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She shrugs, giving me a smile that looks wooden and doesn't reach her eyes. “It's my job.”
I look at her a little more closely and she averts her gaze. There's a tension in her body that's as clear as day. I don't know exactly what it is, but for the last couple of days I've been able to tell there's something wrong with her. She's been distracted and not altogether here. She just hasn't been herself. I'm more than a bit curious about what's going on with her.
“Everything okay, Emily?”
“Yeah, everything's fine.”
She finally raises her eyes. I can plainly see that everything is most definitely not fine. She's choosing to guard herself and maintain a mask of neutrality. The look on her face is utterly expressionless. It's almost as if she's turned off the emotion switch inside and is just drawing inward upon herself.
“You don't seem yourself,” I go on. “Haven't for a couple of days now.”
She shrugs. “Don't know what to tell you. I'm fine.”
“Uh huh.”
I lean back in my seat and watch her rifle through the folder of papers she's holding. I get the impression that she's not really looking for something. She's just trying to give herself something to do and a reason to avoid looking at me until I dismiss her.
“Did I do something to upset you?” I query.
“You haven't.”
“Because if I did, you can be open enough with me to tell me,” I say. “I'm a big boy, I can handle a little criticism now and then. If I pissed you off, out with it.”
Emily looks up and I get a glimpse of the first emotion I've seen from her in the last couple of days – annoyance.
“I said I'm fine, Aaron. If you keep pestering me about it, you really will piss me off,” she growls.
I chuckle – she's adorable when she gets angry. Though I'm smart enough to not actually say that to her. I don't know what it is, though. Ever since the day after I took her to lunch, she's been cold. Distant. She's missed a dozen opportunities to slam me for one thing or another. Hell, I've even lobbed her a couple of softballs, giving her an opening, and she hasn't insulted me. Which is how I know something's bothering her. The woman usually never misses an opportunity.
She's been in such a foul mood lately that I've been putting off asking her to come to Portland with me. Now, with my flight scheduled for tomorrow, I'm going to have to tell her to come with me.
I already know what she's going to say. She'll protest going, telling me it’s not appropriate, or that I don't actually need her with me. And she wouldn't be entirely wrong. I don't absolutely need her on the trip. I'd just like her to be there.
Even though it's in a work setting, I enjoy spending time with Emily and find myself wanting to spend more time with her. I know that she's barred anything personal between us – at least for now – so I have to use any pretext I can to get together in a more casual, social atmosphere. A business trip will afford me plenty of time to spend with her away from the office and all of its trappings. It will allow us to be a little more relaxed with each other. And hopefully, we can continue chipping away at those high, thick walls she keeps between us.
I'm out of time to ease into the conversation and have no choice other than to bite the bullet now.
“So listen,” I begin. “I need you to come to Portland with me.”
She looks at me, her face blank once more. “Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“I'm not sure that would be appropriate,” she says, just as I knew she would.
“It's a work trip, Emily. How is a work trip inappropriate?”
She tugs on the ends of her hair. “Why would you need me in Portland?”
“You're my PA,” I tell her. “A million different things could come up that I need you to handle.”
She folds her arms over her chest, suspicion etched into her every feature. Emily remains silent for a long moment, as if weighing her options. I mean yeah, she can refuse to go, and there's nothing I’d be able to do about it. Even though I'm framing it as an order, it's more of a request in all honesty – a request I'm hoping she'll be agreeable to. I just think getting away from an office setting will reveal a lot and tell me if this feeling I still have for her is real or just an echo from the past.
She purses her lips, the expression on her face telling me she's come to a decision. “Okay,” she says. “Getting away from here for a couple of days might not be the worst thing ever.”
I laugh softly. “Well, I'm at least glad it won't be the worst experience of your life.”
A faint smile touches her lips. “Sorry, I didn't mean it like that.”
