Nora's POV
Elena took one sip of her drink and set it down like it had personally disappointed her.
"So let me get this straight," she said, leaning forward across the bar table. "A billionaire bought the coffee shop. Fired everyone. Then specifically asked to hire you as his personal assistant. For one hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year."
"Yes," Nora said, already hearing how insane it sounded out loud.
"And you think this is legitimate."
"It is legitimate. I have a contract. I have a job title. I have health insurance now, Elena. Do you understand how rare that is for people like us?"
Elena was quiet for a moment. She'd been Nora's best friend since the Daily Grind hired them both three years ago. Vibrant, outspoken, the kind of friend who told you the truth even when you didn't want to hear it. Especially then.
"What does he want?" Elena asked finally.
"He said he recognized my potential."
Elena gave her a look. The kind of look that meant Nora was being naive and they both knew it.
"He recognized something," Elena said carefully, "but potential might not be it. Tell me what he's actually like. At work. Describe him to me."
Nora twisted her napkin between her fingers. She didn't want to describe Zachary. Didn't want to put it into words and make it real.
"He's professional," she said, which was technically true.
"Nora."
"He's..." she paused, trying to find honest words. "He stands close. When he's talking to you. Closer than normal. And he touches things. My shoulder. My chair. My arm when we're walking. Nothing inappropriate but it's just... a lot."
"A lot," Elena repeated. "And you're okay with this?"
"It's just how he is."
"No." Elena leaned back. "It's not how most people are. Most people respect personal space. The fact that he doesn't respect yours is a choice. What else?"
Nora took a long drink of her own drink and didn't answer.
"What else," Elena said again, softer this time.
"He watches me," Nora admitted. "When I'm working. When I'm in meetings. There's this intensity to it like he's trying to figure something out. Like I'm a puzzle he wants to solve."
"That's not a boss, Nora. That's a man hunting."
The word made Nora's stomach flip. Hunting. Like prey. Like something that would eventually be caught.
"You're being dramatic," she said, but her voice had no conviction.
"Am I? Tell me about Friday. You mentioned Friday when you texted me. You sounded shaken."
Nora didn't want to talk about Friday. Didn't want to relive that moment in the conference room when Zachary had stepped closer and the whole world had narrowed down to just him and her and the air crackling between them.
"Nothing happened Friday," she said.
"Something happened. You're doing the thing where you're avoiding eye contact. Tell me what happened."
Elena was relentless when she wanted answers. It was one of the reasons Nora loved her.
"We were in a meeting," Nora said slowly. "With a client. And he was sitting there and then he just... loosened his tie. Unbuttoned his shirt a little. And he caught me looking at him and for just a second we just stared at each other and the air felt like it was going to explode."
"Jesus," Elena whispered.
"Then a phone call interrupted and he answered it and the moment was over. Nothing happened. Nothing could happen because he's my boss and I work for him and it would be completely inappropriate and insane."
"But you want it to happen," Elena said. Not a question.
Nora didn't answer.
"Oh my god, you do. You want it to happen."
"I barely know him."
"That's not what I asked."
Nora set down her drink and looked at Elena honestly. Her best friend. The person who knew her better than anyone. Who'd listened to all her dreams and fears and stupid hopes.
"There's something about him," Nora said quietly. "When he looks at me, it's like he actually sees me. Not just some barista. Not just someone convenient. Like he's actually looking at who I am underneath all of this." She gestured vaguely at herself. "And when he's close, I can't think. I can't breathe right. And it terrifies me because I don't understand it but it also thrills me in a way that nothing else ever has."
Elena's expression softened. She reached across the table and squeezed Nora's hand.
"I believe you feel that," Elena said gently. "But Nora, listen to what you just said. He watches you intensely. He stands too close. He touches you. He caught you looking at him and stepped even closer. That's not romance, babe. That's control. That's a man who's hunting and knows he's going to catch his prey."
"You don't even know him."
"I know men like him. Powerful men. Rich men. Men who are used to getting whatever they want because they have money and power to back up their desires." Elena squeezed her hand harder. "I know that he doesn't hire baristas as personal assistants for legitimate reasons. I know that whatever game he's playing, you're not in control of it. He is."
Nora wanted to argue. Wanted to defend Zachary even though she barely knew him. But Elena was right about one thing. She wasn't in control. She felt like she was drowning every time he was near her.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Nora asked. "Quit?"
"I don't know. But I want you to be careful. That man is not chasing you because he recognized potential. He's chasing you because he wants you. And the question isn't whether he's going to catch you." Elena leaned forward, her voice serious now. "The question is what happens when he does."
The bar noise faded away. The other customers, the clinking glasses, the music. Everything disappeared except that question hanging in the air between them.
What happens when he catches you?
Nora thought about Zachary in his penthouse office. Thought about his cold grey eyes and his possessive hand on her chair. Thought about how he'd stepped closer Friday like he was testing his own control.
What happens when he catches you?
And the terrifying part was that Nora wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be caught. But even more terrifying was knowing that she probably didn't have a choice.
Because whatever game Zachary Knight was playing, Nora was already losing.
And she wasn't sure she wanted to win anymore.