The days leading up to the final review were a whirlwind. It felt like there was no time to breathe, no time to step back and take a moment to appreciate the progress they had made. Jake and Kasie were both mired in work, trapped in a vortex of meetings, tweaks, and strategizing calls that ran far into the night.
Kasie was tired—physically, mentally, and emotionally. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something had shifted. Whenever Jake bent over her desk in any direction, whether to call her attention to a minute detail or get her opinion, she felt her pulse quicken. Every time he smiled, every time his hand brushed against hers as they passed a document, it was like a spark of something she wasn't ready to admit.
They were so close to finishing, so close to the end of the project, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the real challenge was just beginning.
On one evening while in the office late reviewing the final presentation slides for one more time, Jake looked at her with a solemn face. The office lights failed to shine with the power of the other lights in the building that dimmed, creating dark shadow where their work area was.
"You're quiet tonight," he remarked, breaking the silence.
Blinking, Kasie looked up from the computer monitor, as if she had been taken out of deep thought. "Just tired, I guess. It's been a long few days."
Jake nodded, clearly sensing that something was off. "Yeah, I get it. We've been working non-stop. It's crazy how much we've put into this."
"Yeah," Kasie replied, her voice softer than usual. She looked at him briefly and then darted her eyes back to the computer monitor. There was something in his eyes, something that made her feel like he could see right through her.
Kasie, look at me," Jake told her, his voice soft but firm.
She hesitated, but then she did. As soon as she locked eyes with his, her chest constricted. His eyes were intense, penetrating her with a warmth that made her own go crazy.
"I don't know what's going on with you, he said, his voice low, "but you've been acting. different lately.
Kasie's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
Jake recoiled in his seat, arms locked across his chest as he contemplated what he would say. "You're not the same. You've been quieter, more distant. We've been through a lot together, Kasie. I thought we were past the formalities."
Her mind raced, her heart beating faster. Was it that obvious? She didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to face it.
"Maybe I'm just. overwhelmed, she said quickly, shifting in her seat and avoiding his gaze. "It's a big project, Jake. I'm just tired, that's all."
He didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push the matter further. "Okay. However please note that you are definitely not the only one going through this. We're in it together, right?"
Kasie nodded quickly, her throat tight. She couldn't tell him how much those words affected her, how much they meant. She couldn't tell him how she had come to rely on him in ways she wasn't ready to confront.
However, there it was, suspended in space between them. The tension was palpable. Each time they talked, each glance, it was as if they were walking a tightrope between the thing they couldn't quite put a name to.
Kasie took a deep breath, trying to shake off the growing knot in her stomach. "Right. Together," she whispered.
Kasie got out of the office by herself later in the day. The illumination of the city streets faded as she stoped down the road, the refreshing air whispering her cheeks as she sought to get her mind straight.
She was frustrated. She was tired. And most of all, she was confused.
How was it that it was so hard to just get down to work? Why was she making everything so complicated?
Her thoughts kept circling back to Jake—how his presence had become so integral to everything she did, how his opinion mattered more than anyone else's. She couldn't get rid of the thought that she was starting to care about him in a way she wasn't ready to admit.
Come on, Kasie," [she] mumbled under her breath as she walked towards her apartment house. "You're here to work. You're here to do your job. Nothing more."
Yet, as she uttered the words, she knew that they were false.
The following morning, the final review was here. Kasie stood before the mirror, fixing her blazer one last time. She had always been meticulous about her appearance before a big pitch, but today, it felt different. There was a burden on her back, a weight that was not dependent on the client's needs.
Jake was in the hallway, pacing back and forth with his phone pressed to his ear, looking every bit as composed as always. Whenever he saw her coming he made a slight nod.
"You ready? he asked, his tone casual, but she could see the flicker of something in his eyes. He was just as nervous as she was.
"Yeah, Kasie replied, though she wasn't sure she believed herself. "Let's do this."
They went in together, side by side, into the meeting room, their companions already in the room seated around the conference table. There was a feeling, though, of a special rapport between Kasie and Jake, even the tension in the room was not as heavy as usual. Something unspoken.
And as things got going, Kasie got carried away in the beat of the presentation. She had done this a thousand times before, but there was something about this one that felt. more. She could feel Jake's presence beside her, the quiet understanding between them, the subtle way he would step in to offer a perfectly timed line when she needed it.
It was as if they had become one unified force, a team in the truest sense of the word.
At the very last second of the pitch, Kasie could not help getting Jake's gaze. For a fraction of a second there was a time where all other was silenced.
It was like the world had stopped turning. The words she had rehearsed, the presentation she had perfected—they didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the person standing beside her.
The client was impressed. Their pitch had been a success.
However, as Kasie gazed into Jake's eyes, she became aware that the true triumph wasn't the position—it was the relationship they had forged. The unspoken bond that was growing between them, something she couldn't deny any longer.