Chapter 32 - Day 14 The Last Day #2
His eyes landed on it.
"At least that's still here."
I followed his gaze.
"You sound worried."
"I've been checking all day."
I laughed.
"You have not."
"I needed to make sure you weren't planning to leave it behind."
"It's three-fifteen. I'm still employed."
"For another hour and forty-five minutes."
I stared at him.
"Why is everyone counting?"
"Because you're leaving."
The humor disappeared from his voice.
Oh.
I looked at him.
Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets.
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
Then-
"I'm going to miss having you here."
My expression softened.
"I'll miss you too."
"Lunch is going to be significantly worse."
"Obviously."
"I'm probably going to have to eat with Ben."
"That is devastating."
"I know."
"You'll recover."
He stared at me.
Then laughed.
"Oh God. You're leaving and you're still doing it."
"Doing what?"
"Talking like him."
I froze.
For half a second.
Then-
"Shut up."
He laughed again.
But it didn't last very long.
His eyes moved over my mostly empty desk.
Then back to me.
"If this is what you want to do, then I'm on your side."
I looked at him.
He said it so simply.
No argument.
No attempt to convince me otherwise.
"Even if I don't know what I'm doing next?"
"Even then."
I smiled slightly.
"Thank you."
He looked at me for another second.
There was something there.
I knew there was.
I wasn't stupid.
But Ethan didn't say it.
Didn't make my last day about something I couldn't give him.
Didn't ask me for anything.
He just nodded toward the mug.
"Don't forget your favorite coworker."
I looked at it.
"I have your mug."
"Exactly. Permanent psychological warfare."
I laughed.
"Thank you, Ethan."
This time, he understood I wasn't talking about the mug.
His expression softened.
"Yeah."
Then he walked away.
I looked at the mug again.
The stupid little red heart underneath the words.
I didn't put it in my bag.
Not yet.
I still had an hour and forty-five minutes.
Four o'clock.
My desk barely looked like mine anymore.
Four-fifteen.
One final email sent.
Four-twenty.
Nicole came over with a question about one of the handover notes.
Four-thirty.
Claire confirmed she had everything.
Four-thirty-five.
Ben asked whether he could have my stapler.
I told him no.
Apparently resignation had not destroyed my will to live.
Four-forty.
Maya started looking at the clock.
I pretended not to notice.
Four-forty-five.
The office felt different.
Or maybe I did.
My bag was packed.
My files were transferred.
My inbox was clean enough that I could walk away from it.
There was almost nothing left for me to do.
I looked toward Adrian's office.
The door had not opened once.
Not once.
All day.
After thirteen days of coffee.
Counteroffers.
Projects.
Arguments.
Car rides.
Dinner.
His children.
Flowers.
Groceries.
Three-second touches.
You like them.
I pay attention.
After all of that-
a closed door.
I looked at the clock.
Fourteen minutes.
Then I looked back at Adrian's office.
And waited.
At four-fifty, I finally started packing the last of my things.
Not work.
Mine.
The few things still sitting on my desk went into the office box one by one.
My personal things.
The random little things I'd accumulated without realizing it.
And finally-
the mug.
I picked it up.
The stupid little red heart was still there.
I put it carefully into the box.
By then, the goodbyes had already started.
Not the real goodbye yet.
Apparently everyone had decided we needed approximately ten preliminary goodbyes before I was actually allowed to leave.
There were hugs.
Promises.
Threats that I was required to visit.
Maya had already informed me that disappearing was not an option.
Ben wanted confirmation that I would still answer his messages.
Nicole wanted lunch.
Daniel wanted all of us to do something together.
Ethan mostly stood there smiling while everyone else negotiated custody of my future free time.
And through all of it-
I kept looking toward Adrian's office.
Finally, at four-fifty-five, I walked toward his door.
I didn't know what I was going to say.
Goodbye, probably.
Something normal.
Something professional.
Something appropriate.
For once in my life.
I reached his office.
And stopped.
The door was closed.
The office behind the glass was dark.
I stared through it.
Empty.
Adrian was gone.
For a second, I genuinely didn't understand what I was looking at.
He-
left?
I looked around as though Adrian Vale might somehow be standing somewhere else.
He wasn't.
He had left.
Without me noticing.
Adrian never left before me.
Never.
Even before I knew I'd noticed that-
I'd noticed it.
He always left after me.
But today-
on my last day-
he left first.
I couldn't even say goodbye.
Something tightened painfully inside my chest.
Okay.
