Page 30 of Ruined Promises

Iglance down at the display screen on my phone reading 10:43 a.m. as the line to Lexi’s office continues to ring.Where is she?

I hang up the call and decide to dial Taylor’s extension.

“Yes, Mr. Harrington.”

“Taylor, do you know if Lexi had any meetings all morning?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.

“Umm, let me check.” I sit back in my chair, my muscles tense while I wait.

I can hear her breathing and gum popping through the phone, which leaves me feeling slightly uncomfortable, and I am just about to suggest that she can call me back once she finds out the information when she clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Are you still there?”

“Yep, I’m here.”

“It looks like Ms. Baker called out sick today.”

Sick? She seemed fine last night. Was it the food? Was she embarrassed by our run-in? Why am I still on the phone with Taylor while having an internal debate? “Oh, okay, thank you, Taylor.”

“No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“That’s all. Thank you.” I could have easily asked for her to retrieve me Lexi’s address, but then she might get suspicious. Taylor is a nice girl, but I have heard her gossiping in the break room before, and the last thing we need is her gossiping about Lexi and me.

Wait, why do I want her address? Get your shit together, Ben. Nothing good can come from going by her house to check on her. Yet here you are pulling up her HR file and writing her address on a sticky note.

I tap my fingers meticulously on the wooden desk, staring at the small piece of paper as if it were a flame too hot to touch. Then again, if I cross this line and do something with the information on this sticky note, I’m clearly playing with fire.Fuck it.

“Going somewhere, Mr. Harrington?” Taylor asks from my doorway as I shrug my coat on.

“Yes, I have to run some errands. I’ll be back later this afternoon,” I respond as I hit the out of office button on my phone.

“Of course, sir.”

“I’ll see you later,” I say as I pass her, headed out of the office.

On the way over to Lexi’s place, I stop by the small grocery store down the street and pick up a container of chicken soup and ginger ale. I can recall how my mother always stocked up on these items when Asher or I were sick. It’s the least I could do.

I find myself looking up at the ten-story apartment building in front of me.

I grip the brown paper bag of essentials in my hand as the elevator rises to the sixth floor. When the elevator dings, alerting me of its arrival, I don’t move.What am I doing?Too late to turn back now.If she’s too sick to come to work, I’m sure she’s too ill to go out and grab things like what I come bearing. I quickly hit the Door Open button as the doors begins to close and exit the elevator. I search the numbers on the doors, looking back and forth between each side until I find 6F. Here goes nothing. I knock on the wooden door and wait.

I place my ear on the door and quickly scurry away as I hear shuffling coming from the other side. The door swings open, and my breath is completely ripped from my lungs at the vision in front of me. I’m not sure what to think when she looks this beautiful sick as she does every day. I take in her appearance—black leggings hugging every curve of her body but covered up by an oversized cream-colored sweater hanging off her shoulder, exposing a black strap. I’m unsure if that is another shirt underneath or maybe her bra. I divert my eyes away from that part of her body.

She quickly adjusts herself to cover the revealed flesh and grips onto her door. “Ben,” she shrieks in surprise, “what are you doing here?” I watch the curve of her neck bob as she swallows thickly, clearly nervous and thrown off by my arrival.

I bring my hand to my mouth, clearing my throat. “Yes, well, umm,” I stutter, which I never do. “Taylor said that you had called out sick, and I was in the area, so I thought I would check on you.” Her eyes narrow as she decides whether she believes my lie or not.

“You were in the area? How did you know this is where I live?” she asks with a smirk forming on her lips. Lexi clearly sees right through my bullshit. “And you brought groceries?” Her eyes drop down to the bag in my right hand. I move side to side on my feet and bring the bag to balance in front of me.

I exhale and decide to confess. “Okay, so I wasn’t in the area. The truth is, yes, Taylor mentioned that you had called out sick, and I figured with you being a workaholic, you must be potentially on your death bed for you not to show up to work, and I guess I just wanted to check in on you.” I glance down at my feet, nervously. I am not used to the lack of confidence I seem to portray when I’m in Lexi’s presence.

“Oh.” There’s a look of surprise on her face as she purses her lips together. “Well, that’s very nice of you.” She glances behind her for a moment, and when she turns to face me, her bottom lip is pulled between her teeth. “Would you like to come in, then?”

Stopping by is one thing. Bringing her groceries is another. There is no turning back once you enter her apartment.My conscience is pulling me back by my tie in the opposite direction, yet I find myself nodding and responding with “Sure.”

Lexi backs up, opening the door further to her apartment, and I cross the threshold. I stand there looking around, feeling somewhat awkward. The click of the front door shutting has my throat drying up like the Sahara Desert.

As Lexi appears beside me, she looks back down at the grocery bag. “Do you need to put your groceries away until you leave?”

Oh right. I chuckle softly to myself. “No, these are actually for you.”

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