No Escape from Love novel Chapter 63

Alex stood so close behind me that I could feel his steady, warm breath brushing against my scalp. It sent an unexpected shiver down my spine, leaving me momentarily flustered.

"This report combines data from the first and second quarters. You need to separate them. It'll be faster that way," he said, leaning slightly over my shoulder.

"Oh, but don't both quarters need to be sorted anyway?" I muttered, nodding as heat crept up my cheeks.

"Dummy. The first and second quarters focus on entirely different business priorities. Merging them only makes the data harder to interpret," Alex replied bluntly, his critique as sharp as ever.

Realizing he was right, I immediately adjusted my approach, following his advice.

Thirty minutes later, I stretched with a satisfied sigh. "Finally done! You're amazing, Mr. Hastings. You spotted the issue right away."

I shut down my computer and stood to turn off the lights, only to see Alex exiting his office with his jacket in hand.

"Mr. Hastings, are you getting off work too?" I asked politely.

He paused, raising an eyebrow at me. "There's no one else here but the two of us. Are you sure you still need to be this formal?"

There was a flicker of disappointment in his gaze, and surprisingly, I felt a pang of guilt.

I hesitated, fumbling for words. "Uh… Al? Want to walk out together?"

His expression didn't betray much emotion, but the tension in his brows eased slightly. He took a step forward. "Let's go. I'll drive you home."

"Oh, okay." I nodded reluctantly, then quickly came to my senses. "What? That's not necessary. You don't need to do that!"

"I'm the boss here. You stayed late working. It's my responsibility to ensure your safety. What if something happened to you and you blamed it on me?" Alex said, stopping to look at me. Then, he casually slung his expensive jacket over his arm.