Page 10 of Eternally Yours
“It’s a shame you didn’t invite him in. If it had been me, I would have climbed that man like a tree and played with that treehouse all night long.”
My eyes widen with shock, her comment nearly making me spit out my coffee. “OH MY GOD! Goodbye, Ms. Maggie!” I say, turning and heading down the hall to the elevator, putting an end to this absurd conversation.
“Have a good day, dear!” she calls back with a snicker before heading back into her unit.
Once on the lobby floor, I wave at the security guard behind the counter and offer a good morning to the doorman who leads me out of the building. From there, I begin my fifteen-minute stroll to work.
The sidewalks are mostly vacated this early on, but that won’t last long. If there’s one thing Manhattan is known for, it’s densely crowded streets.
Fifteen minutes later on the dot, I walk into the skyscraper that houses multiple businesses, including mine, with a skip in my step. I could blame it on my new boots, but deep down I know that’s not the case. The truth is I haven’t been able to get a certain someone off my mind.
“Are you trying to avoid me, young lady?” It’s a quarter past eight when Emma makes it to my office, looking as if she just walked off a runway.
She’s wearing a fashionable plaid dress with a pair of black Mary Jane platform pumps encasing her feet, and her copper-red hair is up in a stylish messy bun with minimal makeup covering her face.She doesn’t need it, she’s flawless.
She perches herself on the corner of my desk, knees crossed while drumming her fingers along the wooden surface. The impatience in her voice exudes through her body.
“Good morning to you, Em. How was your family night?” I smile brightly in her direction before returning to the folders in front of me, completely ignoring her comment. I enjoy ruffling her feathers every once in a while.
“Don’t you ‘good morning’ me! Where the hell have you been? First, you’re nowhere to be found when I get home, then you ignore all my texts and calls. You come home at God knows what time, and when I wake up, you’re alreadygone! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” she says, her arms flailing around as she goes on, becoming more and more agitated.
I suppress the smirk from my features before giving her a glance. “Did you have your coffee this morning?” Apparently, it was not the right thing to say considering the redness creeping up her face and her furrowed brow.
“Cecilia! So help me God, if you don’t tell me where you were this instant, I’m going to hit you with this... this...” She looks around my office for her choice of weapon. “This stapler!” She raises it with her hand and proceeds to demonstrate her threat through the air. A giggle falls from me despite the hand over my lips to hide my smile.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Are you going to tell me or keep me guessing? Because I will hit you. Fuck HR, Jerry loves me, you know he’ll look the other way if I tell him to.”
This time, there’s no holding it in. A laugh bursts through me because she’s right. Jerry, our CHRO—chief human resources officer—would definitely turn a blind eye. The poor guy has had it bad for her since she started working here two years ago.
She lets out an aggravated sigh at my reaction as I lean back against my chair, debating what to do. It’s strange, a part of me is excited to tell her about my time with Silas. But then another part wants it to remain a secret, like that might keep the magic of the moment alive.
I nibble my bottom lip before deciding to put her out of her misery.She is my best friend after all, I can’t keep this from her.“I was out... with someone.”
“You went on a date?” she asks in disbelief, like me dating is unprecedented.Okay, maybe she has a point.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly a date. At least not done in the traditional way. It was more of an impromptu date,” I say coyly.
“You went on a date.” This time it’s a statement. “Youneverdate.”And there’s the point.
She’s right, I don’t. I mean, I went on dates during our college years, but that was it. I never felt the need to waste my time on something that didn’t have real potential. So, it’s been just me and my pink silicone boyfriend since then.
“I know, but it was different.” I give a little shrug of the shoulder, trying to play it cool even though I’m feeling anything but cool. In reality, the thought unsettles me because for the first time, it was different.He was different.
“Wow... okay, well, tell me about this mystery man. What’s his name? How did this happen? What did you two do?” she fires off questions a bit too eagerly.
“His name is Silas, and well, he pretty much joined my table at the little Italian restaurant near our place without asking. Just sat down, ordered wine and food before even getting my name.”
“Hmm, a man who goes after what he wants, I like that. Keep going, what else did you do? And don’t bother lying to me, you came home pretty late, so I know there’s more.” Her eyes narrow my way.
“We just walked through Central Park for a while and talked, then he walked me home.”
I don’t go deeper into details given how Silas was evasive with certain subjects. I sense he doesn’t enjoy everyone knowing his business. Although that must be a struggle with his profession.
“Okay, tell me more. What does he do?” she asks curiously, studying my face as if she’s trying to figure out how I feel about the whole situation.
The problem is that, right now, all I feel is anxiety. This was a question I was hoping to avoid. Knowing Emma, the minute I tell her, she’ll put the pieces together. Even if I deliberately left out his last name.
I look away from Em and pick up a portfolio from my desk, flicking through its pages in hopes that she will miss my answer. “He’s a hockey player,” I mumble just above a whisper, keeping myself busy from seeing her reaction.
