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“No need,” I said as I brushed past her. She staggered, so perhaps my strength had been too much. It made me loathe her weakness and incompetence even further.
Deciding then that I was truly and completely done with her, I returned to the private dining room and the waiting men. They turned as soon as I got in, a few of them even getting up in concern, however, I waved it away. There was no way I could stay any longer; I needed to recover and suppress my annoyance, so I headed straight to the table and shook the hand of their boss.
“Let’s reschedule,” I told him. “We’ve made progress, but unfortunately, I have to call it a night here.”
“Understood,” he told me, and then he looked toward the door.
“She’s a sloppy one, isn’t she?” he asked; however, I didn’t care to respond to this. Just before I turned away, he didn’t quite let go of my hand.
“Will she still be working for you?” he asked. “I imagine, given how prudent a man you are, you're not likely to tolerate this level of incompetence?”
I was getting angrier by the moment as I wondered why he wouldn’t just make his point.
“What I'm trying to say is that if you don’t have any need for her, then perhaps you can invite her in?”
Ah, finally. And as usual, I understood what he was saying. I wondered how to respond to this. For a second, I considered doing exactly as he had asked, but then I decided to think of my client and the cut that the firm would be getting should this deal fall through. So, I managed a small smile and shook my head.
“She’ll still be working with us. Despite this blunder, she's really good at her job.”
He seemed unhappy.
“Well, if you were willing to let her go, then perhaps things would have been better between us?”
At his words, I shut my eyes, and he knew better than to keep holding onto my hand.
“I’m going to pretend this one time that I didn’t just hear what you said. But if you even allude to it the next time we meet, know immediately that not only will this negotiation be over, but I will find a way to sue and strip you of all you’re worth.”
He was flabbergasted at my words and almost even in shock; however, I didn’t care. The deal wasn’t going anywhere. He needed the factory title; he needed water. And based on what had just happened, now he had killed an entire night's work of acquaintanceship, so I was going to ensure that he'd need even more than he had anticipated and that I had been leaning toward for the sake of fairness.
I turned around, completely fed up with the day. I jerked my tie open and left it hanging from my neck. I knew she was outside the door as I walked out; however, she stayed out of my way. I was glad she did.
By the time I got outside, Raul was already waiting with the car, and I knew it was because she had called him. Without thinking anything further, I got in and was instantly on the way home.
I found a way to rest on the way. Multiple times, Raul tried to meet my gaze through the rearview mirror, but I ignored him until eventually he spoke.
“Do you by any chance want me to stop by the hospital?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “Just take me home.”
He did as I said, and soon enough, I arrived back at my apartment.
I had never been happier to be home. It had been a long, infuriating day, but this night had truly taken the cake. After stripping, more irritated than I ever thought was possible, I took a couple antihistamine, got into the shower, and stood for several minutes under the hot cascade of water.
I tried my best not to think or process anything. I just wanted to soothe, to recover, and to relax. And so, I tried to meditate, and soon enough, I was calm enough to complete the rest of the session.
About ten minutes later, I got out, freshly cleaned and refreshed. And even though health-wise I had recovered, I still felt so jittery it made me furious and I could barely contain it.
And it also didn’t help my mood that I was fucking hard, which made me even angrier. I considered calling Gloria then to ensure that I didn’t even have to see Hannah in my office the next day. I needed her to disappear like a ghost, as though she'd never existed.
And so, without even bothering to put clothes on, I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed back out to the living room where I had flung my jacket.
I saw it draped over the couch and was soon able to rummage through it so I could retrieve my phone. It was quite late, but not late enough to be on a call, so I quickly sent a text.
She, however, unusually didn’t answer on time. Just as I ended the call, however, a sudden ringing came at my door. The shrill bell sound pierced through the entire apartment, and I wondered who could possibly be visiting at this hour.
Whoever it was, I knew I wasn’t going to answer, because this had to be one of my most annoying days. All I wanted was to be left alone; whoever was at the door could come again at another time; I had to finally accept that this person, whoever they were, wasn’t going to back away.
I headed over to the door and looked through the peephole. Truly, I wasn’t surprised at who it was, given how we had parted, but her presence right now was the last thing I wanted to deal with.
