Page 108 of Say My Name

“You implied it.”

“I asked a question.”

“And I answered.”

“You responded. Those aren’t always the same thing with you.”

A knock saves me from whatever she plans to ask next. Dominic stands in the open doorway with his jacket over one arm.

His eyes move from Maya to me. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” I say.

“Yes,” Maya says at the same time. I shoot her a look that could curdle milk.

He ignores both answers and looks at the unopened lunch container beside my monitor. “You haven’t eaten.”

“I’ve been busy.” Too busy untangling what happened in this office to think about eating.

“You’re always busy. Eat before the committee call.”

Maya points at him. “Thank you.”

Dominic gives her a brief nod and leaves.

He doesn’t touch me. His eyes never travel below my face, and his tone is the same one he would use with anyone else who tried to work through lunch.

Maya waits until he reaches his office across the executive floor.

“That was interesting.”

“He has told me to eat lunch before.”

“Yes, he has.”

“Then it wasn’t interesting.”

“That’s what makes it interesting.”

I reach for the container, mostly so she’ll stop looking at me.

The problem is that I finally understand what she means.

Dominic’s attention is unchanged. He has always noticed when I skip lunch, lose patience in a meeting, or stay too late. He knows when I need him to support my position and when stepping in would undermine it. For four years, I told myself his awareness was professional because our relationship was.

Now I know what he looks like when he stops holding back.

Knowing doesn’t make the distinction any easier. It makes me wonder whether there was ever a distinction at all.

The executive floor empties early on Friday. By six-thirty, most of the offices are dark, and the cleaning crew hasn’t reached our end of the building yet.

I’m reading the same paragraph for the fourth time when my desk phone rings.

Dominic’s name appears on the display.

I pick up. “Yes?”

“That sounded welcoming.”