Page 14 of Thirst Trap

“You know, it’s weird,” she said, her tone casual but her eyes sharp. “Some of these guys post exactly like they want one very specific girl to see it.”

Lucas forced himself to look up. “You… follow a lot of accounts like that?”

“Just one.” She shrugged like it was nothing. Like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb at his feet.

Silence pressed in. He could hear the tick of the clock on the wall.

Then she turned, walking toward the door with slow, deliberate steps, hips swaying like she was counting down the seconds until he cracked.

“Anyway,” she said lightly, hand on the door, “let me know if you need me to, I don’t know… handle anything hard today.”

The door clicked shut.

Lucas stared at the untouched coffee. Then at the door.

Finally, he glanced at the small security monitor under his desk, where Maddison’s figure retreated down the hallway, hips swinging in perfect rhythm. His chest tightened. His pulse wouldn’t calm.

“…She knows,” he muttered.

And the worst part?

He wanted her to.

She could feel eyes follow her all the way up the elevator, but the only eyes she cared about were the ones currently frozen mid pen stroke behind that giant glass desk. Lucas Creams looked like someone had unplugged him.

“You’re… early,” he said, voice flat, clipped.

She smiled sweetly, setting his coffee down with deliberate care. “I like to be on top of things,” she said. She let her gaze flick deliberately over his chest, his jaw, back to his mouth. “Especially if they’re worth it.”

His jaw twitched. Oh, he heard it. He definitely heard it.

“The quarterly reports are ” he started, voice stiffer than starched sheets.

“I know,” she cut him off, leaning over the desk, letting the neckline dip a little lower.

His eyes darted away, then back, then away again. Busted. “I read them last night. Right after I scrolled through my favourite Instagram account.”

That got him. A tiny pause. A flicker in those brown eyes.

Maddison tapped the rim of his coffee cup, her nails clicking softly. “You know, it’s weird. Some of these guys post exactly like they want one very specific girl to see it.”

Lucas finally looked up. “You… follow a lot of accounts like that?”

She smirked. “Just one.”

Silence stretched. Delicious. She could almost hear the way his thoughts scrambled, trying to keep his walls up while she knocked them down one by one.

She straightened, smoothing her dress, and turned for the door. Each step was calculated, hips swaying like a slow metronome.

“Anyway,” she said lightly, hand on the handle, “let me know if you need me to, I don’t know… handle anything hard today.”

Click. The door shut.

Out in the hallway, Maddison let her smirk bloom into a grin so wide she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. She’d seen his face. The twitch. The pause. The way his hands flexed on his desk like he was holding himself together by threads.

Heknew. Sheknew.

And now the game has officially started.