Page 7 of Until I Find You

“Well, thank you for…doing what you do.”

He chuckles. “Of course, sweetheart.”

I don’t like it when people call me terms of endearment like that, but Dave somehow manages to make it sound polite and natural. I don’t correct him, though I’d do it to most anyone else.

The elevator stops and the businessmen walk off, doing their best not to knock into me. Finally, I have the elevator to myself. I back up to the wall and wait for the doors to close.

“Wait!” a voice calls out and an arm shoots through to catch the doors.

Color drains from my face when I see it’s Seth.

He smiles at me. “Hey, glad I–” His eyes bug out when he clocks the phone. “Oh! Sorry.”

I’m the one who should be sorry. A personal call on company time, even if I was out getting coffee, isn’t appropriate.

Seth steps beside me and waits with his lips sealed as the doors close and the elevator continues its climb upward.

“I’ll call you with updates as I have them,” Dave says. “Don’t give up hope, Camilla, okay?”

“Yes, thank you. I appreciate that,” I say in my most buttoned-up voice.

“Buh-bye.”

“Bye.” I hang up in a hurry and stick my phone back into the pocket of my slacks, not able to look Seth in the eye. “Sorry about that.”

He chuckles. “Why are you sorry?”

“I–it’s–I don’t know.” Apologizing unnecessarily is a bad habit of mine, however in the business world, I find it keeps many of the people I work with comfortable.

“Here’s your coffee.” I hold out the tray toward him.

“Oh, thank you!” Seth takes the tallest cup of hot coffee and sips it. “Ah. Perfect.”

Always perfect. It’s my job.

“Speaking of coffee–” he says, just as the doors ding open. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay, well, let me drop these off and then–”

Seth waves his hand at someone. “Effy! Can you deliver these coffees to Mark and June?”

Effy, the latest intern, rushes over and takes the drink tray from me. “Can do!”

“Wait, my coffee–” I call after her, but she’s already halfway through the office, bounding toward Mark’s office.

Seth grimaces. “Sorry. She’ll figure it out. She’s exuberant, but she gets the job done. Reminds me of someone…” He looks straight at me.

I roll my eyes, but smile. “That was a long time ago.”

“That’s true. Which is why I want to talk to you. My office, huh?”

I follow Seth to his office, my heart pounding as we go.

I am frequently called to Seth’s office as his assistant, but I can never shake the fear that I’m going to be delivered terrible news. Seth used to rule with an iron fist, cutting people left and right if they simply breathed in his direction. However, this past year, he’s softened quite a bit.

He closes the office door behind me before we take a seat in our usual positions: him in the leather chair by the window and me on the plump ottoman across from him.

The view from Seth’s office is as picturesque as it is intimidating. Just one tall building amongst iron giants. Below, people as small as ants rushing in the New York minute way. Though I work here every day, I still have never shaken the childlike thrill of being high in the air. Much different as opposed to the plains of Kansas.

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