Chapter 43 - None of My Business #2
He should've slept.
Rested.
Taken another morning without unnecessarily driving around Miami before work because apparently my caffeine intake had become one of his personal responsibilities.
I picked up the cup.
Still warm.
Of course.
I looked toward his office.
The door was closed.
Fine.
We were going to talk about this.
"She's back."
I turned.
Ben was looking at me.
Nicole immediately looked up too.
Maya leaned around her monitor.
"Oh my God," Ben said. "She does still work here."
"Unfortunately for you."
"You disappeared for a week."
"I worked remotely for a week."
"So did Adrian."
I paused.
There it was.
Nicole looked between me and Adrian's closed office.
"Interesting coincidence."
"It wasn't a coincidence. We were working on the same projects."
"Somewhere?" Ben asked.
"Yes."
"Where?"
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Curiosity."
"Try having less."
Maya laughed.
"I told you she wouldn't tell us anything."
"There's nothing to tell."
Three faces looked at me.
Nobody believed that.
Which was their problem.
As far as they knew, Adrian and I had both disappeared from the office for a week.
They didn't know he'd been sick.
They definitely didn't know I'd spent almost that entire week in his penthouse.
Or that last night-
No.
Absolutely not.
That information was dying with me.
I put the coffee back down.
That was when I noticed Emma.
She was standing beside Nicole's desk with a folder in her hand.
Our eyes met.
"Morning," she said.
"Morning."
She smiled.
I smiled back.
Then I remembered.
Oh.
Facebook.
She'd sent me a friend request.
Saturday, I thought.
I'd seen it.
Then completely forgotten about it.
I still hadn't accepted it.
Apparently disappearing from the office for a week made people interested in me.
Interesting.
Emma's eyes moved briefly toward Adrian's office.
Then back to me.
I noticed.
Of course I noticed.
And apparently after the week I'd just had, I noticed it considerably more than I would've liked.
A voice came from behind me.
"There you are."
I turned.
Ethan was walking toward us from the other side of the office, apparently having come over to talk to someone.
"Why is everyone saying that?"
"Because you haven't been here."
"I was gone for one week."
"Exactly."
He stopped near my desk.
"Welcome back."
"Thank you."
His eyes landed on the coffee.
Then returned to me.
I immediately pointed at him.
"Don't."
He blinked.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"I genuinely wasn't."
"You looked at it."
"It's coffee, Angelica."
"Correct."
Ethan stared at me for a second.
Then looked at Ben.
"Was she always this defensive about beverages?"
"No," Ben said. "Something happened while she was gone."
"Nothing happened."
Maya made a thoughtful sound.
I looked at her.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything either."
"Your face did."
Ben nodded solemnly.
"Her face is very loud."
"Can all of you work?"
Nicole smiled.
"We are."
"No, you're studying me like a lab specimen."
"You've been missing for a week," Ben said. "There's data to collect."
I sat down.
"Collect it somewhere else."
Ethan laughed and finally continued toward wherever he'd originally been going.
Emma was still there.
And for some reason, I became aware of the fact that Adrian hadn't come out of his office yet.
Which was ridiculous.
I'd seen him yesterday.
I'd texted him last night.
He'd told me-
Nope.
I reached for my mouse.
Work.
I was here to work.
My eyes fell on the coffee again.
I frowned.
The man had spent most of last week with a fever.
And this morning he'd still gone and gotten this for me.
Absolutely not.
I picked up the cup.
Not to drink it.
Evidence.
Adrian Vale and I needed to have a conversation.
I picked up the coffee and walked straight to Adrian's office.
He looked up when I came in.
I put the cup on his desk.
"Why is there a coffee on my desk?"
Adrian looked at the cup.
Then at me.
"Is that a new thing?"
"No."
"Then?"
"But you didn't have to do that. You were sick the entire week."
"I'm fine now."
"You just recovered."
"I thought we'd already established that I'm fine."
I opened my mouth.
"That's why you went home yesterday."
And-
nothing.
I had absolutely nothing.
Because unfortunately, the asshole had just used my own logic against me.
I'd gone home because he was better.
I'd specifically told him he didn't need me there anymore because he could take care of himself.
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Annoying.
"Still," I said finally, "you don't have to do that. Sleep a little more, Adrian."
"I can't."
I stopped.
"You know that."
There it was again.
Of course I knew.
I knew exactly what he meant.
And what did he expect me to do with that information?
Move back into his penthouse?
Hold two or three of his fingers every night like some kind of human sleeping pill?
My brain immediately supplied the memory of his fingers closing around mine in the dark.
No.
We were not doing that at eight in the morning.
