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Chapter Eighteen
I criedmyself to sleep each night this weekend and when I woke up this morning, I felt like death ran me over several times, and now here I am dragging ass at work. I’m keeping my head down, to not bring any attention to me, but Shane and Olivia lurking around my cubicle, asking questions and clearly not doing any work.
“Seriously, you okay?” Olivia asks.
“I am. I stayed up late watching The Notebook and I just totally ugly cried, ate a pint of ice cream, then forgot to take my make-up off last night. I’m fine, I promise.” I lie.
I turn around and an email from Quinn pops up in my inbox.
Please, can we have a moment to talk about what happened on Friday night? To talk about everything.
xx
Q
I delete the email and turn back around, it’s almost lunch time, and I need to get out of here.
“Let’s ditch this place and go have lunch somewhere?” I say to Olivia.
“Yeah, I think that sounds perfect. You want to get Shane or me?” She asks.
“Can you? I need to make a quick phone call and then I’ll be ready to go by the time you guys get back here.”
She nods and walks in the direction of where Shane sits. I don’t have a call to make, but I do need to gather my wits. The elevator banks are close to Quinn’s office, I need to get brave in the chance that he and I would bump into one another, when I’m still not ready. I get up and go to the elevator where Olivia is waiting.
And I don’t. As much as I want, I don’t look at him while he’s standing in front of his assistant's desk with her. I can feel his gaze, but I don’t pay any mind to it. I continue walking, but then once the elevator doors open, I know that I will need to turn around, and I will see him.
Our eyes lock immediately. I don’t smile, I don’t frown. I try to look past him, but my eyes want to see him.
* * *
“Hey, got a minute?”Nicole stands at my desk.
I breathe a long breath through my nose, plaster a smile on my face, then turn to face her. “What’s up?” I ask.
“Can we take a quick walk?”
“Um, sure. “
She leads me to the elevator; we get in quickly and then she presses for the fifth floor. We walk out onto that floor and directly into a room with many sofas. There are a few people sitting and talking, none of which give us a second look. She motions for me to sit down, and after a moment of quietness, she smiles.
“Sometimes, I come down here and just read. This floor is pretty relaxed and I kind of like their vibe. I mean, they have these great couches.” She runs her hands across the fabric.
“You do this often?” I ask.
“Probably once a week, I want them to think that I’m allowed to be here, ya know.” She smirks.
“Sneaky of you. What kind of company is this?”
“It’s another travel magazine.” She shrugs.
“Really? There’s more than one in this building.” I look around. “I had no clue.”
“You seem like you could use some comfy couches today, is everything okay with you know?” She asks.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I just don’t know.” I tell her, fighting back the tears that are coming to my eyes.
“If you need to cry, do it. I’ve seen it here a few times. Do you need me to beat him up for you?” She offers, giving me a good laugh.
