Page 11 of The Roommate Experiment

And this morning, I’m going to need more than one cup. Mondays are always brutal, but today has an extra kick. There are several mergers on the table, and everyone’s scrambling to get their hands on the best deals.

Kelly, my assistant, is already at her desk next to my door, her fingers flying over the keyboard with the kind of focus I can only manage after my second cup of coffee. She looks up as I stop by her station, offering a bright smile. “Morning, boss. Ready to dive in?”

“Morning, Kelly.” I flash her a grin. “As ready as I’ll ever be. How was your weekend?”

“Too short.” She sighs. “Yours?”

I picture the stack of boxes I still have to unpack and the situation with Hunter that I wasn’t able to fix earlier this morning since she was nowhere to be found. “Too messy.” My smile tightens.

“Oh?” Kelly raises an eyebrow at me.

“Moving houses, remember? My best friend kicked me out to shack up with my sister?”

Kelly nods sympathetically, as if she can sense my mood, but mercifully doesn’t prod for more.

“What’s on the docket for today?”

She hands me a print-out of the day’s schedule, neatly organized, in a large, clear font, double spaced, and printed on cream paper instead of white—the basics of my survival. She’ll have also sent me an electronic copy I can use text to speech on.

I have dyslexia, something I don’t like to parade around, and these little adjustments help me function at the highest level without anyone noticing.

“You’ve got a meeting with the mergers team at nine.” Kelly gives me the highlights of my day. “Followed by a client call at ten. A lunch meeting with potential buyers for the Horizon deal. And later tonight, you have a call with the Tokyo office at seven.”

I nod, scanning the schedule. “Got it. Thanks, Kelly. Any updates on the Lione acquisition?”

“Still waiting on confirmation from their legal team,” she says. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

“Perfect. Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Kelly waves me off. “You’d be lost and late to everything, that’s what.”

She’s not wrong. I chuckle, heading into my office and closing the door behind me. I settle into my chair, the leather creaking under me, and soak in the silence. The calm before the storm. I flip open my laptop, and emails flood the screen instantly, piling on top of the stack of reports on my desk that I need to get through.

I pull up the meeting agenda Kelly prepared, skimming the major points to cover. But I lack my usual focus; my thoughts keep yanking me back to this morning. The apartment was eerily quiet when I woke up, Hunter noticeably absent. I’d planned to make her breakfast, bribe her with something sweet—pancakes, waffles, the works. A peace offering of sorts. But as I crossed the hall, her door was closed, her room dark, and her shoes were no longer in their spot in the entryway.

A made-up mental image of Hunter sneaking out in the early hours, tiptoeing past my door, flickers in my mind. I didn’t hear her leave. I’m not sure what her morning routine is. But is she always gone before 6a.m.? Or was she avoiding me? I can’t shake the nagging sensation that it is the latter option.

I rub a hand over my face. No time to dwell on it now.

A knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts. Kelly pokes her head in. “Five minutes till your meeting.”

I nod, closing my laptop. “Right. Thanks.”

My assistant leaves, and I stand, smoothing down my suit. Time to put on the game face. Whatever’s going on with Hunter, it’ll have to wait.

The nine o’clock mergers meeting is what I expect: intense and fast-paced. We go over the latest reports, each merger dissected down to the smallest detail. Numbers fly across the table, financial projections and risk assessments, each figure representing millions of dollars and the future of entire companies. I keep my focus sharp, pushing thoughts of my new roommate into a corner of my mind. Here, I’m all about business.

After the meeting, I sort my calls, go to lunch with clients, and by the time I’m back in my office, it’s already mid-afternoon. But I still have hours of work ahead.

My phone buzzes on the desk. A message from Olivia.

Olivia

Hey, handsome. Want to hang out tonight? I could come over and check out your new place ;)

I frown at the message, setting the phone down. I want to hang out with Olivia, but the thought of her coming over to the apartment makes me uneasy. Hunter said it’s okay to have Olivia over whenever. But I don’t really know how she rolls—if she prefers not to have people over during the week, and it’s okay only at weekends, until what time. Last night was our first living together, and I’ve messed up already. I didn’t get a chance to apologize this morning, and bringing a third person into the mix before we’ve cleared the waters might not be smart. I press the microphone button and dictate my reply.

Dylan

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