Page 28 of One Love
Devin
These last five days have feltmore like thirty.How can so much shit happen in such a short period of time?If only I had a dollar for every time I’ve had that thought since meeting Sebastian Brooks.
This time everything feels different though.
The last few times that thought crossed my mind, I was overwhelmed with everything going on in my life, but now, while there’s so much going on around me, there’s nothing going on with me.
On any other Friday, looking at the clock on my computer screen and seeing it’s almost four o’clock would bring me excitement. Today, it isn’t at all soothing.
For the last month, I’ve spent every weekend with Sebastian, wrapped up in his arms, his warmth, and his bed. There is none of that to look forward to in an hour. The only thing I can look forward to when it comes to him is seeing more pictures of him and Arianna plastered all over their social media accounts. I don’t know why I keep torturing myself by looking at them. Any sane person would have deleted the apps from their phone, but not me. I’m a masochist who can’t stop looking at the cutesy photos of them cuddled together and the kisses on the cheeks I know are fake.
The worst part is this is all happening because of me. Sebastian is doing this for me because I was more concerned with how I would look to my colleagues rather than caring about the man who is willing to do just about anything to make my problems go away, including pretending to have a girlfriend who isn’t me. Not that it’s super hard to be seen with a beautiful woman, take photos, and have fun at dinners and parties.
They have been out every night since the meeting at the Brooks’ household. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Four straight nights of them out pretending to be the new “it” couple of New York City. If only I wasn’t so concerned with what people thought about me, it could be Sebastian and me as the new “it” couple.
Last night was eye-opening for me. Having Sebastian so close but yet so far really helped put some things into perspective for me. Part of me is jealous because Arianna is in law school with goals to be a judge one day, according to her aunt. She doesn’t have any fear of what this photo may do to her future. She didn’t mind volunteering, and while I’m sure she’s getting paid, she didn’t have any problems with her name being associated with a sex scandal.
I imagine she didn’t grow up with next to nothing, having to watch her parents struggle day after day with the stress mounting further and further. I’m also willing to bet she didn’t make promises to herself that she wouldn’t wind up like her parents.
But I’ve already accomplished that goal. I have wealth, I have success. There’s no reason I’ll ever be the same situation my parents were in. So why couldn’t I let myself focus on more—like Sebastian? Why do I still feel the need to keep him a secret when we’ve done nothing wrong? Someone wronged us but we did nothing wrong.
Marla’s voice startles me as it comes over the intercom. “Ms. Miller, I have Mr. Shaker from Thorndale on the phone with questions regarding a proposal he was supposed to receive earlier today.”
Shit!I knew I forgot to do something. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve made a mistake while working before coming to Midtown. Most of those mistakes don’t count since they were more like mishaps.
When there are two Mr. Johnstons who work in the accounting department, I don’t know if you can consider addressing the wrong one in relation to a question about his budget calculations a huge error, just confusion.
“Send him through, and please have Crystal come to my office as soon as possible,” I tell her, trying to think of a plausible excuse for why I haven’t sent over the proposal I promised him three hours ago.
“Mr. Shaker,” I answer with the sweetest voice I can muster. “My apologies. I was pulled into a meeting this afternoon and wanted to personally look over the proposal before sending it to you. I wanted to make sure every detail we spoke about was included. Please excuse my lateness. I will personally have the document couriered over within the hour.”
My bullshit excuse must work because I hear nothing but gratitude on the other end. “Thank you, Ms. Miller. I appreciate your effort in ensuring your clients’ happiness. I’m leaving the office very soon, though. I’m taking the wife and kids for a quick ski trip before Christmas. So if it could be here in time for me to look over and sign before leaving, I’d be forever grateful. I’d like to be prepared for our meeting Monday before I leave today.”
Crystal knocks lightly, poking her head in, and I wave her in as I reassure Mr. Shaker. “Absolutely. I’ll hand deliver it to the courier myself. If you have any questions once you receive it, please give me a call. If not, I hope you enjoy your weekend trip, and I will see you at two o’clock on Monday.”
“Thank you.”
We disconnect, and I notice Crystal looks a little off. Her shoulders are tense, as if she is ready to explode. Maybe she’s having a bad week too. She has been called to our offices several times this week for questioning of some sort. I couldn’t blame her if she needed the weekend to recoup.
“You wanted to see me, Ms. Miller,” she asks with a somewhat hostile tone. I watch as she glances around my office, as if she’s looking for something she isn’t finding.
Ignoring her tone for the time being, I get back to fixing my fuckup. “I need to have a contract couriered over to Thorndale Enterprises within the next hour. Can you see which courier service can have this delivered immediately?”
She gives me a sharp nod. “Yes.”
“I know it’s almost time to go home, but I assure you, I’ll approve your overtime,” I add, trying to soften the blow of making her stay later than usual.
“No problem,” she answers curtly before exiting my office.
I don’t have time to analyze Crystal’s behavior. Now that I’ve assured Mr. Shaker I personally went over every detail of this proposal, I have to make sure I don’t make an ass out of myself. I have to do it in the next fifteen minutes in order to get it to him within the hour.
Focusing my attention on my work and the career I’m sacrificing my relationship with Sebastian for, I read over each line of the proposal twice. By the time I get through the second pass of the last line, Crystal is back at my door.
“The courier is here,” she says with a little less attitude than before. “The bike messenger service on forty-ninth had availability, and they can avoid the traffic building up to ensure on-time delivery.”
Thank God one of us is using our brain. “Good call, Crystal.” I slide the papers into the envelope and seal it before handing it over to her. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry again for keeping you so late.”
She takes the envelope and gives me a tight smile. “It’s no problem.”
