from something more: her proximity to the CEO’s son.

Her anxiety heightened every time she caught a coworker glancing her way, their eyes filled with curiosity, suspicion, or, worst of all, envy. It didn’t help that Elliot often called her into his office for long discussions about her work. Though the meetings were strictly professional, his tone was softer when he spoke to her, his demeanor more patient than she’d seen him be with others.

It didn’t take long for the gossip to start.

“Did you hear? The new secretary is the boss’s stepsister,” someone whispered in the breakroom one day, unaware that Elena was in the adjacent hallway.

“Stepsister and secretary?” another voice replied, laced with disdain. “Sounds like someone’s angling for special treatment.”

Elena froze, her heart sinking. She didn’t even know who was speaking, but the words stung. She’d worked hard to get this job, and the last thing she wanted was for people to think she hadn’t earned it.

“Elliot never spends that much time with anyone else,” another person chimed in. “Did you see how he smiled at her yesterday? There’s definitely something going on there.”

Elena felt her stomach churn. She wanted to march into the room and defend herself, but what could she say? That their relationship was strictly professional? That she and Elliot had a tangled history far more complex than office gossip could ever capture?