Page 107 of Love Among the Ruins
When the elevator doors opened, the women left first, and he released a deep sigh.
Heading straight into his office he sat down, collapsing into the chair with relief, glad to be in the safety and sanctity of his own private space.
* * *
ELENI
She returned to work in the middle of the week, and as she surveyed the building, it felt as if she’d been away for much longer than a few days.
A lot had happened in that time. Messages had flown back and forth between her and her boss, and which she now regretted. Back then, in the easy comfort of her bed, she’d been finger happy, firing off texts. A familiarity had developed and deepened, to the point that she had made the mistake of forgetting who Dominic was.
Anxiety clawed in her chest. She hadn’t replied to his last text, and she had no intention of doing so. They had ceased all communication and it was for the best.
Just as she was about to set foot in the building, Miranda screeched out her name. Eleni was so pleased to see her friend that she threw her arms around her and hugged her as if she were a long lost relative.
They caught up quickly, talking over one another, but when Eleni stepped into the lift and saw Dominic, her heart stopped.
She didn’t know where to look and barely managed to say ‘Hi.’ When the elevator doors opened, she had never been happier to get out of there and escape into the office. The co-workers who usually ignored her now greeted her as if she were a long-lost friend. They fussed around her, offered to fetch her water from the cooler and to get her lunch for her, even though her ankle had healed, and she was walking like normal.
Eleni offered them a plastic smile, no longer caring for their so-called friendliness which was too late in coming.
But inwardly, her heart was on a hamster wheel, furiously racing to get ahead and imagine a better future. One in which she could accept that Dominic was her boss and nothing else. But after a long, gruelling hour of trying to focus on her work, she couldn’t take it any longer. She couldn’t forget the things they’d said, the thingsshe’dsaid.
It was time to confront him.
Looking straight ahead, she sailed past Miranda’s desk, her muscles tense, her words prepared, ready to face Dominic no matter what mood he was in on the other side of the door. She knocked and entered when ordered.
His eyes widened when he saw her and something told her he wasn’t ready.
“I’m ...uh ...” She fidgeted with her hands. A terrible thought coming to her. While she’d been panicking and dissecting their communication, what if Dominic had been so drunk he wouldn’t even remember what they’d said? The man was busy running multi-million dollar companies. What made her think he even remembered what had happened?
“You’re back,” he commented.
“We met in the elevator just now, of course I’m back.”
“It was a rhetorical question.”
“A what?”
“I said it for effect. I wasn’t looking for an answer.”
“Why would you do that?”
He stared at her. This wasn’t getting any easier. She overlooked the language differences and dove in. “I’d taken too many painkillers when I ... when I offered to be your... your ... fake date.” She scratched her hands and added, “The other day.”
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, as if she’d dredged up something he’d rather have left far behind, as if memories of that evening were too embarrassing for him to talk about. “I’m sorry for texting you when I was under the influence of alcohol.”
Her lower lip parted. She allowed herself to breathe. “Okay.”
“It’s not okay. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
This was good. They understood one another, they were at least talking about it which meant the awkwardness could go, eventually. She took a step towards his desk, her hands clasped low against her belly. “I shouldn’t have suggested I’d be your fake date. I made the offer, Dominic, not you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You didn’t reply.” He looked at her, and for a fleeting moment, she caught something strange in his eyes. He coughed lightly, then looked at the papers on his desk and picked up a pen. “I wondered if something had happened when you didn’t, that’s all.”
“I felt silly. I was out of line, making that suggestion. I didn’t even have an excuse because I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.”
“But you’d popped plenty of pills.”
She forced a laugh. “I was heavily drugged up.”
“It seems we both were under the influence.” He started signing the letters on his desk, his dismissal like a pain shooting across her chest, letting her know she wasn’t important and occupied no part of his mind or his time.
“At least that’s been cleared,” she said, something breaking in her voice.
“We’re good, Eleni. Close the door behind you.”
Once outside, she leaned against the door for a second or three. Her desire for this man knotted around her heart like a barbed wire fence, holding it captive.
