It’s not an option, I think back to myself, then shake my head. This woman really has me so twisted up that I’m having conversations with myself.
When I don’t get an emailed response right away, I distract myself. Again, I reach into my briefcase and pull out a stack of reports that I’m right in the middle of going through. Might as well distract myself from work with more work.
I grab a highlighter and pull off the cap with my teeth. From down the hallway, I hear my brother and Leila laugh together. Gritting my teeth, I try my hardest to block it out.
The last thing I need right now is to hear my brother head-over-heels for a woman. My chest aches as I think about Whitney. I make the resolve then and there that we will end whatever this is on Monday.
Even still, there’s a twinge of regret for not seeing thepotential of what we could be together. But I know this is the right thing to do.
No matter how badly my heart tells me I’m wrong.
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 hisoffice.
“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.
