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“I’m going out with the coffee guy tonight,” I tell her, surprising myself with a grin. “I texted him this morning. He said yes.”
Andrea squeals as quietly as one can possibly squeal in an office setting and shakes me by my shoulders. “That’s what I’m talking about! That’s great, Sophie! Screw that other guy. You deserve to be happy.”
“Shouldn’t we be focusing on the work at hand?” Hannah snipes, depositing the copied reports onto the desk surface with a slap. “Mr. Wright has made it clear that when we’re here, we’re supposed to be working.”
Andrea rolls her eyes dramatically as Hannah grabs a chair to drag over to the work area, and I can’t help but grin even wider.
* * *
Declan
I’m poring over financial reports for the last quarter—positive, overall, but somehow not enough to satisfy me—when a muscle in my cheek jumps. It’s enough to distract me from the numbers. And enough for me to notice that it’s nearly five p.m.
As if my body is operating independently from my mind, I find myself closing the folio and pulling up the security camera feed on my monitor. I’ve done the same ritual for weeks. It’s like an addiction—one I absolutely can’t break.
I’ve got her route memorized. The details. I know exactly which cameras to study to watch Sophie leave the building after her work day ends.
It’s something that I’m not proud of, but at least I’m not watching the cameras at every second of every day.
I just… I fucking need it. If I can’t look at her or interact with her whatsoever anymore, then I can at least leave myself with these few moments. These few glimpses.
But when I catch her on the cameras this time, there’s something different. She’s wearing a dress. Not that she doesn’t wear dresses to the office. But this one is different. More elevated than a dress she would usually choose for work.
Do I know how it looks that I’ve got Sophie’s office wear aesthetic down just based on security feed observation? Of course I do.
But my level of unease—and alarm—rises at another deviation from the norm. She strides out of the lobby and out onto the sidewalk, but instead of heading to the subway stop, she hails a cab.
Where the hell is she going that she can’t take a goddamn train?
I’m turning the monitor off and pushing myself away from my desk before it really registers what I’m doing, but it’s too late now. I have to know what she’s doing.
I make the trip over to the marketing department, where Sophie’s cubicle is situated, and am rewarded by one of her coworkers lingering, digging around in her purse for something.
“Andrea.”
She looks up at me and does a funny little jump—almost a snap to attention in addition to being startled.
“Mr. Wright,” she says, blinking swiftly. “What can I do for you?”
“Sophie Anderson. I have a question for her regarding the marketing initiative.”
Andrea grimaces. “I’m sorry, sir. You just missed her.”
I glower at her. I know Sophie’s left. I just need to figure out where she went.
“Does everyone in this company just run for the door as soon as five o’clock approaches?” I demand. “Was she really that eager to get out of here?”
“Oh, no, Mr. Wright,” Andrea says, shaking her head, her eyes wide. “Sophie’s not like that. She’s the one everyone tries to be like. She was just going out on a date tonight. To that new sushi place, Catch? I’m pretty jealous. I hear it’s impossible to get a table right now, but she knows a guy who knows a guy, I guess.”
“A fucking date?” I growl before I can stop myself.
Andrea bites her lip. “I’m so sorry, sir. That was unprofessional of me to share. And off topic. You know, I work closely with her on the initiative. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No,” I say, curt and careful. I’ve overstepped. Shown too much. Am right on the edge of losing whatever tenuous control I’ve had over myself when it comes to Sophie.
“I can let her know that you were looking for her,” Andrea says.
“Don’t bother,” I say, turning on my heel and walking away. “I’ll circle back around with her.”
