Page 123 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
“Good morning,” Ethan says to the interns. His voice is cool, detached. The CEO voice.
“Good morning, Mr. Branson,” they squeak, rushing out.
We step out into the lobby. The office is already buzzing. The launch countdown clock on the wall displays: 01 Day: 15 Hours: 43 Minutes.
The energy is frantic. Developers are sprinting with laptops. The marketing team is arguing over hex codes.
And in the middle of it all, we stop.
This is the moment. The separation.
Ethan turns to Tessa. For a second, his mask slips. His jaw flexes. He stares at her mouth for a fraction of a second too long. His hands curl into fists at his sides before he forces them to relax.
Then, the firewall goes up.
“Tessa,” he says. “I need the final press release drafts on my desk by nine.”
“Yes, sir,” she says. Her voice is steady. Perfect.
“Owen,” Ethan snaps. “UI review in the conference room. Now.”
“On it, boss,” Owen says, flashing a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He winks at Tessa—a microscopic gesture—and heads for the dev pit.
“Asher,” Ethan says, looking at me. “Server load?”
“Optimal,” I say.
“Keep it that way.”
Ethan turns and walks toward his corner office without looking back.
Tessa stands there for a second. She looks at me. We’re the only two left in the lobby.
“I have a meeting,” she says. “With the graphics team.”
“Go,” I say.
She hesitates. “Asher?”
“Yes?”
“You were right,” she says softly. “About the noise.”
“What about it?”
“It’s gone,” she says. “I feel… focused. I feel safe.”
She smiles—a genuine, private smile that’s just for me—and then she turns and walks away. Her heels click against the polished concrete floor.
I watch her go, tracking the sway of her hips and the way the light catches her hair.
And for the first time in my life, I’m not thinking about the code. I’m not thinking about the server architecture or the security protocols or the launch metrics.
I’m thinking about the fact that in ten hours, we’ll have her pinned to that mattress again.
I turn toward the server room.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. A notification from the system.
