Alan's POV
The office was too quiet.
The kind of quiet that meant someone was talking about my woman.
I didn't need anyone to tell me what happened in the cafeteria—Julia laughing too brightly, David hovering too close, Veronica whispering venom like she owned the place. I heard every version before I even reached my floor.
But nothing prepared me for the sight through the glass wall of my office.
Julia, standing between David and Veronica.David leaning in.Julia smiling nervously.Veronica smirking like she'd won something.
My jaw tightened. The temperature inside me dropped a full degree.
Mine.She shouldn't be anywhere near either of them.
I pushed open the door with enough force that all three of them snapped their heads toward me. Conversations in the hallway died instantly.
"Inside," I said, my voice low, cold, and leaving no room for argument.
Julia flinched. David stiffened. Veronica jumped like she'd been caught stealing.
Only Julia hesitated, eyes flicking up to me—hurt, scared, uncertain.I ignored the ache that hit my chest. Right now, emotion was the last thing she needed from me.
Inside. Now.
They entered one by one. I shut the door behind them with a soft click that sounded far more final than a slam.
I walked slowly around my desk, unhurried, deliberate. The calm before the storm.
"Who wants to explain?" I asked quietly.
Silence.Then Veronica opened her glossy mouth.
"Alan—Mr. Knight—there was a misunderstanding. Julia was just—"
I crossed the room in two steps.
My hand shot out, fingers clamping around her chin—hard.
She gasped, eyes going wide as I forced her head upward until she had no choice but to look directly into my eyes.
"Speak carefully," I warned, my voice dropping into a deep, lethal growl that made even David step back."Because the next sentence you say will decide whether you stay in this company another hour."
Veronica trembled. Her breath hitched.She tried to pull back, but my grip was unbreakable.
"Alan—you're hurting—"
"Yes," I said flatly. "And I haven't even started."
Her legs shook. Her hands fisted uselessly at her sides.
Julia whispered, panicked, "Alan, stop—"
I didn't look at her.
"Tell me exactly what you said to her," I ordered Veronica."What lies did you spit in my office today?"
She swallowed hard. Her voice cracked, small and frightened."I—I just told her she shouldn't embarrass you. That she shouldn't be seen clinging to you—"
"Julia doesn't cling," I snapped."She doesn't use people. She doesn't manipulate.You, on the other hand—"
I released her chin so suddenly she staggered back.
She rubbed her jaw, shaking. "I didn't do anything wrong—"
"Wrong?" My laugh was sharp and humorless."You spread rumors. You tried to humiliate her. And you think I don't hear everything that happens in my building?"
Veronica paled.
Then I shifted my gaze—to David.
He froze.
Good.
"David," I said quietly, deadly calm."You have exactly one chance to explain why you keep circling an employee who's already overwhelmed, already being targeted, and already clearly uncomfortable."
He shot a quick look at Julia. That was his mistake.
My eyes narrowed.
"I wasn't—I didn't mean anything by it," David stammered."I was just being friendly. She's new and—"
"And you took her out yesterday," I said."Knowing the rumors. Knowing the pressure she's under. Knowing what Veronica and the other staff are saying."
David's face flushed.
"It was just one date—"
Something snapped inside me.
I stepped closer, my voice dropping into a low, ice-cold whisper.
"You don't get to take her anywhere.You don't get to talk to her alone.And you will not—ever—misunderstand your place in her life again."
David swallowed hard. "Are you… warning me?"
I leaned in, inches from his face.
"This is not a warning," I said."This is a line. Cross it again, and I will end your career so thoroughly your next job will be selling cheap SIM cards on the street."
His breath stalled.
Veronica gasped softly behind me, horrified.Julia covered her mouth.
Good. Let them all understand.
Julia wasn't alone.She wasn't unprotected.She wasn't someone they could target without consequence.
I straightened, adjusting my cuffs calmly—like I hadn't just verbally crushed the man in front of me.
Then I turned toward Julia.
She looked so small suddenly.So fragile.So unsure whether she should be afraid of me or grateful.
Something twisted painfully in my chest.
"Julia," I said softly, "come here."
She hesitated—but her feet moved on their own, drawn to me like gravity.
When she stopped in front of me, head lowered, I exhaled slowly.
"Don't ever let anyone treat you like that again," I told her."Not Veronica. Not David. Not anyone."
Her eyes lifted, glassy with emotion.
"Alan…"
And for a moment, the rest of the room blurred.
The only thing that mattered was her.
I reached out slowly—not to grab, not to control, but to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Her breath caught.
"Meeting's over," I said coldly, without looking at David or Veronica."Both of you—get out."
Veronica nearly tripped on her heels rushing to leave.David kept his head down, shame radiating off him.
When the door finally closed, the silence between Julia and me felt alive—charged, dangerous, forbidden.
"Alan," she whispered, voice shaking with too many emotions at once,"why… why are you doing this?"
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was too raw.Too exposed.Too close to something neither of us was supposed to feel.
Instead, I stepped closer until our breaths touched.
"I don't like sharing what's mine," I murmured.
Julia froze.
And my heart pounded once—hard—like a secret that refused to stay buried.