Page 29 of Lucy Loves Him Not
He’d ask us if we were thirsty and made sure we’d taken our lunch break. I’d overhear him checking on people’s families and pets.
Adam remembered birthdays. And kid’s names. And seemed to take care to include everybody. Including me.
I started to learn Adam’s different tones. Such as his serious, no-nonsense work voice that usually showed up in the thick of problem solving. One afternoon we got a call that our long-time printing business, that printed every single thing for us from flyers to tee shirts, was going out of business. Adam immediately went into action and got into his serious mode. His voice sounded just like the day he called me at the coffee shop.
I was watching him intently as he squinted over his glasses at me, “Miss Rhodes?”
“Nothing, nothing.” I shook my head at him. Realizing,Adam was worried when we spoke on the phone, trying to give the festival his absolute everything. And boy do I relate to that.
It’d just be like the side of Adam I was getting to know to get so focused on the steps for success he planned for the summer festival, that he forgot to plan for people like me and their reactions.
At the end of the day, Adam’s shoulder would start to hunch and he’d rub his temples. It made me want to demand, “Is anyone checking on if you’re thirsty? Is anyone celebrating your wins? Do you need a hug?”
One Friday afternoon, I left a late meeting while chatting with my coworker, Danaya. I was so immersed in our conversation that it wasn’t until the elevators were closing on us that I realized my arms were empty. I had forgotten all my stuff in Adam’s office. I stuck my arm out to stop the elevator doors and sprinted back toward Adam’s office.
I was in his doorway when I saw him leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. I stopped in my tracks. His tie was off, he’d unbuttoned a couple of the buttons on his button-down. He looked more undone than I’d ever seen him. He ran his hand through his dark hair and released a deep, tired exhale.
My response surprised me. I wanted to replace his hands with mine in his hair, run a thumb across his bottom lip, and ask him what he needed. I wanted to take care of him. It was a total system meltdown. It completely sent me running.
His eyes were closed, so I dashed in to grab my little work tote and water bottle sitting on the chair and ran out of the office before he noticed I was there.
I jogged towards Olivia’s waiting car with the image of tired Adam in my mind. I wondered how he might look in bed ona late Friday night, sleepy eyes looking for comfort as he falls against a pillow...and then I immediately closed that tab in my mind.
I had dinner with Olivia at the Mexican place that served my favorite spicy margaritas. We were heatedly discussing theBachelorover nachos and since I wasn’t driving, I’d ordered a second drink. I needed my phone to pull up a contestant’s dramatic Instagram post. I started to reach for it when I realized I had no purse with me.
And no phone.
And no car keys.
And no wallet.
I closed my eyes and could see exactly where my purse was in Adam’s office. Intruding on him in a quiet moment, the way it affected me, making me dizzy and distracted, resulting in me leaving my purse behind.
“Olivia,” I said, a little pouty and tipsy. “I left my purse at Adam’s. It has my phone and my wallet.”
“At Adam’s?” Olivia’s jaw dropped.
“Hisoffice,” I clarified.
She glanced down at her watch. “Well, it’s past eight. The doors are probably locked.”
“But, surely there has to be some workaholic still in that building?” I looked down at the chair beside me in case somehow my purse would magically appear beside me.
“We could just call Adam?” Olivia offered tentatively. “I know Victor would send me his number.”
I shook my head. “I cannot call that man for help.”
“Why not? You two are coworkers now. You’re getting along fine, right?”
“He’s why I left my bag. He gets me all…” I tried to think through my tipsy, swimmy thoughts. “He throws me off. Heknows it, too. I can see it in his cocky little smirks. Then those smirks throw me off some more.”
Olivia sighed like a mother dealing with a stubborn toddler. “Fine. Let’s go see if someone’s in the city offices.”
After we paid, she drove me there and we marched up the steps to find the place dark and the doors locked.
I started to knock, but Olivia grabbed my hands. “Luce, no one is going to answer these doors. I’m calling Vic for Adam’s number.”
“No, no,” I panicked. “I can’t call Adam like this. Let’s try tomorrow?—”
