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He led the way to the elevator and held the lobby door as we walked into the temperate air. Humidity was low, and the sun was shining intently. It felt incredible outside.
The trees and flowers had revived after a long and bitterly cold winter. Three years here, and I still was not used to nor a fan of the several inches of snow or the plummeting temperatures. I stared at the potted flowers at the entrance of the building while Richard tied his shoe. I wondered what color the flowers were.
A few blocks down from our building was Gabby’s Café. We walked into a louder-than-usual dining room. Most booths and tables were packed with what looked to be amped-up mothers and daughters and some bored fathers and brothers.
The smell of freshly baked bread spread along the dining room. A frantic Jeremy ran around, making sure everyone had water and what they needed. Richard and I slid across from each other in the last booth by the door to the kitchen. I looked around the white walls, each decorated with what I assumed to be colorful paintings of scenery from around the world. They were just in black and white to me.
“So, did you hear the good news?” I asked him.
“You can see all the colors of the rainbow now because you’ve fallen hopelessly in love with me?’”
“No,” I rolled my eyes. Unfortunately, my world remained greyscale. “Project Porcelain is official. And… you get to be our financial manager!”
His upturned eyes widened, and a smile slowly spread across his face. Richard was an intelligent and dedicated man; I was sure he knew what this meant for him and his career within the company.
Before he could react, a glowing Gabby stepped in front of our table and set two cups of ice water down. Her smile radiated the happiness of seeing her café completely packed. Her crinkled eyes landed on my outfit, inspecting every aspect of it, and she even bent over to peek at my shoes under the table. She left the apartment before me this morning, so I didn’t get her routine stamp of approval to ensure everything matched before heading out.
“You did a great job, Blake!” she handed us straws. Her eyes and smile fell when they landed on Richard. Her expression soured. “Richie.”
“Gabriella.”
They rolled their eyes at each other with disdain. She abhorred being called by her full name; he despised being called a nickname. They were a match made in hell.
She didn’t need to ask what we were getting and just confirmed our orders in case Richard had changed his mind. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, bacon, and a small salad without tomatoes every Friday. I hated tomatoes. Then, to-go was a blueberry muffin. Richard’s go-to order was the club sandwich with a lemon muffin on the side.
While we waited for our food, I glimpsed at my phone. The steady string of emails continued, reminding me of my never-ending to-do list. I complained to Richard about the number of emails in my inbox. He chuckled and shared in my dramatic misery.
Gabby brought our food out a short while later. I tapped the back of my butter knife on the crusted top of the bread and enjoyed the slight cracking sound. Perfectly toasted, as always. A small drop of gooey cheese spilled down the side, and my mouth watered as I took a bite.
“Okay, wait, as stoked as I am to be on that project…last time we talked about it, you were choosing Braeden. He’s like your right-hand man in the department,” Richard continued.
“Honestly, I was. The idea of breaking in someone new to my working style on a super important project was not exactly in my plans. Connor wants you on it, but I think you know me well enough that my…intensity…won’t surprise you.”
“I am so excited that Connor wanted me on this! Plus, it’ll be great to work with you.”
He reached out for my hand as I slithered it away from him. I felt uneasy about us working closely on a project together. My response was clearly not enthusiastic enough for him. He swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, cocking his head and narrowing his eyes.
“Okay…” he tossed the dirty napkin onto his plate. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“What? Nothing.”
“Don’t insult me, Blake. As you said, I know you well enough.”
“I’m just a bit…apprehensive…about working together. I don’t want anyone to know we’ve been seeing each other. Plus, a lot is happening in my head with the California team coming. I don’t know…it’s hard to explain.”
“Try.”
“All right…well…there’s history between Erik and me… a lot of it.”
“You and the California manager? That Erik?” Richard straightened up and scratched the back of his head. I scratched at my arms. This was uncomfortable for both of us. “What kind of …history?”
I didn’t stop talking for the next few minutes as I told Richard everything. Our history was not a secret at work, given that we had worked in the same office for two years. Everyone in California knew what we were and, to some extent, what happened between us. But the people hired specifically for the New Windsor office, which was everyone except Connor, Nathaniel, Stephen, and me, only knew us separately.
That included Richard.
Erik Walker was the California Accounts Manager and my counterpart in that office. While I was still in California, working side-by-side with him, we had different roles. Yet we often worked together due to the many hats we all wore. However, our relationship didn’t start at work.
Erik and I had grown up almost next door to each other in our hometown. Our mothers were best friends, so we spent a lot of time together from the time we were babies. We developed the same interests and quickly became good friends. By the time we were in high school, we were best friends. We were the kind of friends that no one believed were just friends.
