Page 29 of Isolated
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
“Iris, relax.” I placed my hand on her arm. “I’m telling you that it’s lunchtime, because you said you wanted someone to talk to. Since you don’t have to go back to work, and we both need to eat, why don’t you let me take you out for lunch, and you can talk to me about anything that’s on your mind?”
For several long moments, she stared at me with a look of disbelief. I didn’t want to regret having asked her to join me, but after so much time had passed without a response, I couldn’t stop myself from assuming the worst.
Just as I was about to backtrack, she said, “I’d love that. Are you sure?”
The corners of my mouth tipped up. “I’m positive.”
For the first time since she’d entered my office, I got a bit of that sparkle in her eyes that I’d grown so accustomed to seeing. I never would’ve thought that me asking her to lunch would ever be able to put that look on her face, but I had to admit that it felt good to witness.
TEN
Iris
My mind was racing.
Given the uncontrollable flutter in my belly, agreeing to come out to lunch with Landen might have been the worst decision imaginable. It was entirely possible I wouldn’t be able to keep a stitch of food down.
I felt so conflicted. Confused. Uncertain.
On the one hand, I was absolutely devastated about all that had been going on at work. Everything had seemed so perfect; I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I had the respect of my superiors, the support and amicability of my colleagues, the drive and vision to do well at my job, and a promotion on the horizon. What more could I have wanted?
Then it all fell apart.
I was still reeling over the conversation I’d had with Robert in his office this morning. To hear the doubt in histone as he questioned me about what was happening with me lately was unnerving. I hadn’t changed anything I was doing, and somehow, everything was unraveling.
And when Robert told me that he had wanted nothing more than for me to fill the position Howard would be leaving at the end of the year but that he, Robert, might now need to reconsider the promotion if things didn’t turn around, it was like taking a knife to the heart.
I’d worked so hard to get to where I was, to earn that promotion. And through a series of events that were out of my control, that advancement in the company was now at risk. I’d never missed a meeting, and I always completed tasks and campaigns before their deadlines. Now, in just a matter of days, I’d proven I could no longer be trusted or relied upon.
No wonder Robert had called me into his office and urged me to take some time off. If I had been on the outside looking in, I would think I suddenly didn’t care about my position any longer, too.
But the worst part of all of it was that I had this horrible, nagging suspicion that this was just the beginning. I didn’t know why, but I was certain that I hadn’t quite experienced the worst of it yet.
The emotions moving through me now were such a contrast to those I’d held on to the night Walter had fixed my water heater. It might have only been a week and a day since then, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.
No amount of positive thinking or hope was going to turn things around.
And if it was this bad already, I wondered what else I could expect in the coming days and weeks.
But while I felt so distraught over work, I now felt asense of excitement and anticipation. Because without even seeming to need to give it a second thought, Landen had asked me out to lunch.
And that seemed strange, given all that I was facing at work and that he’d never asked before now.
Sure, I realized this wasn’t an official date—I hoped a real one wouldn’t be brought on by such an awful situation—but it felt good to know that Landen cared the way he did. I’d merely said I needed someone to talk to, and he came up with a solution on the spot.
As eager as I was about having the opportunity to have lunch with him, it wasn’t a surprise I wished this was happening without the situation I was dealing with looming over my head.
But I tried to look on the bright side. At least my decision to drive to Harper Security Ops to see Landen this morning had led to him offering to look into what might have been happening with my emails and calendar.
Being the kind of woman that I was, especially when it came to my work, I hated that something completely outside my control was impacting my ability to do my job properly. It was beyond frustrating that some technical glitch was leading my superiors and colleagues to look at me like I’d completely disregarded my position and purpose within the company.
Maybe Landen would be able to help me turn things around. There was no question I already owed him a debt of gratitude for simply offering to be a good friend to me.
We’d barely sat down and ordered our food when his words broke through the thoughts swirling in my mind. “It’s probably criminal for me to admit just how much I’dbe willing to pay to know what’s going on inside your head.”
I scoffed. “You’d likely ask for a refund once you got a hold of such a mess.”
