I considered myself an expert in keeping my personal and professional lives separate. But right now, Noah was truly testing my patience. His system had gained a new feature called How can I annoy Isla today? 

And he was receiving updates faster than I blinked.

For the eighth time in the last five minutes, I said, “Sir, don’t let your hips sink. You need to float.”

“That’s what I’m doing, Ms. Rose,” Noah said in his ever-confident tone. Holding onto the wall, he floated on his stomach and submerged his face halfway into the water. He raised his legs and tried to stay afloat. But in reality, he barely kicked them upwards before they sank.

What was the point of all those hunky muscles? I sighed and helped him position his legs. “Keep your head straight, sir. Don’t look up.” 

“I’ll do it this time, Ms. Rose,” Noah said. He raised his head and tried to look back to assess his posture. Like a deflating balloon, his legs wiggled over water for a few seconds, and then they were down again. He asked, “I did it, right?”

My left eye twitched in annoyance. Just when I asked him to not look up…

Something in me snapped. 

To be fair, it wasn’t this alone. If not for the humiliation when Noah had closed those blinds on my face, or Henry’s dejected expression when he had walked out of Noah’s office, or that Noah had indirectly declared himself out of my league, it wouldn’t have come to this point.

When I didn’t respond, he prompted, “Ms. Rose?”

“No, Noah!” I let out a frustrated cry. “You didn’t do it! I told you to keep your head straight. Not up! Can you focus?!”

Breathing heavily, I rubbed my chest as some of the pressure lightened. Oh, that felt so much better. It was only as the silence stretched between us, and I registered Noah’s startled look, that I realized what I’d done. I froze.

Did I just call my CEO by his name?

And did I just shout at him and scold him with my own mouth?

I must have lost my mind. No, I must have had a death wish. Why else would I pick up the ax and cut off my limbs? I was practically fired now...again! The horror of the situation dawned on me, and I covered my mouth with my hand. I stuttered to come up with an excuse, “Uh… no… sir, I…”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I didn’t mean—” I paused. “Huh?”

Noah stood up in the pool, towering over me. A smile tugged at his lips. It wasn’t one of those business smiles. I knew that one by heart. No, this one was different. So different that I thought I could see a dimple forming on his right cheek, but it wasn’t deep enough for me to be sure. Noah caught my gaze and explained, “Isn’t that what you call your teacher?”

“Teacher?” I repeated. “Me?”

“Yes, you’re teaching me how to swim.” He looked around the empty pool and said, “And we’re outside work. I’m not your boss here. You can call me Noah.”

I was speechless. In a daze, I just nodded. Noah. He asked me to call him Noah. He wasn’t my CEO here, but my student. It felt right. Our dynamic had been wrong from day one. That’s why this didn't work.

How could I teach him when I was scared that he would fire me?

But now, the order of authority had flipped 180 degrees.

“Shall we start again, ma’am?” Noah asked.

“Yes, sir—” I bit my tongue and corrected, “Noah.” His name felt foreign on my lips, but I liked the sound of it.

Noah nodded in approval and asked, “So, how do I stay afloat?”

Still stupefied by this new power play, I calmed myself to teach him properly. “You need to keep your head straight, Noah.” 

He raised his eyebrows in question.

“Think of your body as a see-saw.” I demonstrated with my hands. “If the head goes up, the legs go down. So, keep your body in equilibrium, and you’ll stay afloat. Got it?”

Noah nodded and held the wall. “I’ll try again.”

“Let me help you.” I caught his legs and raised them to the surface. “Stay here.”

Noah hummed in agreement as I swam over to his side. Biting my lip, I placed my hands under his firm abdomen and nudged him to straighten his back. He raised his head again, and I quickly reminded him to keep it down.

“Good.” I swam away. “Maintain this.”

For once, Noah floated.

It was a good ten seconds before he raised his head and gasped for air. He stood up, water dribbling down his face, and gave me a look of pure exhilaration. That dimple on his right cheek? Nope. He had dimples on both his cheeks. Deep, exquisite ones. My breath caught in my throat, and I almost melted.

Noah grinned and said, “I floated!”

“Yes, you did.” I beamed. “Congratulations.” This was good progress. Better than I expected. 

“I knew you would be good,” Noah said. “But you’re amazing.”

All the knots from the day came undone. This was unfair. It was three counts of displeasure against one praise. But I couldn’t hide my giddiness, anyway. Noah was impressed—by me. 

Flushed from his words, I mumbled, “Nothing compared to you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Sarah was struggling to get Mr. Carter for months.” I laughed. “He signed with us after meeting you once! And those department heads? They come to you for solutions!”

I didn’t know why I was babbling—practically admitting to spying on him—but I couldn’t stop myself.

“I haven’t even seen you take a lunch break,” I added. “How do you work on that coffee? I tried it, and it tastes absolutely shit!”

Okay, that might have been too much. But there was no trace of anger or irritation on Noah’s face. Rather, he looked a little taken aback. Like I had unraveled his deepest secrets, and he wanted to understand how.

The two of us had floated into a corner during the conversation. Noah stepped closer, still staring at me like I was a puzzle he desperately wanted to solve, and said, “You have potential.”

“Potential?”

“If you train under me—” Noah smiled. “—you can do better in the company.”

My eyes widened. No one had ever said that to me. I had always been the average person—meant for average things. But he saw potential in me? Maybe it was his proximity or his words, but my heart rate picked up. I asked in a small voice, “So will you teach me?”

The air seemed to be charged with electricity. I tried to convince myself that we were still discussing business, but the lines were blurring. Noah ran a hand through his hair and met my heated gaze. 

And instead of answering, he took another step towards me.