My Belle 18+

The day had been a whirlwind of meetings, deadlines, and Adam's usual insistence on perfection. Belle had just finished finalizing a presentation when Adam's voice buzzed through the intercom on her desk.

"Miss Thompson, my office. Now."

She sighed, pushing back her chair. Can he ever just say 'please'? Grabbing her tablet, she made her way to his office Adam was standing by the window, his back to the door, hands tucked into his pockets.

"You called?" she asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

"Yes. The client wants revisions on the branding strategy, and we need to rework it by tomorrow morning."

Belle raised an eyebrow, approaching the desk and setting her tablet down. "Tomorrow morning? Seriously? Don't they understand we're not miracle workers? And...you do realize people need sleep occasionally, right?"

He smirked faintly, the kind of smile that felt like a challenge. "If you want to succeed, you make the time."

Adam's lips twitched, though he quickly masked the almost-smile. "If I thought miracles were out of your reach, I wouldn't have hired you."

The compliment caught her off guard, and for a moment, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly recovered, brushing it off with a smirk. "Flattery won't make this any easier, you know."

"Wasn't trying to," he stepped closer.

Belle felt the shift in the atmosphere immediately. The space between them seemed to shrink, the air charged with something she couldn't quite name.

"What exactly do you need me to - " she began, but her words faltered as Adam leaned against the edge of the desk, his proximity impossible to ignore.

Their eyes met, and for a brief second, the tension that had been simmering between them for weeks threatened to boil over.

"You're good at what you do," Adam said, his tone softer than usual. "Too good, sometimes.. and... your ambition is impressive"

" Even you should know there's a difference between ambition and insanity."

Adam moved to lean against the desk, his presence suddenly much closer. "Ambition gets results, Miss Thompson. I thought you understood that."

"I understand plenty," Her pulse quickened.

"Do you?" His voice dipped. "Because lately, you've seemed... distracted."

Her chin lifted, eyes narrowing as she refused to let him see the effect he had on her. "If anyone here is distracted, it's not me."

A faint laugh escaped him. "Careful, Belle. Playing with fire doesn't always end well."

Her heart pounded as the corners of her lips curled upward in smile. "Maybe I'm not afraid to get burned."

His gaze dropping to her hand as it rested on the edge of the desk. For a brief moment, his fingers brushed against hers - an accidental touch, or perhaps deliberate. The air between them was suffocating.

"Maybe you should be," he murmured, his voice almost too quiet to hear.

"Don't tell me what to do. You know... I bite."

"Good," Adam replied smoothly, stepping closer, his lips tugging into a smirk. "So do I."

Belle tilted her head. "Let's see who bites harder, then."

Adam's smirk deepened as he stopped just short of her, his tone dropping to a slow, dangerous drawl. "Oh, I already know the answer to that."

Belle's throat tightened, her instincts screaming at her to leave before the spark turned into an inferno. But before she could respond, there was a sharp knock at the door.