AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Easy for you to say!”
I groaned and buried my face in my hands. Out of all the lists my brain had devised of how this day could go terribly and horribly wrong, this was not on it. He sighed and walked out of my office, leaving the door cracked.
I turned to the window, wishing I was one of the people enjoying the sunshine in the park across the street. A woman was doing yoga, and a man was working on his laptop in the sun. My forehead felt the warm window against it, and I closed my eyes. I was breathing and trying to settle my heart rate.
I jumped at the knock on my door, bumping my forehead into the window. The revolving door of people continued.
“So,” Parker walked in, whispering. He lightly shut the door behind him. “This is…umm…unexpected.”
I turned to face my handsome stranger from the gym and felt compelled to walk over to him. “That is the understatement of the century.”
“Are you okay?” his voice was soft. “I know seeing me wasn’t what you needed after the morning you had.”
“No, I’m not okay, and you being this sweet to me isn’t making it any easier. Look, I don’t know what this means for our plans, but we should get out of here before anyone comes looking for us.”
“Blake,” he stopped my attempt to get to the door, strong fingers wrapped around my wrist kindly. “Let’s still have that drink tonight. We can talk about this then.”
His eyes begged for me to say yes. His grip on my arm was uncertain. He pulled me and turned me to face him. Instead of looking at the floor, I was now staring at the transparent button of his shirt. He brushed his fingertips across my temple and tucked my hair behind my ear, forcing me to look up at him with his knuckle under my chin.
“Please.”
“Okay,” I sighed.
“Promise me. Promise me you’ll have that drink with me.”
“I promise,” I said, keeping my eyes on his. He smiled and turned, walking out of my office.
Another piece of my carefully curated self quickly unraveled, revealing the chaotic emotional interior I tried so hard to subdue.
Thankfully, Connor took charge of the beginning of the meeting, giving me time to adjust to being in the same room as the three people who chipped away at my composure. He warmly welcomed everyone and apologized for needing to leave early. He assured Amelia that they were in good hands – my hands – and Amelia seemed receptive.
Then, it was my turn.
I stood at the front of the conference room. It took all my energy to stop me from collapsing from the stress of the watchful eyes on me. Erik’s familiar dark eyes tracked my every move. Richard’s focused look studied my words. Parker’s concerned gaze threatened to undo me.
I searched for comfort, holding to what I knew to be true. I had gumbo for lunch, like every Monday. Gordon brought leftovers back from lunch because he never finished his food. Lainee used her thick pen for her notes because the thin ones were hard to read. I landed on Nathaniel’s encouraging grin. He gave me a soft nod.
My speech was similar to the one from this morning, and everyone seemed comfortable. After the first hour, we took a short break, and some of Gabby’s muffins from earlier were making their rounds again.
“You’re doing great, kid,” Nathaniel assured me.
“I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“Are you okay?” Erik’s concerned voice came up behind me as I nodded. He stood next to Nathaniel, taking a closer look at me. “You look pale, Blake. Are you sure you’re fine? Have you eaten?”
“She had gumbo for lunch. I saw her,” Nathaniel said a little too loudly. Parker turned to us but averted his gaze to the floor with a smile.
Suddenly, we were back in the California office four years ago. Nathaniel and Erik had been concerned about me during an event because I had been so busy that I forgot to eat all day. I almost passed out on the way home. That happened a few times during that month as my deadline approached, and it was only one of the many times I met Erik’s disappointed eyes. From that moment, one of them ate lunch with me every day.
“Yeah, I ate,” I forced a smile while pinching the bridge of my nose. “I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
He was unconvinced but didn’t argue. Nathaniel was called over by Amelia, leaving me alone with one of the people that made me want to collapse.
“Hey,” Erik took a step closer, putting his hand on the side of my arm. From the table, Richard looked up, eyes burning a hole through Erik. “You’re doing great. Amelia seems impressed with you so far.”
“Thanks,” I stepped back, letting his hand fall from my shoulder.
He walked away, and I collapsed on the chair closest to my computer. Across the room, Parker snuck a glimpse of me. I pretended not to notice. I needed him to disappear into thin air for a bit.
