34. Octavia
OCTAVIA
Octavia convinced Nathan to stay at her place when they got home from the cottage, which was surprisingly easy to do once she reminded him that there was no one else at her place.
Despite that being a selling feature, they had ordered dinner and then fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie before waking up well after midnight and stumbling to bed.
“You’re coming back to mine after work, right?” Nathan asked when he stopped in front of Octavia’s office.
She looked up at the building, her fingers tapping anxiously on her thigh.
“I don’t know. I may not be in the right state of mind to come over and meet someone new.
And not just someone new but a member of your family.
It’s a big deal. Plus, you’re gone tomorrow for ten days.
Maybe we can just do the whole introduce everyone when you get back. ”
She expected him to argue with her, but he looked out the windshield and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can see that it’s maybe not the best time.”
“Can you come back tonight then?”
“I should probably spend a bit of time with Scottie, make sure he’s settled in and everything.” He looked over at her, a clear pout on his face. “But I’d rather be with you.”
“You’ll survive without sex for one day,” she teased, squeezing his chin.
Nathan’s hand grasped her wrist before she could pull away and raised it to his lips, kissing her pulse point.
“It’s not the sex, it’s just you,” he said, his tone and his expression far more serious than Octavia expected.
“You get that right? If I just wanted sex I wouldn’t give a shit about whether you liked a cottage.
I wouldn’t be ready to blow up my career.
I wouldn’t have worked so hard to convince you to give me a chance.
I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you the way I have.
” He swallowed and leaned back in his seat, his fingers threading between hers. “I just want you.”
The silence descended on them heavily until a honk made them both jump.
“I’ll pick you up after work and take you home. Have a proper sendoff.” He grinned over at her before tugging her hand gently, so she leaned across for a “proper send off” kiss. “Have a good day at work beautiful,” he murmured. “Call me when you’re done.”
Octavia left the car slowly, looking over her shoulder periodically until Nathan was forced to pull away from the curb.
The minute she walked through the revolving door something felt different and she had an intense urge to continue in a circle right back outside.
She stood in the foyer to the left of the elevator banks and tried to squash the uneasy feeling overwhelming her senses.
She’d never been anxious about coming into work.
Not even on her first day had she felt like this.
In court she was calm, cool, and collected at all times. This feeling of unease was not normal.
“Vee?” She jumped when Amanda walked up beside her. “Whoa there.” Amanda laughed. “I’ve never seen someone so jumpy after getting back from vacation. You look like you need another one. Everything okay with the hockey player?”
Octavia pushed her shoulders back and forced herself to smile. “Everything is great. Just weird to be back after being you know…alone in the middle of nowhere for a week,” she lied. “Shall we?”
Amanda started talking about some office drama involving a mug and a dozen forks as they walked to the elevators, and Octavia tried her best to listen but found her mind wandering to the meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. with her boss.
She had considered just emailing her resignation but had decided to tell him in person and then follow it up with the formal email.
Every part of her wanted to tell Amanda what she was about to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
Not like Amanda let her get more than a word in the entire ride up anyway.
“Want to get lunch and catch up?” Amanda asked when they pushed through the doors to the main entrance of the firm.
“Oh…maybe." Octavia hesitated, looking at her phone to triple check the time. “I’ve got a meeting and I’m not sure how long it’s going to last. I’ll let you know though, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Amanda said, smiling in a way that told Octavia her friend knew this wasn’t going to be a normal meeting.
A buzzing from her purse had Octavia pulling her phone out as she settled at her desk.
Nathan
You’ve got this! I love you!
She smiled as she read Nathan’s message over and over again before tapping out a reply.
I love you too!
“Octavia?” She looked up to see Daniel standing at the door. “Are you available now? I’ve had to reschedule a work lunch and need to be gone by ten.” Of course he did. The lunch was probably three buildings down.
“Yes.” She stood and rounded her desk. “I don’t think it will take long.”
She was met by a look that told her he knew exactly where things were about to go, and any remaining confidence she’d felt while writing her resignation evaporated.
