Chapter 38
Fabian's POV
That girl is so annoying. She thinks she's better than everybody.
And she's smart, but she's also a viper.
I cannot stand people like that. In my last relationship, my girlfriend and I were having problems, and a guy friend that she kept hanging around did all the same things that I watched Sarah do when she thought nobody noticed.
Maybe I can pick up things a little bit better than other people.
It's quite busy, yes, of course, but I notice these things.
I never knew who Gabrielle was before that point.
I had only seen her in passing at the office party a couple of years ago.
I remember thinking she was very pretty, but it's not like I ever stuck around long enough to notice her, and apparently she wasn't important enough until recently, when she went to the Christmas party and mouthed off to the CEO, something that I heard as a rumor, making Tobias Voss look stupid, which is something that people don't get away with often.
One of the things I pride myself on is being able to keep everything running smoothly. When Gabrielle started, I was the one who met her first, handed her the scanner, printed out her route schedule, packed her orders, and acted as the go-between to ensure her deliveries went out smoothly.
So naturally, we'd always see each other.
I am the hub and she's the runner. So I do interact with her most times.
I’d just returned from vacation, where a temp had covered my shifts. Shifts that normally put me in daily contact with Gabrielle.
The first thing I noticed about her is her smile. The next thing I noticed is that she's always looking at Lincoln every now and then. Clearly there's still love between the both of them, which is something that I am worried about.
I do like the girl. The more I'm around her, the more I feel a pull towards her.
Gabby doesn't even notice how nice she's being half the time. She's a very strong woman and likes to put off an air of confidence like nothing bothers her, but I can tell when little things hurt her feelings.
When one of the guys that brings some coffee brings it for everyone but not her, she'll make a quip, but her eyes will fall slightly. She'll blush a little bit when someone gives her a compliment.
Whenever I would correct her on something, she would apologize and smile at me, but I could see the hurt behind her eyes, probably beating herself up for not doing a perfect job.
She would ask me about my day, not just give me the cursory good morning or goodbye.
Always:
"Hey Fabian, are you doing OK today?"
"Hey Fabian, you look like you were sick. Your nose is a little red. Would you like me to get you some tissue?"
"Hey Fabian, I brought a little extra lunch. Would you like some?"
At first I thought her kindness was aimed just at me.
I don't really trust people that easily, but she seems to be nice with people in general, except for when they cross her.
Like Sarah.
Clearly she does not like Sarah, and I can't really blame her.
She doesn’t like Seven either.
I always laugh when I hear her name or speak it. Always wondered, why in the hell a parent would name their kid Seven?
But Seven had made a very snide remark about Gabby, something about the clothes that Gabby was wearing. I didn't really catch all of it. What I did catch was Gabby's response, smiling politely but tightly. Gabby let Seven know right away,
"That wasn't very nice of you."
Seven, as usual in those situations, looked like a deer in the headlights, trying to trip over herself to apologize.
Gabby rolled her eyes, turned, and walked off, and from that point, Gabby has kept her at arm's length whenever she sees her.
She'll still greet Seven and say good evening, but it would probably have been nicer if she didn't say anything, because the coldness in which she does it kind of hurts more.
I never want to be on Gabrielle's bad side. The thing is with Gabrielle, once you get to know her, she's the warmest person you'll ever meet, almost as if it's a privilege to earn that trust from her. She clearly values trust and honesty, and I value that too.
I had gotten her phone number a while back, just for work, or so I tell myself.
Now it sits there in my contacts, tempting me to test the waters.
If I send a casual text and she replies quickly, and warmly, it’ll tell me something.
If she leaves me on read or keeps it short and professional, that’ll tell me something else.
Either way, I need a plan.
I’m not about to start anything serious with her while she’s still living under Lincoln’s roof.
I told her my desires, so maybe I'll ask her again very soon, and if we do have good chemistry with each other, then she can move in with me.
It's not like I can't afford it.
She had mentioned she was saving up for a house. What she doesn't know is that's something that I could give her. I have a good pension built up already, and I'm planning on buying a house very soon too.
I don't wanna move too fast, because for all I know this woman could be batshit crazy and there could be truth to what Sarah is saying, but I have a feeling that Sarah is just bitter and had been jealous of Gabrielle all along.
Sarah is a beautiful woman, but so is Gabrielle, and beautiful in a way that feels accessible, like a real human being.
Sarah always feels as though she needs to put on this act, that she's tough, that she's sexy. It always requires a lot of work, but with Gabrielle, I notice it's effortless.
Gabrielle naturally walks with the sway of the Serengeti.
Her hair is very long, and I had complimented it one time, and that's when she told me it actually looks very different than this.
It's actually much curlier, but with it stretched out and wavy the way I always see her wearing it, it's down past her butt.
She'll wear it out sometimes, and the hottest thing I've seen is when she'll take a pin or something out from wherever the hell she had it, maybe in her pocket, and she'll put it between her lips as she starts to put her hair up in a bun, twisting it around with the pin in her mouth.
She'll close her eyes while she's doing that, and oh my god, for whatever reason that vision of her doing that gets me hard.
I feel like it's been a while since I've been with a woman, and most nights my mind drifts towards Gabby.
I fantasize about Gabby.
I come to thoughts of Gabby.
But I definitely don't wanna get burned again, and so I have to temper myself, tell myself that I'm not falling in love with this woman because it's way too soon.
Typing on my phone, I fight a smile.
Hey can I ask you something
SEND.
She texts back: What's up?
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