Louise’s POV
“Lou, wake up honey… Sherry is here. She said she’s taking you to work.”
Mom was knocking at my door, I was stretching my body and see my alarm on the floor and my phone was buzzing with Sherry’s face on it. I looked at the time and immediately got up.
I had texted Sherry last night to swing by my parents and pick me up for work.
“I’m up! Thanks, mom, I’ll be right down.”
I was downstairs, joining mom and Sherry for coffee twenty minutes later.
“We still have time, your mom was just telling me about your boyfriend who was here for dinner last night.” Sherry was digging into her pancakes, while I was adding sugar and mixing my black coffee. There was a hint of a smile on her face.
“He’s not my boyfriend mom…” I rolled my eyes at her and started sipping my coffee. I sighed like I always do when I smell that first cup of coffee in the morning.
“Yeah, well with the way he looked at you I doubt it.” Mom said, obviously not backing down from her statement.
I was skipping breakfast, which made the two women looked at me worriedly. Both knew about my anxiety and my eating disorder.
“I’m fine, I just need to hurry. I got morning meetings scheduled by Cherise and I’m jammed packed this whole day. So, I can’t be late. I’ll get my breakfast in between meetings. I promised.”
I kissed mom goodbye and told her that I’d see her in a couple more days, dad was already off golfing with his buddies.
“Bye honey, and make sure you ask Allen what he wants for dessert next Thursday!” Mom yelled out her words.
So I was quickly dragging Sherry out of the house, for less confrontation with mom regarding my supposedly boyfriend. But then turns out mom was feeding more to Sherry than just her pancakes, as she started rambling on about Allen.
“Sher… babe, I love you… we’ll continue this after work yeah?” I said while thanking her for the ride, as I had agreed to her picking me back from work.
Knowing her, I had guessed that she was going to make me spill about Allen. Then she would know about the Jeff thing. So I was going the easy way and will tell her everything, maybe she would help me get over Allen and move on to the next guy.
Must not get involved.
Must be casual.
“Boss, how are you this morning?” Cherise greeted me with my second cup of coffee. She was trying to look casual, but I know she was genuinely worried about the Jeff issue.
“I’m good, better. Is Jeff in?” I asked her peeking out of my office door.
Jeff’s office is a couple of doors down from mine. I saw his secretary was busy flirting with one of the marketing staff.
“Nope, I’ve checked with his secretary. She said he was taking a couple of days off. With his bruises, I would say he needs those days to look presentable for work again.” Cherise mumbled her words, as she was printing the weekly reports for my first meeting with one of the marketing division this morning.
“Okay, I need to do this quick. Prepare me the CCTV footage and get me a meeting with HR, legal, and one of the board members, maybe Alexandra or Brian either those two or anyone who had issues with Jeff if they’re not available. But check on them first, do not mention Jeff in the meeting just mention about me being sexually harassed but that’s it.”
I gave Cherise the flash disk that Allen got from his friend Randall the Manager. She was quick to check it out, then cursed few times before she was quickly busy calling and setting up appointments.
Taking my memo pad and tablet I hurried myself to my first meeting of the day, while Cherise follows behind me with the report print outs.
Hours went by easily, it was noon when I realize that I managed to forget about breakfast. I would obviously miss lunch if Cherise hadn’t prepared one for me.
“Are you feeling okay? You didn’t even eat half of your lunch.” Cherise was busy taking notes while I tried my best to eat my lunch, but the feeling was too much. Damn.
“I’m good, I’m just too busy. I’ll get a big size at dinner later.” I said smiling at Cherise.
I know the signs were there, but I was too busy to care. I finished my coffee and then carry on to my next meeting.
It was six when I was finally done with my meetings. Sherry was already waiting in my office, she was talking to Cherise and we were out the door minutes later.
“We need to talk,” Sherry said while driving her car to my place.
“Sher…”
“Just get your stuff, you’re staying at mine tonight. I’ll take you to the office tomorrow.”
That was all she needs to say, I looked away from her. My hands were sweating, somehow my anxiety finally catches up to me. And she knows that I shouldn’t be left alone, she took my clammy hand and caressed it.
“I got you, Lou… I got you…”
That night I told her everything. From the all unexpected meeting with Allen, then what had almost happened with Jeff and how Allen took care of me.
“Wow… okay…” she finally said as she gave me a bottle of beer. She had convinced me to eat two slices of pizza and which makes me about to throw up. But then she shook her head at me and told me to eat some yogurt. I felt better, full but better.
“Cherise had told me everything. You are not going that road again, you can do this Lou. If you need to stay away from him I’ll help you, the girls will help you. All you gotta do is ask.”
“I know… it’s just that… he’s just so perfect and it just seems too good to be true… you know?”
“Right, but hey… you never know. All I ask is for you to trust me… trust us with your issues. We love you, Louise. We all do…”
We were relaxing on her couch after she gets her Dobermans back into the house. Watching those two large dogs snuggling on their dog bed can be very soothing, making me feel relaxed on the inside.
“And if keeping you away from him will make you better, will make your anxiety gone… then we will do that. Your health comes first Lou…”
That night I finally fall asleep hours after Sherry did. I kept on checking my phone for his message and deep down feeling that I was still wanting him. But Sherry was right my health comes first.
I can do this…
I just need to move on…