Then he turned his face back up. His lips still quivered, but when our eyes met, a flash of something went between us. Something I couldn’t identify, but I couldn’t deny, either.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll come.”
I guided him through the spinning doors and into the massive lobby. Xavier hurried to match my pace, and the men working the desk nodded my way as we headed to the elevator reserved for my firm. Xavier was the only person in bright colors, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself, enjoying the sight the two of us made.
We stepped into the elevator, and only a few employees I didn’t recognize joined us. “I realize that I should have sent you a message,” I said under my breath. “I apologize for that oversight.”
Xavier looked up to me, batting his eyelashes. “Thanks,” he said. “It was kind of a shock when I got to your office.”
I took his hand, squeezing his fingers. It was something I would normally avoid doing at the New York office, but what the hell. The firm was a part of the past, and Xavier was my future.
Or at least I hoped he would be, assuming I didn’t keep screwing things up.
“Thanks for trying to bring me lunch,” I said. “I’ll make it up to you.”
The elevator dinged, and the doors swung open to the firm. The noise of the office washed over me, a chorus of voices and ringing phones. A trio of women strolled by in chic dresses, all glancing down at a tablet while they walked, and an older executive I recognized from R&D leaned over the front desk, handing off a stack of papers to the executive assistant.
If the office was a dance, I knew every step and every dip. People welcomed me there every day like they were welcoming the leading man onto stage, and even now, I saw the faces turning toward me, perked at my arrival.
“This way,” I said to Xavier. And led him into my past.
