AFTER HOURS – EPISODE 1 – LINGERING LIGHTS
The office was quieter than usual—not just hushed but reverent. The quiet made Olivia Keller feel like the walls themselves were listening, as though every tap of a keyboard or rustle of paper became part of a sacred confession only they would keep. The fluorescent lights above flickered faintly, as if even they knew the hour had grown too late for this much tension.
She should have left hours ago. Every other desk sat abandoned, chairs pushed back with the casual dismissal of people eager to leave their workday behind. But Olivia remained, tucked behind her glowing screen, submerged in work she wasn’t truly doing anymore. Her eyes had glazed over twice already, re-reading the same email draft she had no intention of sending tonight.
Across the open floor plan, Jasper Rhys was still there, too. He wasn’t typing anymore — just staring at his screen, eyes far away, lost in thought. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing sinewy forearms lightly dusted with hair. His tie had been discarded long ago, leaving the top buttons of his shirt undone. A soft smile curved his lips as he tapped his pen against them, lost in whatever private amusement had taken hold of his mind. The low hum of the building’s heating vents punctuated the silence like steady, heavy breaths.
Olivia forced herself to return her focus to the glowing monitor. Budget spreadsheets. Endless rows and columns of data that once felt important now seemed meaningless. The flickering cursor mocked her, blinking impatiently as her fingers hovered hesitantly above the keys. She was pretending. There was no absolute concentration left. The numbers swam, blurring into the ache that sat coiled low in her belly, growing more impossible to ignore with every passing minute.
She wasn’t working anymore. Not since she realized Jasper wasn’t leaving either. Not since the energy in the room had shifted into something that felt less like overtime and more like temptation.
“You don’t have to stay,” she said softly, breaking the stillness and glancing at him.
He looked up immediately, his eyes meeting hers with warmth and curiosity. “Neither do you.”
The words hung suspended in the dim light. Friendly. Casual. Yet undeniably heavy. They both felt the gravity in them. There was no playful smirk, no teasing edge — only honesty, quietly spoken.
“I’ve got a lot to finish,” she replied, her voice softer than necessary, her lie brittle and translucent.
He smiled knowingly — not to call her out, but to let her know he saw through the facade. “Same here.” He stretched slowly, arms arching above his head as his shirt lifted slightly, exposing a thin band of bare skin above his beltline. Olivia swallowed hard, pulse fluttering unexpectedly. Her thighs pressed together under her desk, a reflex she didn’t bother to fight.
It wasn’t the first time she noticed. And it wasn’t the first time Jasper caught her watching.
Minutes trickled by, then blurred into something less measurable. The glow from their respective screens became the only illumination, washing everything in silver and shadow. The air between them thickened, weightier with every exchanged glance and breath left hanging. It was oppressive in the best possible way, like standing at the cliff’s edge, knowing the drop was coming.
Eventually, Jasper rose and walked toward the small kitchenette beside the copy machine. Olivia’s eyes followed his every step, her pulse quickening as she watched him move — slow, loose-limbed, unhurried. He effortlessly poured two cups of coffee, then returned to her desk and set one down gently beside her keyboard.
“Cream and sugar,” he murmured, his voice carrying a familiarity that made Olivia’s stomach tighten dangerously. He remembered how she liked it. She hadn’t said anything — not recently — but he remembered.
Their fingers brushed as she reached for the cup. It wasn’t an accident.
For a heartbeat, neither of them pulled away. That subtle contact sent sparks skittering across her skin. Olivia exhaled quietly, only then realizing she’d been holding her breath. Her shoulders tensed, and her lips parted slightly.
“Thanks,” she whispered, withdrawing her hand a moment later, though it felt reluctant, almost unwilling.
“Of course.” Jasper’s voice dipped lower, rougher in the late hour, like velvet edged with gravel. He returned to his desk, but the space between them still felt full, charged with unsaid things. Her skin buzzed. Her mind raced. Every instinct screamed that they were crossing into dangerous territory, yet no part of her resisted.
By 9:17 PM, the charade of productivity had crumbled entirely. Olivia’s mind had become a reel of silent memories — every look too long, every accidental brush of fingers, every moment that tasted more like anticipation than coincidence. She imagined his mouth, his hands, how his voice would sound if he lost that gentle composure.
“I should go,” she announced abruptly, her voice a little too loud in the oppressive stillness. She pushed back her chair with resolve she didn’t feel. Her legs were shaky as she stood, as if her body objected to leaving.
Jasper stood too fast. His reaction was instantaneous and unthinking: “I’ll walk you out.”
The elevator ride stretched into eternity, suspended in a tension that neither spoke aloud. Not awkward — something sweeter, something more forbidden. Olivia’s heart thrummed wildly as they descended, nerves dancing like fireflies in her veins. She shifted subtly, acutely aware of how close his shoulder was to hers in the confined space.
The cool and calm night air wrapped around her in the parking garage. But her skin remained flushed, her thoughts turbulent. Every part of her still hummed from the unresolved tension inside.
She fumbled with her keys at her car door. Jasper leaned casually against a nearby pillar, watching her with lazy focus. His expression was unreadable yet impossibly gentle. He made no move to rush her. He was just… there. Waiting. Present in a way few people ever were.
“You don’t have to—” she began, but her voice faltered, breaking under the weight of unsaid things.
Before she could finish, he stepped closer.
Not rushed. Not forceful. Simply… closer. Close enough that she could feel his breath ghost across her cheek, close enough that the sound of her own heartbeat roared in her ears and made her dizzy.
“I know.” He offered a soft, crooked smile, his eyes scanning hers like he was memorizing every flicker of hesitation and want. “But I want to.”
The world slipped away. It didn’t matter that it was late. That she was married. That nothing good could come of this. All that remained was the magnetic pull humming between them like static before a storm.
Olivia knew what was about to happen. Every nerve screamed that she should turn away and protect herself and her life’s fragile shell. She didn’t. Not this time.
Jasper leaned in slowly, deliberately, giving her every opportunity to change her mind. She didn’t take it. Her lips parted instinctively, breath catching as he closed the last inch of space that separated them.
Their mouths met in a kiss so soft and tentative that it felt more like a question than an answer. Lips brushed gently — testing, tasting, trembling against each other.
Then Olivia caved. Her hands rose, clutching at his shirt, fingers curling desperately in the fabric as the kiss deepened with a quiet, desperate hunger. Jasper responded in kind. His mouth slanted over hers, tasting her fully now, coaxing her to give in completely.
It wasn’t dominance. It wasn’t controlled. It was raw, mutual need that surged hotter with every stolen second. Her body pressed closer, molded against his as though proximity alone could quench the ache thrumming inside her.
When they finally broke apart, both were breathless, eyes wide with the shock of what they’d just done.
“I shouldn’t have—” Olivia started, her voice shaking and heavy with doubt and unspoken desire.
“You did,” Jasper interrupted gently, his voice tender yet sure. “And so did I.”
Neither of them moved. The garage around them felt suspended, silent witnesses to a secret neither knew how to hold. Olivia licked her lips, tasting him still, replaying the kiss again and again in vivid clarity.
Eventually, Olivia smiled faintly, a mixture of guilt and thrill swirling behind her eyes. Without another word, she slipped into her car, hands trembling as they gripped the steering wheel.
Jasper watched her pull away, his expression soft yet burning, as though the moment had permanently branded him.
As Olivia drove home, her lips still tingled from his kiss. Her body thrummed with restless desire, thighs pressed together tightly as if to contain the ache that had bloomed deep inside her and was now spreading slowly, insistently.
This wasn’t over.
Not even close.