15. Haelyn
FIFTEEN
HAELYN
The next morning when I passed Mr. Graves’ office, my eyes scanned the empty view. He was nowhere to be seen which was unusual at this hour. He was always here earlier.
I searched for my phone to call him and ask if everything was all right, but then I suddenly stopped.
What was I doing?
He was my boss and I had no right to get involved in his personal life. I shook my head, walking away.
Yesterday, I jumped into his arms and now I was on the verge of calling him like I was his goddamn girlfriend. I had to stop being so friendly or I was going to get fired.
I fit my thumb into the fingerprint scanner placed at the entrance of my office and the door unlocked with a green light. Since I already had my phone in my hands, I opened the conversation with Chad. I didn’t expect him to text me last night, but I was glad he did.
Me
Did your family forgive you yet?
I shook my head with a smile, put my phone back into my bag, and switched the lights on. My eyes almost few out of my head.
What the hell?
The desk in the middle was entirely covered with designer bags, including the entire floor in front of me. I looked from side to side, expecting a clown to jump at any second and tell me it was a prank, but after several harsh breaths, no one came.
Maybe these were meant for someone else.
I gawked at the black envelope on the floor where a bouquet sat, filled with flowers I didn’t even know existed. I leaned down, and grabbed the envelope with shaky fingers before taking out the white paper.
I’m out of the office until Monday, but please accept these thank you gifts.
- Tristan Graves
The note was the confirmation that the bags were indeed for me, I just couldn’t make myself believe it. Why would he spend so much money on a new employee? Sure, I got him a meeting and I understood that he wanted to thank me, but the bouquet would’ve been enough.
So, why?
My mouth dried and I swallowed, but it did nothing to dim the hoarseness in my throat. I glanced at the bags through a glassy stare, while I worked my way to unbutton my shirt. Every cell on my skin flared.
I raised up to my tip-toes, throwing a curious glance at what was inside the bags. I barely held a gasp at the sight of beautiful heels hiding under those designer’s names. Because my curiosity won, I buried my hand in the first bag I saw and took out a pair to analyze it.
There were gold details everywhere with sharp heels I could easily use to kill someone and it could still count as elegant. My fingers smoothed over the small diamonds, their texture rough to the touch. They were so elegant, yet so daring and revealing.
He bought me shoes because my heel broke at the meeting with Gorig.
A heavy breath got stuck inside my lungs as I took a step back, taking in the large number of bags in my office.
How could I accept this? He must’ve spent a fortune but for what? Just because I did my job? Did he treat every one of his employees the same way?
I could call him and tell him I couldn’t accept these.
No.
All my life I prayed for good things to happen to me and now that it has, I was stupid to refuse or question destiny for giving me what I asked. Just by selling a pair of these, my life could change.
However, I didn’t have that in my plan. Gifts couldn’t be sold for moral reasons and now I had a high salary as well. I didn’t need to sell everything I had in order to take care of my mother, and even if the realization excited me and relieved me at the same time, it was hard to fully accept it was true.
That my life was on the verge of changing.
Me
Thank you for your gifts, Mr. Graves. Although one pair would’ve been more than enough.
As soon as I exited the conversation with him, I moved back to the Unlock app, thrilled to tell Chad about it. Yet I second guessed my decision.
What if he was going to get it all wrong? What if he was going to think there was something between me and my boss? He couldn’t understand how important the project was to him and that maybe he felt like he needed to repay me somehow.
He didn’t need to know.
As if he knew I was thinking about him, Chad answered my text.
Chad Bitt
They played hard to get at first, but we are fine now. Fights happen often when you have a big family.
I smiled. I didn’t know what it was like to have a big family, but I knew how it was to have a brother. He was innocent and caught in the middle of a war between my father and my mom, with no other wish besides that we’d be all together one day. For a long time, I believed wholeheartedly I was going to be able to get him back or even see him again just for a few minutes, but when the phone call came… not taking him had become my life’s biggest regret.
Out of a family of four, I was alone even if my mother wasn’t in a coffin or a prison.
Me
I’m glad to hear everything is okay now *red heart emoji*
My teeth grazed the inside of my cheek and because I didn’t want my mind to wander to those awful memories or feel the guilt sweeping in my bones, I dialed Merielle, knowing she was going to be able to get me out of this mood.
The phone rang and a small smile reached my lips as I walked around the bags, stealing a glance inside where the most luxurious pair of heels were hiding.
“Miss me already?” she joked, and if possible, the smile stretched even wider.
“No, I could never miss your annoying voice.” I laughed, then took away the phone from my ear and clicked on the camera button. “Let me see you for a second.”
She appeared on my screen with her blonde ravished hair and with the background of the depository room at the coffee shop she worked at. “What is it? I have to start in five minutes.”
I flipped the camera, biting my lip as I waited for her reaction. She came closer to the screen, now only her round eyes visible as she squinted them to see the image.
“What the hell, Hae? Did you rob a store?” she shouted into the speaker, and I flipped the camera back to me, smiling.
“No…” I grinned, moving around in my office. “Mr. Graves gifted me heels as a thank-you for the partnership thing.”
She exaggerated, dropping her mouth open and her eyes rounding. “Are you fucking for real? Couldn’t he stop at a pair? That seems like dozens of shoes.”
I nodded, holding eye contact as she recovered from her shocked expression. She backed away a bit, enough to let me see the hand that landed on her hips and the purse of her lips.
“Fuck him,” she spat out, and a frown covered my forehead.
“What?” I almost choked out on my saliva, not understanding where this hatred for him was coming from. Buying me shoes after my heel broke was a sweet gesture and if she couldn’t see that… well, my best friend was stupider than I thought.
“Fuck. Him.” She lifted her brows, then she walked back and placed her hands on a wall as she leaned down, moving her ass in an obscene move. “Bang him. Ride his stick. Call it what you want, but if I were you, I’d walk into his office right now and show him what a proper thank you looks like.” She winked at me and threw her head back, faking a moan. “Ah, boss, that’s it?—”
The door behind her opened and she rushed to the phone, curses slipping past her lips. “Fuck, shit. Sorry.” The call ended and I couldn’t help the laugh flowing out of me.
She was nuts.
And thanks to her, when I sat on my chair and got to inspect each one of the pairs, I imagined how it would’ve been if I followed Merielle’s advice. These white heels would’ve looked stunning wrapped around him as he gripped my hair and put me on his desk.
I shook my head.
No. This was wrong.
I was in a situationship with Chad.
Yet still… the air brushing on the back of my neck felt like fingers grazing my skin until it was covered by goosebumps.
On cue, Chad texted me.
How’s work so far?
God. He was so kind and sweet and I was fantasizing about my boss. I gave myself an internal slap.
I had to get it together.