"Well, at least try," I said.
"I tried."
Of course he did.
I looked at him.
He looked completely serious.
Well.
Couldn't argue with that anymore.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Then another thought occurred to me.
"Did you have breakfast?"
"No."
I stared at him.
"Adrian."
"What?"
"Do you want to get sick again?"
"No."
"Then let's go."
His brow furrowed.
"Where?"
"Downstairs. I'm hungry too."
He looked at me for a second.
I expected an argument.
None came.
Apparently nearly dying for four days had taught him at least one useful lesson.
Or maybe he was just hungry.
Either way-
he stood.
We went downstairs to the café.
Ordered breakfast.
Found a table.
And sat across from each other.
Which should've felt completely ordinary.
It didn't.
Maybe because less than twelve hours ago he'd texted me that he missed me.
Maybe because I'd spent almost an entire week eating practically every meal with him.
Maybe because somewhere along the way, sitting across from Adrian Vale with food between us had stopped feeling like something unusual.
It just felt-
normal.
Dangerously normal.
I took a bite.
Adrian actually ate without requiring threats, supervision, or a lecture.
Progress.
"You're eating."
He looked at me.
"Yes."
"Voluntarily."
"I generally do."
"Recent evidence suggests otherwise."
"I was sick."
"Exactly. And we're trying not to repeat that."
He gave me a look and continued eating.
Good.
I was about to take another bite when something made me look toward the other side of the café.
And there they were.
A pair of eyes.
Watching us.
Emma.
She was sitting at another table with Nicole.
Nicole was eating and looking completely normal.
Emma-
not so much.
She was staring directly at us.
Or, more specifically-
at Adrian and me sitting together.
Our eyes met.
Emma looked away for approximately half a second.
Then Nicole noticed me.
Her face brightened.
She lifted her hand and waved.
I waved back.
Emma looked over again.
She waved too.
I returned it.
Then lowered my hand.
Nicole went back to her breakfast.
Emma didn't.
Her eyes stayed on us for another second.
Then another.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I looked back at Adrian.
He was eating.
Completely oblivious.
Of course.
I picked up my fork.
Apparently Monday morning had just become considerably more interesting.
Around one, I took lunch to Adrian's office.
Technically, our lunch.
Because apparently when I'd cooked enough food yesterday to keep Adrian alive for the next week, I'd also packed some for myself.
So now we were sitting across from each other at the small table in his office, eating food I'd cooked in his kitchen yesterday.
Again.
This was becoming alarmingly domestic.
Adrian opened one of the containers.
I looked at it.
"Did you eat the one I told you to eat first?"
"Yes."
"The one with the note?"
"Yes."
"Did you argue with the note?"
His eyes lifted to mine.
"No."
I narrowed mine.
"I don't believe you."
"You weren't there."
"Exactly. No witnesses."
"I ate it."
"Good."
I opened my own container.
We'd barely started eating when someone knocked on the door.
Adrian looked toward it.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Emma.
Oh.
She stepped inside.
Then stopped.
Her eyes went to me.
Then Adrian.
Then the food.
Then back to me.
There was only a fraction of a second of surprise on her face before she covered it.
But I saw it.
Apparently breakfast together downstairs had been one thing.
Lunch alone in Adrian's office was another.
"Sorry," she said. "I didn't realize you were having lunch."
"It's fine," Adrian said.
Emma stayed by the door.
I took another bite.
Because I was normal.
Completely normal.
And absolutely not wondering why Emma had appeared in Adrian's office for the second time in my awareness today.
"What do you need?" Adrian asked.
Emma looked at him.
"I just wanted to ask about the finish schedule for the Bayshore lobby. Do you want the revised stone selection added before we send the set to interiors?"
I stopped chewing.
That was it?
She'd come all the way to Adrian's office for that?
Adrian didn't even think about it.
"Ask Angelica."
Emma blinked.
"What?"
"She's coordinating the finish revisions. Ask her later."
Silence.
I slowly looked at Adrian.
He was opening his water bottle.
Completely oblivious.
Emma's eyes moved to me.
"Oh."
I smiled.
"Sure."
"Okay. Thanks."
She looked at Adrian again.
"Sorry for interrupting."
"You didn't."
She hesitated.
For just a second.
Like maybe she'd expected something else to happen.
Then-
"Enjoy lunch."
"Thanks," I said.
Adrian nodded.
Emma left.
The door closed.
I stared at it.
Then looked at Adrian.
He was eating.
Of course he was.
I waited.
Nothing.
He didn't even glance toward the door.
I took another bite.
Five seconds passed.
Then-
"Why are you making that face?"