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Orlie steps away; the very second he leaves my ether, I want to grab him and pull him back. But I can’t.
As he walks through the cafeteria, he’s met with greetings from other employees. He says hello to all of them with gusto, gives someone a hearty high five, exchanges banter about Formula One with someone, and he laughs.
Laughs!Loud, with abandon. Uncaring who might hear.
I don’t think I can eat another bite. My stomach is in knots.
How am I going to forget Orlie Wynters? Because every part of my body wants to remember.
16
ORLIE
“If anyone has any questions,you can see me or…” I clear the frog out of my throat and glance at my dad. “Trevor. We would be happy to provide you with a more detailed timeline of the next half of this quarter and our hopes for what we can achieve by mid-September.”
I close my portfolio and step away from the podium. The conference hall is filled with all the employees of Wynters Group. It’s our top-of-the-month check-in and, as this is the first Monday in August, a prime day to make sure we’re all on the same page for this quarter.
Dad still insists on being around for every meeting even though behind closed doors we’ve had conversation upon conversation to try and work out the kinks in our sharing CEO responsibilities. Regardless, I have to maintain a calm face for the company.
As I wade through my employees, who are beginning to get up and return to their workdays, I can’t help but let my eyes drift to the back of the room where the tech department usually stands. I get a glimpse of Kira who is chatting with her assistant. Her eyes flick up to me for such a brief moment it feels like it could be an accident.
The past two weeks have been torture. I’ve done my best to be just her boss. But I can’t help reaching out, wishing she’d cross the line before I do so we can fall into each other’s arms again.
I’ve never been like this.
I have always held my career above everything else. I’d never do anything to jeopardize that.
But I think about Kira Solace more than I think about work. I care more about her than I do about work.
Maybe my dad was right. Maybe I’m not ready to be the CEO after all.
I slow my pace and consider walking over before Kira bids her assistant goodbye and walks in the opposite direction of the traffic flow. I frown as she disappears through the service door to the back hallway, rather than joining everyone else to go toward the elevators.
Without second-guessing myself, I spin on my heels and follow Kira’s trajectory through the conference hall and out to the back hallway.
While everything at Wynters is shiny, new, and trendy, the back hallway is like any back hallway. A way for all the less shiny, less new things to get around. Back here is where the maintenance office is, where you can access the trash and laundry rooms, and whatever other things are required to make a business like ours run without a hitch.
What could Kira be doing back here?
My mind leaps to the ends of the earth. What if she’s dating the kitchen manager? They’re always friendly and I’ve seen him sneak her extra helpings of things before. I thought for sure he was gay, but –
Breathe, Orlie.
This isn’t like me. Coming up with ridiculous, unproven stories just to – what – upset me? Keep me grounded.
I spot Kira at the end of the hallway waiting at the service elevator.
Of course she’d take the back elevator. She wants to stay out of the fray. That’s classic Kira.
With all the casualness I can muster (which isn’t a lot, considering how un-casual I feel about her), I walk toward Kira and the service elevator.
She alerts once I’m about halfway down the hallway, her head snapping toward me. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I reply. I tuck my hands in my pockets and lean up against the wall opposite her. “Looks like we had the same idea.”
Kira’s mouth quirks to the side in a smile. “Nobody ever takes the service elevator.”
“Yeah, because most people don’t mind waiting for the main elevator so they can delay getting back to work,” I chuckle. “Not you, though.”
