NEIGHBORS
“Are you coming In or not?” His gruff voice came out impatiently, narrowing his eyes at Maria. She pondered waiting for the next elevator but figured it would be too petty of her, so she reluctantly entered the elevator.
She adjusted the bags in her hands with a frown whilst giving him a side eye.
“I don’t think it’s been up to 48 hours since we last saw each other.” Maria spoke as they stood on opposite sides of the elevator, facing the door.
Maria was seeing him too often than she’d like and it terrified her that her heart would waver. One could say the heart grows fonder with imposing presence. Her youngest sibling’s magic play wand would come in handy to attempt to banish him to some foreign island. Or perhaps turn him into a frog. That was a sight she’d love to see though it was just a fantasy, but it lightened her mood.
Reid let out a small chuckle as he pressed her floor button. “Why wasn’t I informed that there was a time stamp for us to run into another?”
She glanced at him with an irritated look. “Based on the fact I don’t find your presence pleasing, a time stamp won’t be enough. A siren would do a perfect job.”
He laughed and shook his head. “I can’t believe I forgot how delightful you are.”
“I was just about to say the same thing,” she said in a clip tone.
They were becoming fast friends, and it warmed Maria’s heart immensely, as she never lacked his warm presence. If it had to go on like this, she’d find herself regretting her choice to become partners. She wondered how Athina had grown to tolerate him to the extent they became best buddies and she sometimes envied their closeness.
Or was it the fact Reid picked who he was friendly with?. She remembered the time they had met with the team handling the restaurant’s building renovation. He was different from his usual arrogant self. He was stoic and all about business and quite friendly, which surprised her. His further actions after her dress plight made her see him in a different light. It was from that day her heart and mind began to waver.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had someone that manages the building.”
The first he brought her here, he explained things to her. He hardly had business with the building or his tenants. Not many people even knew he owned the building.
“I live here.”
Reid was already staring at her when she turned to him with her eyebrows raised.
“Where?”
He pointed, “Here. I own the building. It’s not so hard to figure that I’d have an apartment.”
“Don’t blame me for assuming you’d be living in a mansion in some posh estate.”
A smug smile appeared on his face as he said, “I do have a mansion, but I prefer to stay here since it’s close to my office.”
Maria was spot on and she felt like she had won a point. She considered humoring him by throwing one or two jabs, hoping it would hurt his feelings, or at least make him angry. She had her lines prepared. “I had actually pegged you as homeless, judging by the amount of time you spend at Athina’s house.” She considered it too harsh and ignorant.
Maria did not want to care about how he saw her or what he thought of her. Yet, the past few days, they found themselves in each other company.
She became conscious of the things she said and how she acted. Breathing space was what she needed, but it was hard to get.
Maria glanced at him and noticed he looked tired and, as if the last thing he wanted was to engage in a conversation, yet he indulged her.
She was curious to know what a day in the office was like for him. Did he get frustrated a lot that his hands went through his hair a lot that it became ruffled? Did he skip lunch and had only been consuming coffee that his full lips appeared dry? A bit of starvation wouldn’t kill him or even affect his well-built body. His muscles looked to stay for years as long as he kept to whatever routine he followed.
‘How many times in a week does he visit the gym?’ She thought and even considered asking, but a terrifying growl halted her thoughts.
Maria had only a sandwich for lunch and was hungry at the moment, but not too hungry that her stomach would roar like a starving dragon.
The growl repeated. Louder this time, and she was sure it wasn’t her belly. The other presence in the elevator clutching his belly was no doubt the culprit, and it made Maria’s eyes go wide.
She had embarrassing moments that would forever live in her memory. Maria could not call Reid’s Martakis belly rumbling an embarrassment cause the man did not look bothered. Rather, he played it cool while trying to avoid meeting her eyes.
Maria felt she owed him for the apartment and a thank you would not suffice, so a next attention would cover it. She had ordered more than she could finish in one night, so she asked, “How about you join me for dinner?” She raised the takeout bags in her hands. “Take it as me saying thank you for the apartment.”
His head slowly turned to her. “You said thank you already.”
She shrugged. “I always show my gratitude elaborately.”
He pondered on her offer and said, “Sure, why not? I’m starving and had no idea what to eat. Your place.”
The elevator doors opened on her floor and she remembered the state her place was in. She had not finished arranging things and did not have plates or even spoons, so she hurriedly said, “How about your place?”
If Reid noticed her hesitation to let him into her place, he didn’t say anything and the elevator doors closed back. Maria watched him place a card on the elevator panel and the word penthouse in red appeared.
