Secrets and Lies

5 days later

Alex and Kitty couldn't keep their hands off each other. Furtive glances, every contact of their bodies setting them alight. Something they both knew was wrong, one slip-up and they would be in hot water with their boss and colleagues. But they couldn't help being drawn to each other.

They stole furtive caresses and snatched kisses in vacant conference rooms and empty offices, always darting back and forth whenever chance presented itself. Brazen as they were in the beginning, the near-miss-of-getting-caught added that extra je ne sais quoi to their illicit trysts.

But weeks passed, and the tension of keeping such a secret was too heavy for either of them to bear. Both were jumpy, anxious, and scared that someone would discover their secretive affair. Kitty would jump at every faint creak of someone entering the conference room door, while Alex would be sweating profusely over impromptu meetings with his boss.

They were standing there on top of one another in the stairwell, tightly clutching each other as they hugged the other with their arms. They heard footsteps coming up the stairs and only just had time to break off the hug before Sara came around at them with her arms full of files.

"Oh!" Sara exclaimed, with her eyes opening wide in shock. "I didn't know anyone was here."

Alex and Kitty just stood there, still staring each other straight in the eye, chests pounding while they did so. Sara came back over to them, a look of comprehension crossing her face.

"Don't worry, your little secret's safe with me," she winked and went off downstairs.

Alex and Kitty let out a joint sigh of relief as their shoulders dropped of their own accord and tension ebbed from their muscles. But they knew, despite this, that they were unable to go on taking risks. It was just a matter of time before they were discovered by someone else, or their secret inadvertently betrayed.

They tried being more careful after that, but it was not possible. There was a very strong attraction between them, and they were helpless in front of this attraction and were irresistibly drawn to one another like moths to flame. They started making plans to see one another outside of the office, to remove their relationship from the confines of the office into the rest of the world.

Even those meetings were done secretly. They had to be so careful not to get caught together in public, had to go to such great lengths to make up wild excuses for not attending work functions and social functions. It was grueling, always keeping their heads down, always dreading what would happen if the truth were discovered.

And then, one evening, it did. They had just finished a late dinner and were strolling down the street, hand in hand, when they came upon the face. It was Mr. Johnson, their boss, and he looked startled, furious.

"Alex," he said to them in his flat, cold voice. "Kitty. Care to explain to me what is going on here?"

Alex and Kitty shared a knowing silent glance that occurred between them. They both know that their secret's out, so now they can't turn back. Regardless of how difficult this would be, there must be payback to contend with.

"This is nobody's business," Alex said firmly and quietly beneath the horror churning in his guts. "Kitty and I care for one another, and we're not going to apologize for that."

Mr. Johnson's face reddened with rage, his fists clenched at his sides. "You are breaking company policy. You both can get fired for this!"

Kitty moved forward, her eyes fairly brimming over with defiance. "We won't go quietly. And we'll make public, just what we're running from."

Let's just say we do. compromising information on some of your own actions, Alex inserted his voice low and menacing.

Mr. Johnson went white. "Fine," he snarled. "But if ever I see you two together again, there will be hell to pay."

We are free but still pulled tight, Alex and Kitty walk away, hands still clasped, around the corner, Alex leaning in tight.

"We made it. We held."

Kitty smiled. "We did more than that. We chose each other."

And as they walk away into the night, neither of them notices the shadow person on the street, ringing a phone into an ear.

"Yeah, I saw them,

the voice whispered. "You were correct. They're concealing something greater than a relationship."

The line went quiet, the figure melted into the shadows.