AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I got off on the seventh floor. Now wasn’t the time to beg for her forgiveness, but I couldn’t spend another day in my office without at least seeing her. Absent the haze that had been keeping me apart from everything but my goal, the pressure in my chest became intolerable.
Without Elise, I couldn’t breathe properly.
Shewas my breath of fresh air. My body had become dependent on her. How could I have gone two weeks without breathing her in? It was inconceivable.
To my great fucking disappointment, Elise’s desk was empty, her computer screen black. I was late arriving at the office. Most people were already working.Sheshould have been working.
I strode around the floor, checking the break area and stairwell, not finding her. Eyes were on me, including Elise’s friends, Rebecca and Simon, who were huddled together near the collab table. They straightened when I approached them, their whispered conversation cutting off abruptly.
“Hello,” I greeted.
They mumbled greetings back, with none of the friendliness I was used to from them. But then, they were Elise’s friends. They’d no doubt heard how badly I’d neglected her.
I cut to the chase.
“Do either of you know where Elise is?”
They exchanged glances. Rebecca blinked at me.
“I’m sorry, who?”
I cocked my head in confusion. I needed to sleep for about thirty hours to catch up on all I’d missed. Had I said the wrong name?
“Elise Levy. Do you know why she isn’t at work?” I pressed.
Simon scratched his chin. “I wish I could help, but I really don’t know who you’re talking about.”
I pointed at her empty desk. “Elise. The woman who sits at that desk every day. Where is she?”
Rebecca tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I really don’t understand what you’re saying.” She turned to Simon. “Do you?”
He shrugged. “Not a single clue.”
Understanding dawned on me. Violence rose in my blood. They were giving me the same treatment Patrick had been given by Elise’s friends in Chicago.
“That’s enough,” I bit out. “I’d like you both to remember who you work for. I won’t be disrespected in my own company.”
Rebecca lifted her chin. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to threaten your employees because they won’t discuss their coworker.”
Simon linked arms with her. “I agree. If there’s nothing else, we’re busy.”
They walked away from me without another word. But then, there was nothing left to say. I shouldn’t have been in a position to beg my employees to tell me where my girlfriend was.
And yet…
Where the hell was she?
Once I was in my office, I asked Renata to check with Elise’s direct boss, Salma. She reported back that Elise had taken two days off and would be back Monday. She didnottell me where she was.
I spent the rest of the day fuckingfloundering. My concentration was shot, and the pressure in my chest only mounted as the hours slipped by.
It wasn’t as if I had nothing to do. It was that I couldn’t bring myself to care anymore, not now that I’d fully wrapped my head around the bomb I’d dropped on my own life.
I went through the motions to get through the day. As listless as I was, and as badly as I ached to tear out of here and hunt Elise down, there were still calls and meetings that required my presence, if not full attention.
By the time I walked into my apartment that evening, my chest felt like there was a herd of elephants stomping on it. I kicked off my shoes, leaving them where they landed, and yanked the tie loose from my throat.
Miles was at my dining room table, a few take-out containers scattered around. His mouth fell open in surprise when I sank down into the chair across from him.
