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“I’m busy now. Have his office reschedule the appointment for tomorrow, or I’ll just speak to him on the phone later.”
“All right sir,” Ellen said moving away from the door and pulling it closed with a light click.
Nathan and I were partnering on a new venture, and things weren’t going as usual, or at least not as well as expected. And it was up to me to deal with it. Nathan was too busy planning the wedding to make the time. And so I didn't have time to baby Gregory.
The new venture would be a challenge, but it could be done, I mused. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing on the desk. Alex. My heart skipped a beat. That was pathetic, I thought, picking it up.
“Hey, Alex,” I said.
“Good morning, love,” she said breathily. She sounded like she had just woken up.
“Love?” I repeated back to her, leaning against the chair. “Is somebody over there?” I asked. Is this part of the bet?"
We had resolved our issues yesterday but I certainly hadn’t expected to hear "love."
“Why?” she asked laughing.
“I’m just surprised. I thought you hated my guts.”
“Did you forget? We’re together now, we’re in love, or at least that's what everyone will think,” she said.
There it was, as I suspected! She was playing her role perfectly, and it was just too bad if I decided to take it personally.
“Of course not. How could I forget?” I asked.
“I was hoping we could have dinner later. Can you make the time?” she asked.
I didn’t know what she was up to, and I didn’t particularly care at that point. It would be nice to see her. I envisioned a kiss or two and felt my blood heating up. Maybe she’d even come up to my place after dinner.
“Anything for you, love," I said. I’ll make time”
“See you later then. Dress to impress” she said, and with that, she ended the call.
***
I was sitting at my desk, buried in work when my mom called. I sighed and accepted the call.
"Hey, Mom," I said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. She was most probably calling to invite me to some get-togethers with her friends and their kids too. Those affairs were always a circus, a domestic circus. And I wasn’t interested.
"Christian, darling, how are you?" she asked.
"I'm good, Mom. Just really busy with work," I replied.
"That's good to hear. Listen, I have some news," my mother said, and I could hear the excitement in her voice.
"What is it?" I asked, intrigued, despite myself.
"Tristan is coming home," my mother said.
"What?" I exclaimed, sitting up straight in my chair. "When?"
"Tonight. Of course, he'll be staying with you. He called me earlier and said that he wanted to surprise you,” she explained, "but I thought it was better if I told you."
I didn't know what to say. I hadn't seen Tristan in months. I didn't know why he was coming back now, out of the blue. This didn’t sound good. Not for me and Alex.
"Are you okay, Christian?" my mother asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a surprise, that's all," I said.