They stood facing each other, him standing with his arms crossed, straight faced and oozing ego. Octavia, on the other hand, was using far too much energy trying to keep herself from shifting from foot to foot like a kid standing in front of the principal.
“Well?” he drawled, his demeanour cooling by the second.
Octavia thought back to all the times this man made her feel like shit. Of all the moments where her male coworkers got away with problematic behaviour because they belonged to the penis havers club, and she was hit with the shot of courage she needed.
She took a deep breath, held her chin up, and maintained eye contact. “I am offering you my two week notice. As of March fifteenth I will no longer be employed by this firm.”
“Do I have Turner and Bennet to thank for this?” he asked, his mouth set in an angry line.
“What? No,” she stammered. “No one is to thank for this. I’m just looking at going in a different direction.”
He stared back at her, eyes trailing down her body and back up as if he’d find the lie she wasn’t hiding.
“I suppose it’s time to hand off any remaining cases then and get people up to date. I’ll be in touch about further action after I discuss with the partners.” He didn’t allow her to respond, just turned and walked out of her office.
Apparently he took the boost of courage she had felt along with him because the minute he was gone Octavia stumbled back to her desk and slumped into her chair.
“Holy shit,” she whispered, tipping forward and resting her hand on her forearms.
She gave herself ten deep breaths to deal with her feelings and then pushed herself up.
“You’re a badass and you’re moving on to way better things,” she told herself as a knock had her head snapping up to the door Daniel had left open.
Daniel’s secretary stood there looking far more smug than usual.
“Octavia, I have been asked to inform you that you are to vacate the premises immediately. Your possessions will be sent via”—he pronounced it with a long i sound that made Octavia cringe—“courier in the next day or two.”
Two security guards stepped up behind him, one looking positively gleeful while the other looked indifferent.
“These two gentlemen will escort you out.”
Octavia wasn’t surprised. She had seen this happen to others but for some reason assumed she would indeed be working for another two weeks.
She opened her door and both guards stepped into the room like she had raised a gun. “Stand down boys, I’m just grabbing my purse. I am allowed to do that yes?”
The indifferent guard mumbled a confirmation and they both relaxed a bit.
Five minutes later, she was standing between the two in the elevator in the slowest descent of her life.
“So which firm are you going to?” Gleeful asked.
“Martin.” Indifferent hissed.
“I’m not,” Octavia said.
“Bullshit.” Gleeful scoffed.
The elevator bounced to a stop and the doors slid open. “Well, boys”—Octavia stepped out and turned to them—“thanks for the worst elevator ride of my life.” She didn’t wait for a reply, turning and striding quickly from the building.
When she stepped outside, she felt like she could breathe for the first time since she stepped out her front door.
“Hey.” She jumped for the second time that morning when Nathan was suddenly standing beside her.
“Wh…what are you doing here?”
No response was offered. Instead, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her, chasing away the chill.
“How’d you know?” she mumbled into his wool coat.
“I may have mentioned it to my sister. She told me I’d better get over here ASAP because you’d likely be walked out pretty promptly.”
Octavia tipped her head back. “You talked to your sister about me?”
He laughed, brushing hair that had come loose from her low ponytail off her face. “I talk about you to anyone who will listen, Autumn girl.”
“Yeah? Even your brother?”
His lips met hers as he hummed in response. A yes sealed in there somewhere.
“I’ve never been good at keeping my obsessions to myself.
He doesn’t know everything about you but he knows that I am seeing someone exclusively.
He claims he’s known for a while, turns out I’m shit at hiding when I’m happy and apparently I’ve never been this happy.
” He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head.
“So, how about we go out for a real breakfast instead of that sad little piece of toast you ate this morning?”
She scoffed, pulling away. “I happened to like that sad little piece of toast thank you very much. And if you continue to judge my food choices so harshly, I’m not sure this is going to work out.”
His hand slid to hers and he laced his fingers with hers. “Let’s go waste the morning and then after, I’ll help you forget with a massage and maybe a couple of orgasms, or five.” He bumped her playfully with his shoulder, drawing out a quiet laugh.