Chapter 36 : Pushed Past Hours

Chapter 36 : Pushed Past Hours
His voice dropped, low and even. “I’ll find out.”

The silence stretched again. Emma gripped the edge of the chair so hard her knuckles turned white.

She wanted to argue, wanted to say something that would shut him up, but nothing came.

A knock at the door broke the tension.

Both of them looked over as the door cracked open and Maria peeked in. “Sorry to interrupt, there’s a call for you, Mr. Harrington.”

Cole didn’t look away from Emma. “Take a message.”

Maria hesitated, glancing between them. “It sounded urgent.”

“Then transfer it to my line,” Cole said.

“Right.” Maria shut the door again.

Emma let out a shaky breath. “She doesn’t have to get caught up in this.”

“She won’t,” Cole said simply.

Emma pushed the papers across the desk toward him. “Here, you look at them. Maybe you’ll believe yourself before you start accusing me again.”

Cole didn’t take the papers. “I didn’t accuse you, i asked you to explain.”

“You made it sound like I’m the leak,” Emma shot back.

He tilted his head slightly. “Maybe you are, maybe you’re not. I’ll find out either way.”

Her pulse hammered. “You don’t trust me at all, do you?”

He didn’t hesitate. “No.”

The word landed like a slap. Emma blinked fast, trying to keep her composure. “Then why keep me here? Why not just fire me and be done with it?”

Cole’s eyes didn’t waver. “Because I want to get to the root of this.”

Emma’s throat tightened. “That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair,” he said simply.

She stared at him, her chest rising and falling too fast. “And Chloe?”

Cole’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t answer.

Emma gave a bitter laugh. “So you don’t trust me, but you let her walk in here like she owns the place.”

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Emma’s hands shook in her lap, but she forced herself to hold his stare.

Then Cole’s phone rang, shrill in the silence. He reached for it, his gaze still locked on her as he answered. “Harrington.”

Emma sat frozen, every muscle tight, while he listened on the other end. His face didn’t change, but his hand tightened slightly around the phone. “I’ll handle it,” he said finally, then hung up.

He set the phone down and looked at her again. “We’re not finished.”

Emma swallowed hard. “So what now?”

“Now,” Cole said, his voice calm and final, “you stay exactly where I can see you.”

The words sent a chill down her spine. He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t threaten her outright, but the meaning was clear, she wasn’t free, not from him, not from Chloe.

Emma lowered her eyes to the desk, pretending to read the papers again, but her hands were trembling too much to hold the pen steady.



Emma dropped the thick folder on Cole’s desk and rubbed her wrist. Her eyes burned from staring at spreadsheets all day, and her shoulders ached from hunching over the computer.

“That’s the fourth version I’ve done,” she said, her voice sharp with exhaustion. “Is this finally the one you’ll keep, or should I prepare myself for another rewrite?”

Cole didn’t even glance at her at first. He kept typing, the blue glow from his monitor reflecting in his eyes.

After a few more keystrokes, he finally looked up. “Don’t get smart with me. You missed a figure in the Cooper account. Again.”

Emma bit back a groan. “I didn’t miss it. The subtotal Finance sent over was wrong. I fixed it. That’s why the numbers don’t match what you expected.”

Cole leaned back slowly, folding his arms, eyes never leaving her face. “Sure?”

“Positive,” she said, her voice flat. “You can check it yourself if you have doubts .”

A muscle flicked in his jaw. He studied her like he was trying to decide if she was telling the truth or slipping something past him.

“You think I don’t double-check everything?” he said finally. “That’s your first mistake.”

Emma’s patience cracked. “Then why keep me here till this time if you’re going to redo the work yourself anyway?”

He set his pen down carefully, as though testing her. “Because I want to see how you handle pressure.”

Emma stared at him with disbelief in her eyes. “Pressure? I’ve been sitting at this desk since eight this morning.

Everyone else went home hours ago. I’ve eaten nothing but vending machine crackers and bad coffee.

And you think I still need to prove can handle pressure?”

Cole didn’t answer right away. He drummed his fingers against the desk once, twice, then stopped. “Sit down.”

Emma’s heart sank. “Oh please...”

“Sit.” His tone was quiet, but it left no room for argument.

Her chair scraped loudly across the floor as she pulled it back and sat down again, glaring at him. “What now?”

“The Miller draft,” he said, leaning forward, elbows on the desk. “Do it again, cleaner this time.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re joking. I finished that three days ago. You reviewed it, you signed off on it. It’s already been circulated.”

“I changed my mind,” he said smoothly. “Do it again.”

Emma stared at him, too tired to even argue properly. “Do you have any idea how cruel this is?”

“And yet,” he said, eyes locking on hers, “you’re still here.”

Her laugh came out bitter. “Because I don’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.” His gaze was steady, unreadable. “Don’t pretend I’m forcing you.”

Emma’s voice rose. “You handed me a mountain of work and told me it had to be finished tonight. That doesn’t leave a lot of options.”

Cole tilted his head, almost curious. “So quit, then.”

Her throat tightened. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then stop wasting time complaining.” He leaned back again, calm as ever. “And get it done.”

Emma clenched her fists in her lap, muttering under her breath, “Unbelievable.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” She yanked the Miller file toward her and flipped open her laptop.

Her typing came fast and hard, each key a small act of defiance. “Cleaner, right? Fine. Cleaner you’ll get.”

Cole didn’t say anything. He just watched her. She could feel his eyes on her, steady, measuring, like he was dissecting her with his gaze.

After several long minutes, she finally snapped. “Any problem?”

“Nothing,” he said, though his voice carried weight."

“Just an observation.” He leaned back further, as if he hadn’t just dropped something unsettling.

Emma looked back at the screen, forcing herself to focus on the numbers, but her hands shook as she typed.

The silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable. Finally, she broke it. “Why do you do this?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

“Keep me here this late. Pick apart everything I submit. Make me redo things you already approved. Honestly, why?”

Cole’s answer came low and deliberate. “Because you don’t say no.”

Emma froze. Her fingers hovered above the keys. Slowly, she looked up. “That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair,” he said evenly. “You should know that by now.”