“Why are you being so nice to me? Are you mad?” I ask him ashamedly, sliding my arm into his.
“You were just being you. How can I be angry about that?”
We make our way to the elevators and when the doors open, he slips his arm out from mine and presses his hand into the small of my back to lead me through them. There are a ton of people inside and a lot of chatter. We’re standing near the front of the doors and Finn is watching the panel with the numbers. We have six stops until the seventh floor.
When the doors open, we slide out of the way to allow others to pass, and end up toward the back of the elevator. He sighs and my eyes strain to see his face without him knowing. I don’t do a very good job. He turns briefly to face me and winks, placing his hand at the small of my back again. I don’t feel as wobbly as before, although I don’t feel completely like myself. Standing there next to him with his hand on my back feels better than okay. I wonder if it’s still the alcohol, so I brush it off. He already thinks I’m an idiot, I don’t want to make things worse.
We arrive on seven and make our way through the dark office to my desk. Unlocking my drawer and removing my purse, I stumble a bit and my purse falls to the floor. The entire contents spill out.
Finn and I both bend at the same time and clunk heads.
He laughs and places his hand on my head where we hit. “Are you okay?”
“No… not really. You have a hard head.” My choice of words makes my cheeks feel hot.
I bend again and lift my wallet from the floor to stuff it in my purse. Finn hands me a stray tampon with a smirk and I cringe. Then I see it. His business card is lying next to my lipstick. I reach for it, but he gets there first.
“Well isn’t this curious?” he asks. “How in the world did my card end up in your purse when you clearly threw it away?”
I shake my head like I haven’t a clue. “Maybe the janitor saw it and thought it was important.”
“So he opened your locked drawer and put it in your purse?”
“I don’t know how it got there. I’ve never seen it before today.” That was pretty convincing considering how drunk I am.
He smirks at me and I know he sees right through me. He’s such an asshole. I gather the rest of my purse and hold on to the desk to stand. Finn lifts my sweater from the back of my chair and holds it for me, allowing me to slide my arms inside. He carries my bag and I don’t complain this time. I’m too fuzzy.
We start the walk back to the elevators and he doesn’t say a word. I remember we’re meeting the group by his car. How could I have done that? I feel terrible.
“I’m a horrible person for saying you’d drive them,” I blurt out as we wait for the elevator.
“No, you’re not.”
“Please yell at me or something. Being nice is just making it worse.”
“Alright then. How could you, Liz?” he asks sternly before smiling.
“That was weak.”
“Stop worrying. The more the merrier. It’ll be fine.”
The doors open and we step inside. There are three other people that I don’t recognize. When we arrive at the parking garage, our group is waiting. Finn leads us to his car and I hop in the front seat. Ernesto sits between Emerson and Kel.
“Nice car. Where do you work?” Kel asks.
“I’m in marketing. How about you?” Finn closes his door and starts the car.
“I’m in shipping and receiving.”
“You look like you work there,” Emerson adds.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kel responds, leaning forward in a huff to gaze at her.
“Chill the fuck out, I’m just saying you look strong. Damn.”
“I am strong. I’d like to see Mr. Marketing over here lift sixty-pound boxes all day. Some of us don’t have easy jobs.”
I roll my eyes and glance over at Finn. His lips form a fine line, but his face tells me he’s amused. I grit my teeth. This is all my fault.
