*Andrea*
That night, Dave left early and didn’t raise the issue anymore.
I sat on my bed, looking straight at the ceiling. Now, things were going to get awkward between us.
“What did you do?” Alison asked; I didn’t even realize she was inside my room. I adjusted on my bed, “what did you say to Dave?” She asked again, stepping further in.
“Where’s Austin?” I asked.
“He is fine.” She replied and sat on one edge of the bed.
“He ate a lot of ice cream; I hope his stomach is fine.”
“Austin is fine, Andrea; stop trying to run from this conversation.” I inhaled sharply.
“Can’t we just talk about it tomorrow?” I pleaded. She shook her head. “No,” she said.
“Okay.” That was my reply.
“So tell me. What did you do? Why did Dave suddenly leave?”
“Why are you so convinced that I do something?” I squinted at her, pulling the blanket over my body.
“It’s obvious,” she said.
I rested my back on the wooden frame. “Is it?” I inhaled a scent of breath, trying to steady my emotions.
“You know how Dave feels about me.” That wasn’t a question, “Did he confess?” Alison asked, and I nodded before wondering if that could count as a confession.
One hand immediately flew to her mouth, covering it. “I knew it,” she said, smiling, “I knew you wouldn’t be single for too long anymore. So what did you say?” I looked at her from under my lashes, not ready to disappoint her.
“You didn’t reject him, right?’ I avoided Alison’s face. “Don’t tell me you did.”
“I wish I did.” If I had said something and not just stayed quiet like some fool. I wished I had been bold enough to tell him that I wasn’t interested in him.
It was so easy to say it in my head, but it was hard to say out loud.
“Technically, I didn’t say anything,” I said.
“Then what?” She asked, “I should have said something, but before I could, Austin came into the balcony and interrupted us.” I tried to hide how grateful I was for that but failed.
“I should have kept Austin away for a little longer if I had known.” She said, her shoulders slumping in regret.
“So what are you going to do?” she asked me. Now, the conversation is not fully over, and you’d have to complete it.” I slid into the blanket and covered my body, including my face.
“I don’t know yet. For now, I want to sleep,” I said. Before Alison left, she said, “Think about your son too, Andrea; this doesn’t have to be just you. Austin loves him, and Dave deserves an opportunity,”
My hands went to my neck to touch the necklace on it. My eyes watered, tears threatening to spill, but I held them in. I can’t be crying over the same man for so long.
Maybe it was time to let go of him completely. I should listen to Alison. Austin loves Dave and already sees him as his father.
I should give him a chance. Just because I don’t love him now doesn’t mean I won’t fall for him. I didn’t remove the necklace; I just stuck it in my clothes and turned to the other end of the bed.
I’ll talk to Dave tomorrow.
The next day, I left home early as I had begun doing these past few days. But today was not going well for me.
First, I forgot an important file, so I had to hurry back home and pick it up.
While returning to work, my car collided with another, smashing one side of it. I had to settle that.
This was a sign to sit at home.
“You are late, Andrea,” the iron lady said. I bowed slightly.
“Do you think I am in trouble?” I asked Harper softly while my eyes were pinned on the angry lady before me.
Harper didn’t say a word.
“In my office, right now.” She said, and I signed, “This is truly inevitable.”
“You got this.” Harper encouraged.
I followed her into her office. She walked behind her table and sat in her chair.
“Do you think you are the boss of this place simply because you know the CEO?” She asked, sounding hateful.
“No ma.” I knew explaining the entire situation was useless, so I stayed quiet and allowed her to speak.
“Now, what’s your excuse this time? You are a mother, and I am not, so I don’t understand yet?” I flicked at the sound of her voice, which grew over the top with each word she spoke.
I’ve been early these past few weeks, and she didn’t notice; not once did she call me to praise me. But just one slip, and she is about to rip off my head.
Her chest rose and fell, “I’ll let this slide for today,” I thanked her and was about to leave when she stopped me with these words, “I didn’t ask you to go yet.” I stopped and walked back to her.
“Yes, ma. Are there any other things you want me to do?” I asked.
“It’s not me; it’s an order from above.” She said, and at that moment, her door opened, and someone in a black suit stepped in. Her entire demeanor suddenly changed.
She smiled, “She is here now; you can take her.” At least I should know where I was being taken to, right? But no one said anything.
She smiled at me, “Please treat her well; she is a very important part of this group.” She said, and I almost rolled my eyes.
Someone may think she cares.
“Do I need to get my bag?” I asked, and the man nodded.
I moved to my desk while he waited for me. “Where are you off to?” Seeing the man in a black suit, she stood, “Don’t tell me you are leaving just because you came late today. Didn’t she see that you’ve been coming early?” Harper sounded pissed.
