The next week was a blur of meetings, brainstorms, and mutual eye-rolls.
To anyone watching, Aria and Ethan looked like a disaster waiting to happen. They argued about fonts, slogan phrasing, color palettes, even what snacks should be stocked in the meeting room. (Ethan lobbied hard for gummy bears. Aria insisted on almonds. Naturally, both ended up on the table.)
But underneath all the petty bickering, something else was starting to shift. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but the war was beginning to feel a lot less like destruction and a lot more like… fun.
On Friday, the office was unusually quiet. Most people had ducked out early for happy hour, leaving Aria and Ethan alone in the war room.
Ethan dropped a mock-up of the campaign's new tagline onto the table.
"Luxury, Unscripted."
Aria scanned it. It was bold. Clean. Kind of perfect.
She hated how much she liked it.
"Not terrible," she said, pretending to squint at the font.
"High praise from you," Ethan grinned, taking a victorious sip of his coffee. "See? We make a good team."
"Don't push it."
"Seriously though," he said, leaning back in his chair, "this week's been… surprisingly not awful."
Aria smirked. "You mean because you didn't manage to spill any more coffee on yourself?"
"That too," Ethan chuckled. Then his expression softened in a way that made Aria's pulse flicker. "You know, for someone who acts like she hates people, you're actually kind of cool."
Aria arched a brow. "Kind of?"
"Don't get cocky."
She laughed despite herself, and for a second, the war fell away. It was just… them.
"So," Ethan said, fiddling with a pen, "what's your deal anyway?"
"My deal?"
"Yeah. Why so intense all the time? You act like one wrong move'll get you fired."
Aria hesitated. She never talked about this stuff. Not with anyone. But maybe it was the late hour, or the way the city lights spilled through the window, or how Ethan's voice didn't sound like teasing for once.
"I'm not from a family with safety nets," she admitted quietly. "I didn't have a Plan B. This job… it's everything. I've worked too hard to lose it now."
Ethan's teasing grin faded. "I get that," he said, surprisingly serious. "People think because of my last name, I don't give a damn about this place. But I do. I'm just… bad at showing it your way."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, without thinking, Aria reached over and plucked the gummy bears out of the snack pile, tossing one at him. "Don't get all sappy on me, Cole."
He caught it mid-air, grinning. "You started it."
Their hands brushed as she grabbed one for herself, and the spark that shot through her fingers made her jerk her hand back like she'd been burned.
Neither of them mentioned it.
But the war was definitely getting complicated...