Chapter 10 Whitney
Whitney
“Morning,” I chirp as soon as Theo walks into the office. I don’t bother looking up when he comes closer, though I can feel his presence.
“Whitney,” he says my name when I refuse to look up at him after he’s been standing there for a solid minute.
“Yes?” I ask, still staring at my computer screen.
He doesn’t respond immediately, letting the tension between us build.
I never responded to the email he sent me on Saturday, and I know he is well aware of that fact.
Based on the slight irritation I can feel rolling off of him, he’s not too happy about it either.
From my guesses, Theo Hurst is a man not often ignored.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore, and I give in, drawing my eyes away from my work and up to him. He’s frowning at me, unamused with the apparent cold shoulder this morning.
“Did you get my email Saturday?” he asks me.
I turn to my screen and tap my keys to finish my sentence. “I did.”
Somehow, his frown grows even more profound. “You didn’t respond.”
“I didn’t think I needed to.”
“I asked you a direct question,” he says, his tone raising slightly. My eyes flash down the hall where our secretary, Charlotte, sits at her desk. Not to mention the HR department just down the other hallway.
“It wasn’t about work,” I say with a slight shrug. “I didn’t think it warranted a response.”
“I see.”
Something about how he finishes the sentence so bluntly has me looking up at him again. His face is etched in stone, and I can’t pick up a single thought or emotion in his expression. I swallow thickly, wondering if I made the right decision to ignore him.
I clear my throat and point at my planner on my desk. “Your day is packed. You have a status review meeting with some Board members later this afternoon, including Elena. And then a few other meetings here and there leading up to that. And all of those things are much more important.”
He exhales sharply through his nose. “I’m sure they are. I guess we better get to work then. Just give me a call if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you when we need to head down for our meeting.”
Despite myself, I frown as he walks away from me and into his office. The way he closes his door behind him almost feels personal.
I purse my lips to the side but get to work anyway.
The minutes tick by and I cross things off my to-do list. Eventually, the time comes for us to head down to the conference room.
I collect my items off my desk and hesitantly knock on Theo’s door.
I hear a muffled ‘Come In’ from the other side and I twist the handle, peeking my head into his office.
“Ready?” Theo asks me, his voice still devoid of any type of emotion that I had grown accustomed to being there.
I nod my head and Theo pushes back from his desk.
He stretches his arms high over his head in a movement that makes his arms bulge through the white button down he’s wearing.
I avert my eyes, and stare down at the floor, ignoring the way my blood hums in my ears.
Theo finally grabs his laptop and other things needed for the meeting and we walk down to the conference room silently.
Though I walk next to him, my stride is stiff, and my brain is on overdrive as I try not to overthink everything.
Theo was on my mind all weekend. Even the night after dancing with him at the club, I couldn’t get him out of my thoughts.
His email the following morning only made things worse.
I had been fretting over what to do with his request for the rest of Saturday and into Sunday.
Finally, I decided it might be best for us to go on as if none of this happened.
We could do that. Right?
I’m fully resolved that we can when we stop at the doors to the conference room. Theo looks down at me, and finally, I see that icy demeanor he’s been wearing all day crack just a little. He’s nervous.
That fact seems to crumble down the walls I have started to build. I give him an encouraging smile, and we go inside.
“Good to see you both,” Elena says when we enter the conference room. She stands to greet us but quickly sits again in her seat, scooting closer to the table and folding her hands over the finished oak. “I hope you have brought evidence of good progress.”
Theo unbuttons his jacket and then sits down. I sit next to him, open my laptop, pull up the presentation he prepared and emailed to me, and then get the copies of some of his reports he had me print for Elena and the other Board members to review.
While my laptop is loading the presentation, I hand out the packets and then retake my seat. Theo catches my attention again, and his eyes flare as if trying to convey something to me. Again, I give him a small smile and a nod.
The room is so quiet, I can hear everyone’s breathing. Each of the present members of the Board is raptly flipping through pages, their eyes scanning over the words and figures that Theo has meticulously put together since the last Board meeting.
