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“She’ll come around.”
“Speaking of Charlie, is she in yet? I know she said she was coming in late.”
Aera smiled at him. “I’ll check for you.”
The photographer, Alec, came with his assistants, and they got right to work. Dressed in his old Star Wars shirt, Rick was ready for the chaos. Hours passed with people fussing over his hair, makeup, and skin. They had him move his head in different lighting, and at one point, stood at odd angles long enough for his neck to cramp.
Once break time came, he wasn’t allowed to touch his face, and was told to eat “neatly” as to not mess up the foundation on his skin. He stalked the break room, found a few staff members snacking, but none were Charlie. Aera was in the crowd.
“Rick, she’s in her office. She came in about five hours ago and hasn’t left the room,” she informed him.
Rick looked at the clock. “Did she eat yet?”
Aera tilted her head, her expression wondrous. “I’m not sure.”
“Thanks.” He went over to the refrigerator and pulled out the container he left inside. Aera and the rest watched him leave the room, and he didn’t mind their stare.
In front of Charlie’s office, he stopped before knocking.
“Come in,” came her sweet voice.
Lightly pushing the door in, he stepped inside and caught her in front of the whiteboard; the surface covered in green and red writings. The board had well-drawn picture graphs of statistics.Sales revenue, annual profit forecast. She was hard at work and looking so beautiful he felt pain.
Charlie turned to meet her guest, eyes broadening at his entrance.
“Hey,” he greeted.
Walking over to the round table by her desk, she set the sheet of paper atop. “Hi. How’s the shoot?” she asked. “I saw you busy at work with the team.”
“It’s going,” he answered. “I think I’ve learned more about powders and types of face primer than I could really use.”
She laughed, and he savored the sound. He didn’t know why he was nervous, but his mouth dried as he remembered the satchel he hid behind his back.
“Uh, here. This is for you.” He handed her the container. Charlie slowly took it from him, held it to her stomach, and unzipped the bag to reveal a glassware case with food inside. He’d woken up early to prepare a chicken drumstick, macaroni salad, and roasted Brussel sprouts.
Astonished, she looked back at him.
“You’re working so much that you’ve been skipping meals,” he explained. “It’s just something simple I made and thought maybe you’d like to try. It’s more innovative than the ramen I made you last time, but nothing like the gourmet meals you bring us at the gym.”
She stared at the contents as though she had trouble processing.
“You… made this?” she repeated.
“Do you not like it?” he asked. “I can pick up something else. There are plenty of restaurants next door.”
She shook her head and put the container down. “No, Rick. This is more than necessary. It looks amazing.”
Relief found him as he breathed. “It’s healthy. You’ve got protein, carbs, and fiber. Please don’t skip this. You should eat.”
At that moment, she peeled off the lid and pickedup the fork from the bag with a genuine smile, a gesture that she was going to eat it right now.
“I will. Thank you.”
Her receptiveness was all he needed for the rush of accomplishment. As though he had been sitting on edge, her sweet smile and accepting his offering was a lift to safety.
“I think I have to get back now. I’ll see you soon. Eat well.”
A glance at her watch showed another late night for Charlie. It probably wasn’t too healthy for her to be doing this much for this long. Her staff had asked her to come out for an after-work drink, but she declined and rain checked.
