Chapter 43 - None of My Business #3
I looked at him.
"What face?"
"That one."
"I don't have a face."
"You do."
Interesting.
Apparently he'd learned that from me.
I looked back at my food.
"Nothing."
Adrian watched me for another second.
Then continued eating.
I did too.
But my brain was no longer particularly interested in lunch.
Because that question had been ridiculous.
Emma could've emailed it.
Called.
Asked me.
Asked Nicole.
Waited until after lunch.
Instead, she'd walked directly into Adrian's office to ask him something he immediately redirected to me.
And she'd looked surprised to find me here.
I stabbed a piece of food with my fork.
Okay.
Maybe I was imagining things.
Emma worked here.
Adrian was the CEO.
People asked him questions.
Completely normal.
I took another bite.
Then remembered the café.
The staring.
The Facebook request.
And now this.
Hmm.
Across from me, Adrian continued eating, blissfully unaware that anything unusual had happened.
I looked at him.
Deep blue eyes lowered toward his food.
Completely innocent.
Completely oblivious.
Of course.
Apparently if Emma wanted Adrian Vale's attention, she was going to have to work considerably harder.
And apparently-
I was going to notice every attempt.
Later that afternoon, Claire caught me alone.
"How is he?"
I looked at her.
No teasing.
No suspicious smile.
Just concern.
"Better. His fever's completely gone."
"Finally."
"Yeah."
She studied my face for a second.
"And you?"
I blinked.
"What about me?"
"You spent the entire week taking care of him. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Did you sleep?"
I paused.
Claire's eyebrows went up.
"Angelica."
"I slept."
"That pause was concerning."
I smiled.
"I'm okay. Really."
She nodded.
"Good."
Then, after a second-
"I'm glad you took the week."
"Me too."
The words came out before I really thought about them.
Claire looked at me.
I looked back.
She didn't tease me.
Didn't ask why.
She just smiled slightly.
And somehow that was worse.
"Don't," I said.
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to."
Her smile got a little bigger.
Then she walked away.
I was coming back from the printer later when Emma stepped into pace beside me.
"Hey."
"Hey."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Did you see my friend request?"
Oh.
Straight to it.
"Yeah."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You did?"
"I saw it Saturday."
"And?"
I gave her an apologetic smile.
"I was busy. I completely forgot."
"Oh."
There was something about the way she said it that made me wonder if she'd thought I'd deliberately ignored her.
Which-
fair.
I'd had two days.
"Hold on."
I pulled out my phone.
Opened Facebook.
There it was.
Emma Johnson.
I tapped it.
"There."
She smiled.
"Now we're officially friends."
"Apparently."
"Very serious commitment."
"Don't make me regret it already."
She laughed.
We reached my desk.
I put the papers down.
Emma didn't leave.
Of course she didn't.
She leaned lightly against the edge of the partition.
"So..."
There it was.
That so had intentions.
I looked at her.
"So?"
"You and Adrian eat together a lot?"
Ah.
There we go.
I kept my face completely neutral.
"Sometimes."
"Breakfast and lunch?"
I looked at her.
She smiled.
Not mean.
Not confrontational.
Just-
interested.
"Today, apparently."
She laughed softly.
"I just didn't know he did that."
"Did what?"
"Ate with people."
I almost laughed.
"He does consume food, Emma."
"You know what I mean."
Unfortunately, I did.
She glanced toward Adrian's office.
"He doesn't really seem like someone who'd sit around having lunch with employees."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm an employee."
"I know."
There was the slightest pause before she added-
"You two just seem close."
Interesting.
I picked up my water bottle.
"We work together a lot."
"Yeah."
She looked toward his office again.
Then back at me.
"Are you two...?"
She let the question hang.
I knew exactly what she was asking.
And suddenly-
I didn't know how to answer.
Because no was technically correct.
Adrian wasn't my boyfriend.
I wasn't his girlfriend.
We hadn't defined anything.
We hadn't even properly discussed the kiss.
He'd told me he missed me.
I'd stared at my phone like an idiot and failed to say it back.
So-
"No."
Emma's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"No?"
"We're not together."
"Oh."
Something changed in her face.
Tiny.
But there.
And I noticed it immediately.
She smiled.
"Okay."
Why did that okay bother me?
It shouldn't.
I'd told the truth.
She pushed away from the partition.
"I was just curious."
"Mm-hm."
"I'll see you later."
"See you."
She walked away.
I watched her for a second.
Then looked down at my phone.
Fantastic.
I put the phone facedown.
Across the office, Emma passed Adrian's glass wall.
Her eyes moved toward him.
Just briefly.
Then she kept walking.
I stared after her.
Oh.
Oh, I knew that look.
I leaned back in my chair.
Well.
Apparently accepting that friend request had come with additional information.
Emma wasn't interested in me.
She was gathering data.
And I had just given her the most important piece.
We're not together.
I looked toward Adrian's office.
He was working.
Completely unaware.
Of course he was.
I turned back to my screen.
Fine.
We weren't together.
That was the truth.
So whatever Emma decided to do with that information-
was absolutely none of my business.
I stared at the same line on my screen for ten seconds.
Absolutely.
None.
Of my business.