Chapter 57 – Submission of Dating Application (Mandatory)

【Esdeath PoV】

The script sat on my desk in perfect handwriting.

I’d rewritten it seventeen times. Each version softer than the last. Each version designed to sound casual and approachable.

“Hi Kai. I was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner sometime. No pressure.”

Simple. Direct. Non-threatening.

I’d practiced it in the mirror forty-three times this morning. My reflection smiled warmly. My voice stayed level and friendly.

This would work. This had to work.

I pressed the intercom button.

“Evans. Report to my office immediately.”

My voice came out sharp. Clipped. Pure military command.

I winced. That wasn’t the tone. That was the wrong tone entirely.

I smoothed down my uniform. Navy blue. Gold buttons. Everything regulation. I’d changed out of the sundress after my practice run this morning. Couldn’t wear civilian clothes during duty hours.

But I’d kept the lipstick. Dusty Rose. Subtle.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. Three knocks on the door.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Enter.”

Kai walked in looking like death’s personal assistant. His hair stuck up at odd angles. Dark circles under his eyes made him look like he’d been awake for three days straight. His uniform was wrinkled. His tie hung loose.

He was perfect.

(Oh god he’s here. He’s actually here. Look at his eyes. Those exhausted beautiful eyes. I want to run my fingers through his hair and tell him to sleep for sixteen hours straight.)

“You wanted to see me, Director?”

His voice was rough. Tired. He held a coffee mug that said “I Can’t Adult Today.”

I stared at him.

My brain went completely white.

Every prepared word vanished like smoke. The script on my desk might as well have been written in ancient Greek.

Panic mode engaged.

My military training kicked in automatically.

“Sit down, Evans!”

The words came out as a bark. Kai flinched slightly, then dropped into the chair across from my desk.

(No wait that was too harsh. Why did I yell? I was supposed to be gentle. Sweet. Approachable.)

I grabbed the edge of my desk to steady myself. My palms pressed against the wood.

“Your performance review is pending.”

(That’s not what I meant to say. I meant to ask about dinner. Why am I talking about performance reviews?)

“I require your presence off-site for immediate evaluation.”

Kai blinked. Confusion spread across his face.

“Off-site evaluation? Is this about the containment breach last week? Because I filed the incident report—”

“This is not about the breach!”

My hand slammed down on the desk. The impact rattled the coffee mug. Frost spread from my palm, crawling across the wood surface in crystalline patterns.

Kai’s coffee froze solid. The liquid turned to ice mid-slosh, creating a brown glacier in his cup.

(Control yourself. You’re freezing his coffee. He needs that coffee to survive. Why are you like this?)

I stood up abruptly. My chair scraped backward.

“Stand up, Evans!”

He stood. His movements were slow and cautious. Like he was dealing with a wild animal.

Smart man.

I walked around the desk. Each step felt like marching into battle. My heels clicked against the floor with military precision.

(Just ask him. Just say the words. “Would you like to have dinner with me?” That’s all you have to say.)

I stopped two feet away from him. Close enough to smell his cologne. Some kind of cedar and coffee scent that made my brain short-circuit.

Our eyes met.

His were brown. Flecked with gold in the overhead light. Tired but still sharp. Still analyzing.

(He’s so close. I could just reach out and touch him. Pull him into a hug. Tell him he works too hard and I admire him more than anyone I’ve ever met.)

“WE ARE GOING TO DINNER.”

The words exploded out of me at full volume. Kai actually took a step back.

“Director, I—”

“THIS IS NOT A REQUEST.”

(Please say yes. Please please please say yes. I’ll pay for everything. I’ll pick a nice restaurant. I’ll be so gentle and kind.)

“IT IS A DIRECTIVE.”

Kai’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.

The temperature in the office dropped twenty degrees. Frost crept up the windows. My breath came out in visible puffs.

I was losing control of my powers. The ice responded to my emotional state. And right now my emotions were a catastrophic mess.