My laptop pings with an incoming message in the middle of a tranquil moment. I click on my email icon and read the newest email in my inbox.
To: Whitney Palmer
From: Theodore Hurst
Subject: Following Up
Whitney,
We can find an alternate time to discuss the matter mentioned in my prior email. We must work past this roadblock as a team. So, let’s find a time to chat, okay? Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Theo
I read the email and then give Theo the side-eye, hoping to convey that I’m not amused with his note in the middle of an important meeting.
Theo simply sets down his phone on the table.
He crosses his arms over his chest in response, leaning back in his chair so he’s out of my eyesight unless I turn my head entirely toward him.
“Well, looks like you’ve made decent headway,” Elena says as she finishes her last page of Theo’s strategic goals report. “I think these are all very reasonable, attainable goals for the company.”
I can feel Theo’s shoulders deflate from his position next to me in relief. He has been running himself ragged for the last few days, ensuring that everything in this report is exactly as it should be. With Elena and Maxwell both breathing down his neck, the pressure has been on.
“I’m glad you think so,” Theo says, his voice even, though I catch sight of his hands shaking as he folds them into his lap.
My chest aches. Theo came into this position thinking he would be welcomed warmly as part of the team. Still, his experience thus far has been nothing but. So far, the Board is out to get him or, at the very least, make his transition as difficult as possible.
“Shall we begin to run through the financials presentation you’ve prepared?” Elena asks as she picks up a pen to scribble something down on her copy of the report.
“Absolutely,” Theo agrees. He pushes out of his chair and straightens his jacket before walking up to the presentation screen at the head of the room. I click over to my presentation app and mirror the slides onto the screen so Theo can begin his spiel.
“So, on page four, you’ll have the projected numbers for this quarter,” Theo says. I hear pages turning in the room.
“Those are significantly lower than the financials from this quarter last year,” one of the Board members observes. “How do you expect us to be able to make the leap for hotels with numbers like this? This is much different than what you originally proposed.”
Theo clears his throat and his eyes flash to me. My eyebrows furrow and I tilt my head, waiting to hear his explanation.
“Yes, well I had to make some changes when I had the opportunity to scour through the financial reports in greater detail. You’ll notice on page nine that I have made additional proposals and listed out some solutions to bridge the gap for the difference in the projection.”
A few of the Board members murmur to each other but they flip to page nine and nod their heads after reading his suggestions.
Elena’s expression is stony as she watches Theo, her eyes tracking his every movement.
It’s something I find odd for her, that she’s watching him so closely, but I suppose she’s just waiting to see how he goes about explaining his solution.
Feeling more confident now that he avoided the conflict, Theo continues his presentation flawlessly.
Watching him explain everything he’s working on and his plans for the next phase feels like poetry.
I find myself getting lost in how he articulates and forms his words, so professional and yet, casual.
I hang off every word he says. Theo catches my eye a few times as he speaks, and his lips tilt up a little at the corner before he can re-school his features.
Each time this happens, my heart seems to skip a beat.
When he concludes his presentation, he saunters to sit beside me again. I nudge his arm with mine, silently telling him he did well.
Elena folds her hands again on top of the table. She exchanges glances with the other Board members and then nods her head. “I think you’re on the right track for now. I look forward to seeing everything else you come up with in your following review.”
Again, I can feel the relief rolling off Theo’s shoulders. He thanks Elena and the rest of the Board profusely, maybe even a little too much. I grin to myself as I gather up my things.
We walk back to our own workspace when we leave the conference room. Theo isn’t saying a word. Occasionally, his arm brushes mine when our steps align, and it’s enough to drive me mad. With every little touch of his forearm against my skin, my breathing becomes more and more rapid.
All the thoughts I tried desperately to quell this weekend come roaring back with his touch. I try my hardest to get a grip on myself and not get lost in the memories of the way he held me while we danced on Friday night.