Silence hangs in the air again. I don’t really know why I called her in here. Only that I heard her voice, and I wanted to. Apparently, seeing her all goddamn night in my mind wasn’t enough.
“Do you have any food allergies?” I ask.
“Um, no. Why?”
“If you did, then I would know about it. For this weekend.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Nope, allergy-free as far as I know. What about you?”
“None.”
Silence crowds us again. Brielle’s eyes dart around uncomfortably.
“Anything else?” she asks.
I can’t think of anything. My mind is completely blank as I try to come up with any reason why I called her in here.
“No,” I answer.
Brille nods, clearly confused. She gets up to go.
A quiet growl pulls a heavy breath from my lungs. Why is the energy between us so weird? Is it coming from her? Or is it me? I honestly can’t tell.
“This is ridiculous,” I bite out. “If we act like this over the weekend, we’re fucked.”
She’s nodding along, her wide eyes rounded. “I agree. We need to spend more time together so we look more comfortable around each other. The other night went pretty well. We just need to continue to build on that. But not at the office,” she adds quickly. “I’m sure you have a full schedule though, so whenever it works for you.”
“I’m free tonight.” The words are out of my mouth before I can process what I’m saying.
“Tonight. Okay, sure. I can’t leave the office with you though, so you’ll have to pick me up at my place.”
“Why not? There’s no need for you to walk back to your apartment in the cold just for me to meet you there and pick you up. That’s inefficient and a waste of time.”
Her aversion to being seen with me is becoming apparent. She’s made a few mentions of it already. It isn’t that I don’t understand it. I know we need to be careful if we’re going to be spending time together, so why does it bother me so much? Is it because it’s her calling the shots rather than me?
“Okay, then I’ll meet you at the café on the corner.”
“Brielle,” I growl, my irritation growing. This wasn’t meant to be a negotiation.
“How do you make your eyes go so dark like that? It’s impressive. Really.” She gets up and starts for the door. “Anyway, at the café, tonight, right after work. See you there.” She smiles, stopping at the door on her way out. “Do you want this open or closed?”
Louisa is sitting at her desk behind Brielle with a smug smirk. I can only imagine what’s going through her head right now.
“Closed,” I tell her, looking over her shoulder at Louisa.
By the late afternoon, my door is open again. At 5:00 p.m. on the dot, the staff starts to shuffle out. Brielle isn’t in the first round of people to walk past my office, nor in the second. I’m starting to think that maybe I missed her on her way out when she finally comes into view.
“Okay, I’m leaving. Having a good night, Louisa.” She’s basically shouting. She continues to say goodbye to every single person around her.
“Are you alright?” Rui furrows his brow and asks.
“Yeah, just… being polite,” she says as she follows Rui out of the door.
I shake my head. I’ll give her a five-minute head start before I leave, but I still pick up my phone and fire off a text.
Me: You could have just texted that you were leaving for the day.
Her reply back is almost instantaneous.
