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She gave me one final look before turning to remove the kettle and filling her cup. I waited, puffing out my cheeks to exhale. As soon as she was done, I went to the kettle; either I was too quick, or she was too slow, because we nearly collided. I thought she was going left when she went right.
“Sorry.” I quickly moved out of her way, avoiding eye contact because of a sudden heart arrhythmia. When was the last time I’d gone in for a checkup?
“You know, I would have never guessed you knew that word before today,” Noah said.
I smiled. “I just learned it, so figured I’d give it a test run.”
“I’m the first recipient? What an honor.”
We were still standing relatively close. There was glitter in her eyeshadow, and it reflected in the light.
“I accept,” she said, voice a little off, matching the rhythm of my heart. “For now.”
My brows wrinkled. “For now?”
“Until I figure out what your plan is.” She shrugged with a smile. This woman could see right through me; I was going to have to put more effort into this fake truce than I thought.
“No plan.” I held up a hand. “Just a white flag.”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “Sage without a plan. We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Five
Noah
It was after five, and everyone had started moving toward the door. Everyone except Sage. She remained in her seat, her back turned to the rest of the office, headphones on. Her gaze never left her screen. I didn't move to pack up either.
"Nice work today," Tyson said to both of us before heading out.
"Thanks." I'd been on a high after our meeting. Everyone had been so open to hearing my ideas, and their excitement about the changes matched my own. Of course, Sage was the only exception, once again.
She’d offered a white flag after, and the attempt to do so caught me off guard. I wasn't falling for it, no matter how genuine she tried to make the gesture seem, but I'd play along for my own sake. Making the wrong kind of waves as a new hire was a sure way to have my full-time artist dreams snuffed early. I had too much to prove in a small amount of time. I wasn't going to get caught up playing war with her.
"Hey," Tyson said in a lower voice so the exiting artists and Sage wouldn't be able to hear.
I leaned over my desk, trying to make the space a little more private.
"You don't have to stick around after hours," he said with a small smile. "Sage is a machine. No one expects that from you."
I nodded, keeping my smile intact. He meant well, but all I heard was: you're not going to be able to be like her.
"I want to finish up a few more things," I said and tried to shove down my burning feeling of inadequacy. He gave me a final wave and tossed a pen at Sage to get her attention.
She tugged her headphones off and glared in his direction. "Yeah?"
"You getting a life soon or what?" he snapped back, all professionalism gone now that he was technically off the clock.
"When we're pulling Silver numbers on our first week, you're going to be praying I never get a life." She went to pull her headphones back on.
"Ben wants your opinion on his new piece."
Sage's sigh quickly turned into a groan, an impressively smooth transition that made me peek in her direction just to see her face. Despite the long day, she looked as awake and alert as ever. The only indication of her hard work was the ink stains on her fingers. Sage kept her nails short, and the staining was the only coloring on them. We didn't have to work traditionally, but she'd still found time in our short day to do so. I was both jealous and impressed of her time management skills.
"Tell your brother I'm busy," she said.
Tyson sucked the back of his teeth, disapproving. "You do remember you're the one who wanted an introduction?"
"Must I pay for that decision daily? Because that's how often you mention it."