It did not even surprise her since he owned the building, but she was still wide-eyed. She knew a building had a penthouse but had never imagined she would step foot in topmost floor.
In a few seconds, the elevator door opened.
Maria’s jaw fell to the ground at the sight of the penthouse as Reid walked out of the elevator. She was awed and envious that her place wasn’t as luxurious. The glass walls of the house displayed the view of the city beneath them.
A steel crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, illuminating the spacious living room and Reid’s face as he watched her reaction. Oblivious to his stares, Maria scanned every rich and lavish object in the room. She muttered, “Wow,” mesmerized by the candor of luxury.
A large shining black piano placed right at the edge of the room facing the city view seemed to be the only low-key object around. Maria prided herself on being the type to always mind her business, but unconsciously the question escaped her mouth, “Do you play?”
Reid, who was walking towards the kitchen, stopped to look back at her. “Yes,” he replied and opened the kitchen slide door. She followed him into the kitchen, which was just as impressive as the living room. It was an island kitchen, just like the one in her apartment, only bigger. She placed the items in her hand on the island tiled counter and took a seat.
Reid took some plates, cutleries, and two cups from the cupboard above, and sat opposite her. She served both of them and got up to wash her hands when she saw a picture frame of a dog. Breed.
“Would you like a tour?”
Maria’s head snapped up at the sound of his voice. “Yes, but maybe later. Your belly is going to cause an earthquake if you don’t eat as soon as possible.”
“An earthquake is far from it. Me passing out because of starvation is more like it,” He said, a lopsided grin on his lips.
She sat back down to eat and her eyes became fixated on Reid. He tore through the chicken thighs like it was his last meal. Well, the first meal of the day, judging by the monstrous growl his belly had made. Poor chicken was gone in seconds that it would leave a vegetarian bedazzled.
“Is your work that stressful you don’t have time to eat?”
It reminded her of her dad, who used to work a 9-5 that made him miss his meals and when he finally got the time to eat; he ate with such vigor, leaving Maria and her siblings stunned. Her mother would just laugh, as it had become their normal. It was not healthy, and Reid was slowly walking down that path.
“Nope, I just forget to. I haven’t eaten the whole day and did not feel it until the aroma of the chicken hit me.” He pointed at the chicken in her hand.
He picked another piece of chicken and dipped into the sauce. Maria was still on her first piece of chicken while he was on his third. Another thing that amazed her was how table mannered he was. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her since he grew up in wealth, but it made her conscious of how she ate in his presence.
“My dad used to be like that until my mom started setting alarms to remind him to eat. You should try it,” she advised in a serious tone.
“Not a bad idea, thanks.”
They are in comfortable silence for a while until Maria broke it by starting a conversation Reid wasn’t keen on having.
“How is the finance for the renovation coming along?”
He looked at her over his cup and said, “You really want to talk about work right now?”
“Yeah, why not?” She shrugged. “I’m not close to you like Athina, as an invisible line we can’t cross.”
Reid’s eyebrows furrowed, studying her body language. “And why is that?”
Maria was not expecting the question and did not have an answer to give. They had already established the “We aren’t friends, mind your business rule,” so why was he questioning the invisible line that they could not cross?
“Because.”
“Because?”
She sighed and cleaned her mouth with the serviette. “We’re work partners thus. The only thing we should be talking about is work.”
Reid cleared his plates from his front and folded his hands. He moved closer to her over the counter that only a mere bottle separated them.
Eye to eye, Reid said, “Then let’s change that.”
“Excuse me?”
“Lets be friends.”
Maria was trying hard not to stare into his eyes, but his words had her doing exactly that. They were not enemies. Frenemies were the better word to describe their rather complicated interactions, and it was nothing close to friendship.
“We are friends?” She sputtered.
He nodded. “Yet you don’t feel comfortable with me, so let’s actually become friends.”
“You don’t make me comfortable, and what if I don’t want to be friends?” Her eyes held a hint of disgust that made him shift back.
Maria’s words caught him off guard, and the right response that should have come out of Reid was him giving up on getting along with her.
“Why not? I’m friendly.”
She scoffed. “I can barely tolerate you.”
“Yet, here you are. In my home, eating with me.” He mocked and pointed at the used plates.
Maria contemplated ignoring him, but she still had to clear the table, so she agreed.
“Fine, friends. I fed you, so clear up.” She got up and turned to leave.
She must have come off as a weakling, though in truth, she just wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. He vexed her and his smiling face haunted her even in the day. Maria admitted she found him attractive, but was not foolish enough to fall for his charm.