Page 144 of Say My Name

“I know. That’s usually how you hide.”

The words are gentle, which makes them land harder.

She leaves before I can argue.

By seven, the executive floor is quiet except for the ventilation system and the occasional elevator several floors below.

The forecast was finished hours ago. I open a quarterly report no one needs until next month because going home means seeing the dining table, the half-loaded dishwasher, and the bed where Dominic held me Saturday night.

At seven thirty, the elevator chimes on this floor.

I recognize his footsteps before he reaches my office.

Dominic appears in the doorway with his jacket folded over one arm and his tie loosened. He’s been perfectly composed all day.

He looks tired now.

“You’re still here,” I say, my voice tight in my ears.

“So are you.”

“I have work.”

He glances at my screen. “The quarterly report due next month?”

“There’s no rule against finishing early.”

“No. There’s only the fact that you open reports you don’t need when you’re avoiding going home.”

My fingers go still on the keyboard. “Did you come here to audit my workload?”

“I came because we didn’t finish the conversation.”

“You finished it.”

“I ended the arrangement.” He enters my office and closes the door. “That doesn’t mean we finished talking.”

He stops beside the chair across from my desk, leaving the furniture between us.

“You walked out,” I say.

“What was I supposed to do after telling you I couldn’t keep doing this?”

“You could’ve stayed.”

“And said what?”

“I don’t know. More.”

His mouth tightens. “I asked you a direct question, Elena.”

“You asked me to reconsider my entire future in the middle of dinner.”

“I asked where I existed in it.”

“You knew that answer wouldn’t be easy for me.”

“Of course I knew.”