Maybe-
maybe this was better.
Yeah.
It was probably better this way.
Because I might have said something unnecessary.
Something inappropriate.
Something completely unprofessional.
I might have expected him to say something.
Worse-
I might have wanted him to.
I might have stood there waiting for something he still couldn't give me.
I might have behaved in a way I shouldn't have.
And maybe he would've looked at me with that perfectly controlled face and said-
Ms. Stone.
One last time.
That would've hurt.
No.
This was better.
Definitely.
I turned away from the dark office.
And went back to my desk.
Five o'clock came.
My last day at Vale Architecture was over.
Everyone was waiting.
Of course they were.
I picked up my office box.
Maya immediately reached for one side.
"I can carry a box."
"I know."
"Then why are you touching it?"
"Emotional support."
"For the box?"
"For you."
I rolled my eyes.
But I let her keep her hand there.
We all went down together.
My last elevator ride from Vale Architecture somehow involved Ben making me promise I wouldn't block him, Nicole making actual plans for lunch, and Daniel informing me that quitting the company did not legally terminate my friendship contract.
By the time we reached the parking lot, I had made several stupid promises.
Yes, we would hang out.
Yes, all of us.
Yes, regularly.
Yes, weekends.
Every weekend, apparently.
Which was complete bullshit and all of us knew it.
People had lives.
Schedules.
Families.
Eventually, we should hang out would become we really need to plan something.
Then three months would pass.
But right now-
I promised anyway.
Because I wanted to believe it too.
We were still talking as we walked toward Candy.
Then-
everyone stopped.
Not gradually.
One second there were six conversations happening around me.
The next-
silence.
I looked ahead.
And stopped too.
Adrian.
He was leaning against my car.
Waiting.
My heart slammed so hard against my ribs it almost hurt.
His tie was gone.
The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up.
His dark brown hair-
usually controlled, usually exactly where it was supposed to be-
was a mess.
Actually messy.
His eyes looked lost.
And he was just standing there.
Against my Molten Magenta Mustang.
Looking at me.
Oh.
He hadn't left.
Nobody said anything.
Nobody needed to.
Claire was the first person to recover.
"Okay, Angelica."
I looked at her.
"Here we part for now. But we're definitely going to hang out together. Let's make a plan soon."
She stepped forward and hugged me.
I hugged her back.
"It was a pleasure working with someone so talented," she said.
My throat tightened.
"Thank you."
Then apparently that reopened the floodgates.
Maya hugged me again.
Nicole hugged me again.
Daniel hugged me.
Ben hugged me while informing me that this was not emotional and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone.
Ethan came last.
He looked at me.
Then briefly-
at Adrian.
Back at me.
And smiled.
He hugged me.
No confession.
No last-minute complication.
Just Ethan.
Then he stepped away.
And somehow-
without anybody discussing it-
my stupid coworkers started leaving.
Claire first.
Then Nicole.
Daniel dragged Ben with him.
Maya gave me one last look that said far too much and followed them.
Ethan went too.
Nobody stayed.
Nobody asked a question.
Nobody made a joke.
For once in their lives, every single one of them understood exactly when to shut up.
They gave us space.
And suddenly-
it was just Adrian and me.
My office box in my arms.
Candy behind him.
And Adrian Vale-
who had spent my entire last day hiding behind a closed door-
waiting beside my car.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Adrian stayed beside Candy.
I stayed where everyone had left me.
My office box in my arms.
His eyes dropped to it.
Then back to me.
"So."
Excellent.
Fourteen days of this man destroying my sanity and apparently so was all I had left.
Adrian pushed away from the car.
He walked toward me.
I waited.
He stopped directly in front of me.
Then reached for the box.
I frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Give me that."
"I can carry it."
"I know."
"Then why do you want it?"
He didn't answer.
Of course.
But his hands were already on either side of the box.
I stared at him.
Then let go.
Fine.
He could carry my stupid box ten feet to my car if that was how he wanted to spend the final thirty seconds of our professional relationship.
Adrian took it.
And-
didn't move.
I waited.
He stood there holding it.
"Candy is behind you."
"I know."
"That's generally where the box needs to go."
Nothing.
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
His tie was gone.
His sleeves were rolled to his forearms.
His hair looked like he'd spent the last hour dragging his hands through it.
And his hands-
those enormous hands that could easily carry the box with one arm-
were gripping both sides of it.
I stopped.
Oh.
He wasn't helping me carry it.
He was holding it.
Because if he put it in my car-