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“Thanks.”
“I’ve always admired your work ethic, Bernard,” Carla continued, pausing to flash me a bright smile. “You’re ambitious and dedicated, just like me. It’s one of the reasons why we work so well together.”
“Don’t you mean worked?”
Carla inched closer, and her expression turned serious. “I mean work. We still work well together, Bernard. You and I closed that deal together the other week.”
“That was mostly you.”
Carla threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t be so modest.”
“I’m not.”
Carla lowered her head and stared at me through hooded eyes. “You know, I wasn’t sure if you were going to give me a job, but I’m glad you did. I’ve missed you.”
I took a long sip of my drink before setting it down. “You didn’t miss me, Carla. You and I weren’t a good match in spite of what people think.”
Carla shook her head. “We were. It just wasn’t the right time, but it’s been years, Bernard. I think it’s time to try again.”
“What?”
Carla inched closer and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I still love you, Bernard. I’ve never stopped, and I think you and I should try again. What do you think?”
I leaned back and stood up. “You don’t love me, Carla. You’ve never loved me. You just wanted the security and the power.”
“That’s not true.”
I held a hand up and reached into my pocket. “Let’s not make this more awkward than it has to be, okay? I’m sorry, but it isn’t going to work between us, and I have to go.”
With that, I spun on my heels and hurried out the front door. A short while later, I found Jonathan in the middle of a crowded parking lot, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He ground his foot against it before straightening his back and holding the door open for me. In the car, I clenched and unclenched my hands. By the time we pulled up outside my building, a headache had already formed in my head.
I got into the elevator with a bad taste in the back of my mouth.
The doors pinged open, and I stumbled out, dropping my phone onto the floor. Once I picked it up, Carla came bursting out of the elevator, a bright smile on her face.
“There you are. We didn’t get to finish our conversation. I thought we could continue this in private.”
I rose to my feet and shook my head at her. “There’s nothing to talk about, Carla. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Of course there is. I think we should—”
“Bernard.” Ron materialized out of nowhere and came barreling towards me, his grin stretching from ear to ear. He wrapped his arms around my torso and squeezed. I righted myself and patted his head. Moments later, Rachel rounded the corner, her eyes wide and her face flush. She relaxed when she saw Ron with me. Then her gaze shifted to Carla, and her expression hardened.
“Hey, buddy. How was your day today?”
“We had a family day today,” Ron replied, pausing to look up at me. “Why didn’t you come?”
Rachel paused a few feet away and held a hand out to Ron. “He was probably busy, sweetheart.”
“That was today? I’m sorry. I had meetings all day, and I couldn’t get out on time.”
Rachel gathered up Ron and said nothing.
“Hi,” Carla greeted, pausing to reach her hand out. “You must be Rachel, Bernard’s housekeeper. We spoke on the phone the other day.”
Rachel’s blue eyes tightened around the edges as she took Carla’s hand in hers. “You must be Carla. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Carla smiled and placed a hand on my arm. “I knew Bernard was bragging about me. You and I are going to be seeing a lot more of each other, Rachel.”