“Evans, do you understand?”

(I sound insane. I sound completely insane. Why can’t I just ask him like a normal person?)

“I. Yes. I understand, Director.”

His voice was carefully neutral. Professional. The voice of someone trying not to upset their commanding officer.

(He thinks I’m ordering him. He thinks this is a work obligation. Fix it. Clarify. Tell him it’s a date.)

“Good. Friday evening. 1900 hours. I will send you the coordinates.”

(Coordinates? I just called a restaurant address “coordinates.” What is wrong with me?)

“The dress code is business casual. Do you own civilian clothes that fit that category?”

Kai nodded slowly.

“Yes ma’am.”

(Ma’am. He called me ma’am. That’s so formal. So distant. I want him to call me by my name. Just my name. Soft and warm like he means it.)

“Excellent. This evaluation will cover multiple criteria including interpersonal communication skills and adaptability to non-combat social situations.”

(Stop talking. Stop. Talking. You’re making it worse.)

“Failure to attend will be marked as insubordination and subject to disciplinary review.”

Kai’s expression shifted. Something between confusion and mild terror.

“You’re. Ordering me. To go to dinner with you. Under threat of disciplinary action.”

(Yes. No. Maybe? I don’t know anymore. My brain is broken. Everything is broken.)

“Affirmative.”

The word came out strangled. I crossed my arms over my chest to hide how badly my hands were shaking.

Frost covered half the office now. Icicles hung from the ceiling. The windows were completely opaque with ice.

Kai looked around at the frozen wasteland formerly known as my office.

“Are you. Feeling okay, Director?”

(No. I’m having a complete emotional meltdown because I like you so much it’s destroying my ability to function like a human being.)

“I am operating at peak efficiency.”

My voice cracked slightly on the last word.

Kai’s expression softened just a fraction. Like he’d figured something out.

“Director Esdeath. Are you asking me on a date?”

My brain stopped working entirely.

The temperature dropped another ten degrees. A bookshelf flash-froze, the wood creaking under the sudden temperature change.

(Say yes. Just say yes. It’s one word. Three letters. You can do this.)

“THIS IS A MANDATORY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OVER A MEAL.”

(Why. Why am I like this.)

“With just the two of us. At a restaurant. On Friday night.”

Kai was smiling now. A tiny exhausted smile that made my heart do something complicated.

(He’s smiling. Oh god he’s smiling at me. That smile should be illegal. It’s too powerful.)

“Affirmative.”

“That’s a date, ma’am.”

“IT IS A PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT.”

“Right. A professional assessment. At a romantic restaurant. Just us. On a Friday night.”

He was enjoying this. The bastard was actually enjoying watching me suffer.

(I hate him. I love him. I want to kiss him and also throw him out a window.)

“Do you accept the terms of this evaluation, Evans?”

Kai’s smile widened just a fraction.

“Yes ma’am. I accept.”

Relief flooded through me so intensely I thought I might pass out.

(He said yes. He actually said yes. I did it. Mission accomplished.)

“Dismissed.”

Kai gave a small salute. Professional. Proper. Then he turned and walked toward the door, carefully stepping around the patches of ice on the floor.

He paused at the threshold.

“Director?”

“Yes, Evans?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Then he left, the door clicking shut behind him.

I stood frozen in the middle of my ice-covered office.

He was looking forward to it.

Looking. Forward. To it.

My knees gave out. I collapsed into my chair, which was now covered in frost. I didn’t care.

A pillow sat on the small couch in the corner. I grabbed it and buried my face in the fabric.

Then I squealed.

An actual high-pitched squeal that would’ve horrified any of my subordinates. The sound was muffled by the pillow but still completely undignified.

I’d done it. I’d asked him out. Sort of. In the most disaster way possible. But he’d said yes.

The interaction went perfectly smooth.​

I squealed into the pillow again, kicking my feet like a teenager.

Friday couldn’t come fast enough.