VIVIAN

He led me out of his office, the weight of his hand still warm against my lower back as we moved down the hallway. I tried to keep my steps steady, my chin up, like I wasn’t seconds away from combusting.

“So,” he said, breaking the silence. “Your name’s Vivian.”

“Yes,” I replied, a little too quickly.

His lips tilted into a smirk. “Vivian… that's a nice name.” He dragged the syllables out, like he was tasting my name, and the sound of it in his mouth made my ...