It was hard avoiding him in the same building, as even though he’d been doing so since he confessed his feelings, it just felt different this time. She could feel his presence, looming in the hallways, yet she never bumped into him. Even as she told the models it would be her last day working with them, she half-expected to see his intense eyes by the door, watching with a scowl on his face. That would have been better than the last look he’d directed her way on the first floor earlier that day. It made the hair on the back of Rina’s head stand.
However, the worries about Joel soon got immersed with the others when George sent her another email. It was a confirmation message from the production house, scheduling the following day for the meeting to discuss the terms of their contract and how long it would subsist. Rina didn’t think it would be that soon, as she had already planned on spending the day indoors.
Her fingers hovered above the call icon, but George was faster as the phone vibrated in her hands. She picked up the call at once. “Tomorrow?”
“I tried to move it further down the month, perhaps next week, but they didn’t want to go beyond tomorrow. The man in charge of recruits said the Director wanted to meet you himself, and since he wouldn’t be in the country for much longer, tomorrow is the only day that would work for him.”
“That’s it?”
“They also said they have a role in a movie they would love to cast you for. I don’t have all the details, since we are meeting them tomorrow, but from the conversation we had, I garnered that it is the lead role”
“You’re not kidding, are you?”
“It’s insane, Rina. In a good way.”
Rina squealed in delight and did a little dance with one hand in the air. The door pushed open quietly unknown to her as she had her full attention on the phone call.
“Do you want me to come get you or…”
“We can meet there at the production house,” Rina interjected. “I will be there five minutes before the set time so I can maneuver my way around just in case I get lost.”
“Sounds like a plan then,” George sounded so pleased with himself. “See you tomorrow then Er…my regards to…”
“Of course,” Rina still wasn’t used to George, or anyone for that matter, asking about Zayn. It felt odd, almost like she didn’t want to share him or his memory with any other person. It was one of the reasons she had yet to go public with him. Although it made no sense, especially since everything was supposed to be fake, Rina couldn’t shake off the feeling that her time with Zayn was sacrosanct and pure. It was the one thing she had to herself without the whole world interfering in it. And she would like to keep it that way, even though it wasn’t directly up to her.
“That has to be the new job you’re leaving for,” the voice suddenly muttered from the door, causing Rina to jump in her seat. She muttered to George that she would call him later before sliding the phone onto the table.
“Joel…”
“No,” he shook his head, his hurt visible even from that distance. “You seem pretty excited about it. It’s a good thing.”
“But you don’t feel that way.” He still directed his hard features towards her, his eyes dark with hurt and something else, something indecipherable. Joel didn’t move an inch from the door, scared of the lengths he could get to just because he wanted to keep seeing her. If he couldn’t have her in a romantic manner, the least she could do for him was to work there at O. S. N. It was the very least, and Joel didn’t think he was asking for too much.
“What I feel isn’t important, as you have made amply clear” he shot at her. “If you found it important, you would have taken me along every step of the way. I should have been the first person to know when you got the offer with the production house and you sure as hell shouldn’t have pushed me away the way you did at the diner when I told you I was in love with you.”
Rina’s head pushed back in surprise at the sudden intensity of the moment. “Where is this coming from, Joel?” she questioned, really confused. She didn’t think it was important to tell him every time a company reached out to her since they didn’t have that kind of relationship. And more so, at the diner, she told him she didn’t feel the same in a very polite way, and he had taken it well. So, the sudden change in attitude was unfounded and strange.
“See? You would have figured that out if you paid me any attention these past weeks. It feels like…” His voice trailed off and he sighed exasperatedly. “I don’t know why I even bother.”
Rina got up from her seat and edged closer to the door. “Joel, what is wrong? I’m only leaving O. S. N. I’m not disappearing on you. We can always see outside these walls. You know that.”
“Yeah,” he said flatly. “And I guess I have to be the one to accept things again and try to keep us friends. It has always been this way right from the start me trying so hard to get closer to you and you pushing it away like it doesn’t matter, like I don’t matter.”
“Of course, you matter!”
“Then prove it by staying back here. You don’t have to go back to acting. They don’t deserve you and they have made that very clear with everything they’ve done.”
Silence. His chest heaved and his eyes regarded her intently, whispers of hope stringing him along.
“I can’t, Joel,” Rina whispered, shaking her head. “You are asking for too much, and I can’t give it to you.”