She Doesn't Like Flowers

Contract Reading

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself." Her smile was bright and, despite himself, his heart always skipped a beat when he saw it.

At first she had still been wary of Taehyung, handling everything through Ryung. But she had other projects demanding attention and Taehyung...well he was making a stellar effort to assure her that she was safe and everything was on a professional level.

He kept his distance. Either he or his secretary was always there if she had to deal with one of his male employees. In many ways it was overkill, she was perfectly capable of defending herself, but she knew what it was. In its own way, it was still an apology. A reassurance. And it worked. There were three places she felt safe. Her office, her apartment, and now Taehyung's office.

For his part, Taehyung felt like he was always walking on eggshells. Like he was over-thinking things. But he'd done that his whole tenure at his company, this was nothing new. In his mind, she was off-limits. He wouldn't let anything get between him and this new step for the company.

Today they were ironing out the final details, both doing a close reading of the contract. Their lawyers had already done it, this was more symbolic than anything, but it was something she always did and Taehyung had agreed.

He sat behind his desk in his office, at first very rigid, but after a couple paragraphs and seeing how casual she was, he leaned his chair back and propped his feet up. His fingers ran through his hair as he listened to her finish her paragraph. Legal stuff was boring and yet...her voice was soothing to listen to. He loosened his tie.

Y/N was sitting on the couch in his office, head on its arm, legs up on the back of the sofa. He'd raised an eyebrow at her position but didn't say anything. He'd already accepted that she was unusual and he just didn't question it anymore.

The contract reading was long and stretched into the evening. When they finally reached the halfway point Y/N received a phone call and stepped out. Taehyung rubbed his bleary eyes and rested his arms and head on his desk for a minute. Just for a minute...

The phone call took longer than she expected and she frowned when she walked back in. Taehyung head was resting on the desk, contract shoved to the side, his shoulders rising and falling steadily.

"Mr. Kim?" She said softly, not sure if maybe he was just resting. No response. She hesitated then walked forward and gently rapped on the desk. Man, he was out.

"Mr. Kim?" She walked around the desk and tapped his shoulder. He stirred and muttered something in his sleep but was still again. She sighed and bit her lip, debating. The reading was quite long and he was obviously exhausted. She had familiarized herself with him after his apology. He was known for working long hours, attempting to keep his father's company afloat. And it had worked. He was well-respected in the business community. In ways she wished she was.

She rested her hand on his shoulder and bent down near his head, not wanting to startle him awake.

"Taehyung..." Her breath was on his ear...her body was close to his...shit, he couldn't let himself sleep. He had responsibilities. Taehyung jerked awake suddenly, the top of his head smacking into Y/N's lower jaw. "Aiiiiish!" She grabbed her face and stepped back.

"Oh...oh my god, I'm so sorry...shit!" Taehyung was on his feet, pushing her hands back and gently gripping her jaw and cheek. "Are you okay? How badly does it hurt?!"

"Taehyung..."

"God, I'm sorry..." He felt so embarrassed, he was babbling. He peered closer. No blood. That was good.

"Taehyung..."

"Does it hurt...can you move your jaw...I didn't mean to fall asleep..."

"TAEHYUNG!"

Her voice snapped him out of his confusion and reoriented him. He was in his office. They'd been working. He'd fallen asleep. He'd accidentally hurt her. He wanted to make sure she was okay...

And in so doing he'd backed her up against the wall behind his desk.

His hands were cupping her face and she was leaning back slightly over the boxed cubby shelves he had stacked against the lower area of the wall. She had one hand on his wrist, trying to pull his hand down, the other on his shoulder, an attempt to keep her balance. And his body...wasn't quite touching...but he could feel her body heat.

"Oh." He quickly released her face and took a step back, feeling heat rising to his cheeks. He didn't know what to say. He was scared to say anything. Y/N's hand was still on his wrist and she used it to pull herself up. But she was off-balance, wobbled, and before he could think his arm was around the back of her shoulders and his hand was on her rib cage, steadying her.

He quickly released her, taking several steps back and asking quietly, "Are you okay?"

He couldn't read her face. And that scared him. There was a long moment where she said nothing and he held his breath, feeling sick. After all his work...he'd royally futzed up...again....

"Yeah, I'm okay." He couldn't read her tone and she walked away, not looking at him. It felt like ages, ages where he was dying.  Frantically scrambling for something to say to make everything right.  But...if she wanted...nothing could make it right.

Y/N picked the contract on the coffee table up. "Do you want to keep reading or call it a night?"

"Let's finish tomorrow." Relief flooded through his veins.  She was going to pretend it hadn't happened. He was glad. Now he just had to deal with his personal embarrassment.  

It wasn't until after she'd left and he was turning off his office lights that he realized...

She'd called him by his first name.