Back in her hotel room, Harper dropped the thick folder of documents onto the desk and stared at it like it might spontaneously burst into flames. The coffee with Elliot had left her feeling oddly buoyant, but now the weight of her responsibilities pulled her back to reality.
The Ashcroft deal was the kind of project that could make or break a career. The stakes were impossibly high, the margin for error razor-thin. Harper had always thrived under pressure, but tonight, the work felt heavier than usual.
With a sigh, she opened the folder and began poring over the fine print of the merger agreement. Hours slipped by, the pages blurring together as the moon climbed higher in the sky.
But her concentration was fragmented. Snippets of her conversation with Elliot kept surfacing in her mind—the way his voice had softened when he spoke about music, the unguarded honesty in his eyes.
*Focus,* she told herself.
She barely noticed the knock on the door until it came again, louder this time. Startled, Harper glanced at the clock. It was nearly 11 p.m.
Cautiously, she opened the door to find Lily standing there, holding a bottle of wine and grinning mischievously.
"You didn't think I'd let you work yourself into a coma, did you?" Lily said, brushing past her and plopping down on the bed.
"What are you doing here?" Harper asked, half-laughing as she closed the door.
"Philip sent me to help with the Ashcroft deal," Lily explained, waving the bottle like it was a gift from the gods. "And I figured we could use a break. You look like you've been wrestling legal jargon for hours."
"Because I have been," Harper admitted, sitting down beside her friend.
Lily poured two glasses and handed one to Harper. "Alright, spill. You've got that look."
"What look?"
"The one that says something—or someone—has gotten under your skin."
Harper rolled her eyes, but the warmth of the wine loosened her guard. "I ran into someone," she admitted.
Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Ran into or *ran into*?"
Harper laughed. "The guy from the coffee shop. The one with the notebook."
"The musician?" Lily asked, her interest clearly piqued.
"Yes. He lives here. I saw him playing at a market today, and we had coffee afterward."
"And?"
"And… I don't know." Harper shrugged, but the small smile tugging at her lips gave her away. "There's just something about him. He's… different."
"Different how?"
"He's honest. Uncomplicated. It's like he sees the world in a way I've forgotten how to."
Lily studied her, a knowing look in her eyes. "You like him."
"It's not that simple," Harper said quickly.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm here for work, Lily. This deal is my priority. And even if I wasn't, he's… he's not part of my world."
Lily scoffed. "Maybe that's the point. Maybe you need someone who isn't part of your world."
Harper didn't respond, but her thoughts churned long after Lily left and the wine bottle was empty.
---
The next day, Harper threw herself into the negotiations with laser focus. The meeting room was a battlefield of polished executives, each trying to outmaneuver the other. Harper held her own, her arguments sharp and unyielding.
By the time they adjourned for a late lunch, her phone buzzed with a text. She glanced at the screen, surprised to see Elliot's name.
*Ocean Bluff, 5 p.m.?*
A small smile crept onto her face before she realized what she was doing. She hadn't told him she'd be working all day. He must have guessed she'd need an escape.
For a moment, she considered saying no. But the thought of sitting through another evening in her sterile hotel room made her fingers type a response before she could overthink it.
*I'll be there.*
---
The Ocean Bluff was breathtaking. The cliffs rose high above the water, the waves crashing against the rocks far below. Harper parked her car and followed the winding trail to the edge, where Elliot was waiting with his guitar slung over his shoulder.
"You weren't kidding about the view," she said as she approached, the wind tugging at her hair,
Elliot smiled. "Thought you could use a break."
"Understatement of the year," Harper said, exhaling deeply as she took in the scenery.
He gestured for her to sit on the grass, and they settled in side by side. For a while, they simply watched the waves, the silence between them easy and unforced.
"Do you ever feel like you're running out of time?" Harper asked suddenly, surprising even herself.
Elliot turned to her, his expression thoughtful. "All the time. But I've learned something about time—it's never as fixed as we think it is."
"What do you mean?"
"It bends," he said, his voice quiet. "When you're doing what you love, it stretches. When you're stuck in something that doesn't feel right, it shrinks. It's not about how much time you have. It's about what you do with it."
Harper stared at him, his words sinking in deeper than she cared to admit.
"You're a lot wiser than you look," she said, trying to lighten the mood.
He grinned, picking up his guitar. "Comes with the territory. Want to hear something new?"
She nodded, leaning back on her hands as he began to play.
As the notes filled the air, Harper felt a strange sense of peace, the chaos of her life momentarily held at bay. Sitting there with Elliot, the ocean stretching endlessly before them, she realized that maybe, just maybe, some twists in fate were worth following.
---