CHAPTER 14
ROXY
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Did Charles intentionally skip Roxy's question? Did he see the same shift in her that Roxy saw in herself lately? "Shit," she said.
It'd been ten days since Roxy last saw Ellen.
Ten long and quiet days, and during those ten days, Ellen had time to go to LA and come back.
Things heated up at AtMedias after they went public about expanding into Australia eight days ago.
The business world couldn't stop buzzing about what was going on.
As a result, Ellen became much less available to see her. So, Roxy gave her space, telling herself she needed it. And maybe it was better that way, but Roxy couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Ellen persisted in writing to her regularly, no matter what.
Their exchanges often bordered on flirting, yet they both stayed on the right side of things.
Roxy undeniably found Ellen attractive, and she couldn't help but flirt.
It gave her the impression that they were circling something fragile, enough to feed the feeling and keep it alive.
But Ellen was aware of Roxy's situation with Charles—she must have been so mixed up with all the signals Roxy was giving her.
Roxy was powerless to stop the impending disaster. She was not used to these feelings for a woman, and she was more confused than she'd like to let on. Her mind was elsewhere: always with her, wherever she was. And the worst part? Roxy didn't even want to back off from this mess.
She braced herself for Charles's talk, knowing she had no other option. That was something she owed him. Regardless of how she was spinning, she was fully aware of her actions. It wasn't fair either to Charles, Ellen, or perhaps even to herself.
The moment of truth arrived seventy-five minutes later as she left One Macquarie Place and headed to their favourite spot in Sydney's Rocks District.
The sight of Charles already seated at the table as she entered the restaurant sent a jolt of apprehension through her.
She couldn't tell what was going on with him until he glanced up with a huge smile.
"Hey, my love," he said as he stood up and kissed her on the mouth. Roxy suddenly felt weirdly numb to Charles's kisses, just like she'd felt with every guy before him. When she imagined kissing Ellen, a rush of emotion flooded her that kissing the man in front of her couldn't match.
"Hello, are you okay? I got a little freaked out by your text earlier. What's going on?" He gave her a look that screamed, 'I don't get it.'
"What did you want to chat about?"
"Oh," he answered. "Um. You haven't seemed like yourself lately, and honestly, it's making me a little concerned. I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine. I just got a major assignment at work that's consuming a lot of my mental bandwidth. It's just that." Technically, not a lie if you consider that Ellen is meant to be work-related.
Charles's gaze was fixed on her, unblinking. "That confirms my suspicion. You're pushing yourself too much, Roxy. When things go wrong for you, it's gonna be rough, and I don't want that for you."
"Right, says the guy who is literally in a polyamorous relationship with me and Outlook." Roxy figured a joke might save her, but Charles wasn't impressed.
What was supposed to be a low-risk assignment turned into something Roxy couldn't control. Now she was there, ignoring Bonnie's advice to stay clear-headed. She pretended everything was normal over lunch, while the actual weight of her life hummed just beneath the surface, like it always did.
"Don't be childish, I'm talking seriously. You're not yourself these days. You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Roxy froze. Did he know?' she wondered. Roxy felt like she was under a spotlight, exposed. The thought that he could see through her walls, given her secrets, was terrifying. Luckily, the server appeared at that exact time, so she dodged Charles's question.
And then, her phone buzzed, plain view, with one message from Ellen.
Ellen Caldwell - 12:14 PM How's your day so far? We still didn't use our rain check. I hope there's no expiration date…
Shit. Ellen.
Charles glanced up and asked, "Ellen? Who's that?"
She swallowed hard, willing her voice to sound normal.
The real answer would be "her worst nightmare on Earth." She couldn't say that, obviously. The best—even if false—answer she could give him: "Oh, a girl I met at a running club I tried out recently. She relocated to Sydney recently, and we clicked. As friends."
It felt better, despite the awkwardness of the words as she told them.
"Give me a second to hit rewind," Charles said. "You, Roxanne Powell, in a running club? And you're telling me this without laughing?" A fleeting doubt crossed Roxy's mind that he wasn't convinced, but his smile led her to the opposite conclusion. Perhaps he placed too much faith in her words.
"Don't get your hopes up," she cautioned, "I disliked it and never went back."
"But you managed to befriend someone."
Roxy took a breath to ground herself. "That's one way to put it."
It's not like Charles to get so emotional, yet he truly seemed happy for Roxy. "I'm so happy for you, Roxy. It's been two years, and you haven't really made any friends here, and sometimes, I feel guilty for uprooting us for my job."
"I didn't have more friends in London, though," Roxy told him.
"Well, you still had Meredith." Roxy's heart sank, and Charles realized he'd just brought up the one thing they always avoided talking about. "Anyway, I'd love to meet her. Why don't you invite her to the game night? She could meet our group of friends and maybe fit in."
It was such a bad idea. She had to come up with a plan of escape on the spot. Then she just blurted out, "Yeah, sure. I will ask her."
***
Later that afternoon, alone at the office, Roxy was staring at the blank text box for a long time. She typed, deleted, and rewrote, but then she took a deep breath and hit send.
Roxanne Powell - 5:44 PM Sunshine, speaking of rain check… We're having a super casual game night tomorrow at home.
Roxanne Powell - 5:45 PM Just a few friends, and guaranteed cheating and drama… You're more than welcome to join us if you want.
The typing dots appeared… then vanished before…
Ellen Caldwell - 5:46 PM We?
Just that. Two letters and a question mark. Enough to leave Roxy breathless for a few seconds.
Roxanne Powell - 5:47 PM Charles and I.
Ellen Caldwell - 5:47 PM You talked about me to Charles?
Roxanne Powell - 5:49 PM Well, yes… and he's excited to meet you…
It felt way too honest and too soon, but it was the truth. Ellen took her time, giving Roxy enough time to craft endings she didn't want.
Ellen Caldwell - 5:51 PM Well… That's a surprise… Look Roxy. Board games are not my thing, but if you are there… why not?
Roxy exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
Roxanne Powell - 5:55 PM No pressure. You can also just drop by for a drink too. It aims to be chill. Bring a +1 if you want. Friend, or even a date. No questions will be asked.
Ellen Caldwell - 5:56 PM Tomorrow then.
Roxanne Powell - 5:57 PM I'll text you the details. See you tomorrow, Sunshine!
Roxy slowly put her phone down, her heart pounding. If Ellen brought someone, it would be safe, giving Roxy space to breathe. On the other hand, if Ellen decided to come alone, Roxy didn't know what she would do or what it would mean.