Chapter 31 - Day 13 The Truth #3
Opened the Solara file.
And stared at it.
He thought I was leaving because of the job offer.
Why?
I'd resigned before I even interviewed.
He knew that.
So why-
I stopped.
Saturday.
Oh.
"Dad said you're leaving his company."
Luke was sitting beside me, Elena practically attached to my arm.
Adrian was nearby.
"Yes."
Elena frowned.
"Why?"
Well.
What was I supposed to tell a five-year-old?
Because your dad is an emotionally constipated asshole?
Probably not.
So I gave her the easiest answer.
"Because I got a better job."
Across from me, Adrian looked up.
Elena nodded slowly.
"Oh."
Then-
"So does that mean we won't see you anymore?"
I went quiet.
I hadn't thought about that.
Apparently Elena had.
Luke looked at me.
"You'll still meet us, right?"
I looked at him.
Then Elena.
Two pairs of deep-blue eyes waiting for an answer.
I couldn't say no.
"Of course I will, Superman."
Luke smiled.
Elena did too.
I looked up.
Adrian was watching me.
He'd heard every word.
Oh.
I stared at his closed office door.
Because I got a better job.
No wonder.
Friday.
He'd known I'd heard back Friday.
Then I'd spent Saturday with him.
Sunday with him.
And never said a word.
You were with me for two days.
I hadn't understood why that bothered him.
Now I did.
I looked back at my monitor.
The new job wasn't why I was leaving.
And now Adrian knew that too.
He knew what the real reason was.
I'd made sure of it.
By giving me the truth.
There had been no confusion on his face.
Just silence.
I looked at his closed door again.
He understood.
He just couldn't say it.
He knew.
I knew he knew.
He knew I knew he knew.
And tomorrow is still my last day.
At twelve-thirty, Adrian's door opened.
I looked up automatically.
Mistake.
He walked out carrying a folder, crossed the office, and stopped beside Nicole's desk.
"Did you finish the revised material schedule?"
Nicole looked up.
"Almost. I just need to verify two product numbers."
"Do it before one."
"Okay."
He turned to Daniel.
"Where's the structural response?"
"Still waiting on-"
"Call them."
Daniel blinked.
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
Adrian kept moving.
Ben watched him approach with the expression of a man watching severe weather develop.
Adrian stopped.
"The presentation for Wednesday."
Ben straightened.
"What about it?"
"Slide fourteen."
"What about slide fourteen?"
"The section title is misaligned."
Ben stared at him.
"By how much?"
"Enough."
Ben looked at me.
I immediately looked at my monitor.
Not my problem.
"Fix it," Adrian said.
"Sure."
"And slide twenty-two."
Ben's face fell.
"What happened to twenty-two?"
"The image is three pixels too far left."
Silence.
Ben looked at his screen.
Then at Adrian.
"You can see three pixels?"
"Yes."
"Of course you can."
Adrian walked away.
Ben waited until he was safely out of range.
Then whispered-
"He's relapsing."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
Nicole looked toward Adrian.
He was already at the printer, collecting something.
Perfectly calm.
Perfectly normal.
If you ignored the fact that he was apparently declaring war on pixels.
Maya rolled her chair slightly toward me.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
She looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
Then back at Adrian.
"Something happened."
I kept typing.
Adrian returned to his office.
His eyes passed over my desk.
For half a second, I thought he might stop.
He didn't.
He went inside.
The door closed.
At one-fifteen, my phone rang.
Adrian.
Of course.
I answered.
"Yes?"
"Send me the revised north-elevation detail."
"I sent it at twelve-oh-seven."
A pause.
"I need the PDF."
"I sent the PDF."
Another pause.
I heard his keyboard.
Then-
"I see it."
"Excellent."
Silence.
Normally, that would have earned me something.
A dry comment.
My name.
A threat to fire me that neither of us believed anymore.
Nothing came.
"Anything else?"
"No, Ms. Stone."
My fingers stopped over the keyboard.
There it was.
Not Angelica.
Ms. Stone.
I looked through the glass toward his office.
He wasn't looking at me.
"Okay."
The call ended.
I slowly lowered my phone.
Across from me, Maya's eyes lifted.
She'd heard it.
Of course she had.
I looked back at my monitor.
By two, Adrian had reorganized the sample library.
Not asked someone to reorganize it.
Done it himself.
I knew because I walked past and found him standing in front of the shelves, moving material samples by approximately half an inch.
I stopped.
Watched him take one out.
Put it back.
Move the one beside it.
Then move the first one again.
Oh God.
"Adrian?"
His shoulders went still.
He turned.
The expression on his face was completely neutral.
"Yes, Ms. Stone?"
That one landed harder.
I looked at the shelves.
"They looked fine."
"They weren't."
"What's wrong with them?"
"The order was inconsistent."
I stared at the perfectly organized shelves.
"Right."
He turned back.
Picked up another sample.
Moved it.
I almost said something.
Almost asked if he was okay.
But that would have been ridiculous.
We both knew he wasn't.
He knew.
I knew he knew.
He knew I knew he knew.
Apparently we were going to communicate exclusively through architectural samples now.
"Okay," I said.
I walked away.
He didn't stop me.
At three-twenty, Ben appeared beside my desk.
"He's cleaned his desk twice."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Twice."
"Why are you monitoring his desk?"
"Because I'm concerned."
"You're never concerned."
"Exactly."
I glanced toward Adrian's office.
His door was open now.
He was sitting behind his desk.
Everything was immaculate.
Laptop centered.
Folders stacked.
Nothing out of place.
Except-
I looked closer.
The pen.
The one I'd left crooked that morning.
It was still there.
Everything else had been put back exactly where it belonged.
Everything except that.
Ben followed my eyes.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
Adrian reached for a folder.
His hand passed beside the crooked pen.
He could have fixed it.
He didn't.
I looked away.
He could reorganize the office.
Correct three pixels.
Move samples half an inch.
Put everything back exactly where it belonged.
But one thing was leaving tomorrow.
And apparently-
he had no idea where to put that.
By five, the office had started emptying.
Daniel left first.
Nicole followed a few minutes later.
Ben stopped beside my desk with his bag over one shoulder.
"See you tomorrow."
Tomorrow.
I looked up at him.
"Yep."
He hesitated.
For once, there was no joke.
Then he smiled slightly.
"Goodnight, Angel."
"Goodnight, Ben."
Maya was next.
She hugged me before she left.
Which was suspicious.
"We're not doing this today," I told her.
"I didn't do anything."
"You hugged me."
"I hug people."
"You don't hug me goodbye on random Mondays."
She pulled back.
"Fine. Tomorrow."
"No."
"Yes."
"Maya."
"Goodnight, Angel."
She walked away before I could argue.
I watched her disappear into the elevator.
Then looked around.
The office was quiet.
Almost empty.
I should leave.
It was after five.
My work was done.
Candy was downstairs.
There was absolutely no reason for me to still be sitting there.
But I didn't move.
I was looking at Adrian working behind the monitor.
White shirt.
Navy tie.
Navy pants.
Slightly messy hair, maybe because he'd run his hand through it several times today.
So that's how it ends.
That's how my story ends.
The story of my boss.
My impossible boss.
Who became not so impossible after all this time.
I don't know how I'll live without seeing his face after tomorrow.
I felt something warm at the corner of my eye.
And that's when I felt it.
He is my crush.
But not just my crush.
I have feelings for him.
I like him.
Yes, I like Adrian Vale.
But I don't just like him.
I...
Love him.