“It’s an order from above. I still don’t know why and where I am going; I haven’t been told anything,” I said, and she eased into her chair. “So, it’s nothing to worry about,” I told her.
“Okay.”
“Let’s have lunch together,” I said, and she nodded with a smile. Have fun, ” she said, and I pouted.
I could already tell that this was not going to be fun. If it was, she would not have sent me.
The man’s long legs covered a great distance. I tried to keep up with his pace, but my short legs did nothing in comparison.
“Where are we going?” I asked him, when we were in the elevator.
“You’ll soon see.” He said, his voice was cold and deep.
When we reached the top, the elevator dinged. He led me to the CEO’s office.
I was surprised to see Dave there.
I fiddled with sweaty palms. After the conversation we had yesterday, I do not think I was in the best mood to see him at all.
“You are finally here.” He said. The other man bowed slightly and left. We were both alone in his office.
“What are you doing here?” I asked before I could stop myself. He raised a brow at me. He wasn’t usually here; he is most of the time on business trips.
“Decided to visit; anything wrong with that, Miss Wilson?” He asked. I realized my mistake and switched to professional mode immediately.
“No, sir.” I had asked him not to treat me like a friend at the office. I didn’t want to be treated differently from the others.
“What happened that you didn’t come on time?” He moved the chair he sat in side by side.
“I had a rough morning.”
From his eyes, I could see that he wanted to ask and know more, but he stopped himself.
“But everything is fine?” was the only question he asked, and I nodded, grateful he wasn’t pushing this any further.
“Why did you send for me, sir?” I asked calmly, trying to look confident.
But my nervousness must have slipped out of my words as he stared at me for longer than he should, making me uncomfortable under his gaze.
“My secretary is not feeling well. You’ll take her place for today.” He said.
“Alright.” He placed a file on the table and moved it towards me, motioning for me to pick it up.
“That’s the schedule for today.” I flipped through it.
“You know you could have got someone else for this, Dave,” I said before I could contemplate speaking.
“You once worked as a secretary; who could be a better candidate?”
“I’ll sit outside then,” I said, picking up the file and walking out.
I settled on the secretary’s seat outside his office, my eyes scanned through the file.
We had some important meetings today.
The first on the list is the meeting with Costa Enterprises. I didn’t like the sound of that.
It was a name I recognized-a name I’ll recognize everywhere. I knew a company was trying to get Dave’s designers, but I never thought it would be Alejandro’s company.
Dave had a meeting with someone from there. I didn’t know who he was meeting, but I had a bad feeling about this.
“There’s no way Alejandro would be here nor was it even possible for Lucas to be here,” I said to myself.
“We have a meeting with Costa Enterprises soon,” I said to Dave; I was standing in front of him.
“With Costa Enterprises? ” he asked, and I nodded. Then he leaped off his chair.
“The meeting is not due until the next hour.” I reminded him.
“We should go early. I have somewhere I want to stop by.” Dave said.
We were soon seated in his car. He drove himself.
“I thought you had a driver?” I asked.
“Wanted to go around myself today.”
“Why?” I asked.
He stole a glance at me, “because of you,”
“Well, I …” I searched for the right words to say. What should someone say when another person tells them they are in front of a steering wheel because of them?
We stopped in front of a red light. He turned to me, “I’m sorry about yesterday.” He said, and I felt even more guilty.
“You don’t have to be. You did nothing wrong.” I don’t know who I was trying to make feel less guilty, him or me.
“I shouldn’t have said it like that. I placed you in a very tight situation.” I bit my lower lips.
“You know how I feel for you,” it wasn’t a question, “I don’t want you to nod or answer. You don’t have to give me a reply. I know you don’t see me as anything more than a friend for now. But I’m ready to wait as long as you want.” He said.
A car behind us honked, ruining the almost perfect moment.
“So stop acting like I’ll bite you,” he said, and this earned him a laugh.
He indeed picked something on his way.
The car soon stopped in front of a restaurant, “do you think it is possible to conclude with them?” I asked.
“We should. If not, I’ll use any other method to get them to stop.” Dave said.
I nodded in support. I picked up my bag and followed him inside.
It seems we came at the right time. As the waiter pointed out the seat, we could already see the representative of Costa Enterprises. He had his back towards us, and on his right was a girl.
We stepped closer.
Something fell from his hand, and I picked it up. The toy looked familiar. I stood and handed it to him, “thank you…” he stopped, and I froze slightly.
My chest tightened, and my heart beat loudly inside his ribcage.
What was he doing here?
I looked between him and his secretary and then to Dave. The only word my mind could register was…
Run.
So I did that.
I took a few steps back and then dashed out of the restaurant. I didn’t care if anyone was behind me; all I wanted was to be out of the restaurant. Out of his sight.