Page 13 of Now and Forever
Gathering her finished manuscripts, Golden typed out an instant message to Grayson and stood up. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she knew he was looking at her now. Turning to him, her pulse jumped as their eyes met. It felt like she just spotted the glowing eyes of a wolf in the forest.
Confused by the intensity in his eyes, she pointed to his computer and mouthed "Check your messages," before leaving out the door.
Lingering and chatting at a few people's desks, Golden finally made it to Sanjay's office, one of the company's editors, to drop off her notated manuscripts.
"Hey there," he greeted her as she stepped in. He took the offered notes from her hand and set them on his desk. "Thanks, I'm eager to see what you said about them."
"Oh my God, don't be," she laughed. "I feel I must remind you I was going to school for music before this, so please keep that in mind."
Sanjay waved her words away. "I'm sure it will be fine. I love to see fresh new takes. By the way, Sheila told me you sometimes sing at the Rosebank Hotel in that fancy jazz lounge they have, is that right?"
"Yeah, I sing there on Friday and Saturday nights. I'll be going tonight."
Sanjay's eyes widened. "Wow, all day here and then there. I couldn't do it. I plan on making dinner and sitting down and catching the game tonight and that's it."
Golden shrugged. "Now that I'm not required to," or being pressured and constantly criticized, she mentally added, "singing is fun again."
Sanjay nodded as he sorted out some papers. "Yeah, I can see that. I think everyone up here has gone through the same thing once or twice before. When all you do is read and write for your job it can make doing it as a passion a bit strained."
They sat and talked a bit longer until Golden noticed the time. She spent longer here than she expected. Waving goodbye, she made her way back to the fourth floor. She had hoped she could slip into the office without notice. No such luck.
Sitting in his chair just out of reach of the sunlight, Grayson's piercing blue eyes pinned her to the spot as soon as she set foot inside. "I was wondering if you intended on returning."
Her stomach fluttered in nervousness. "Yes, of course. Did you see my message?"
Leaning forward into the light, Grayson cut his eyes to the computer and back to her. "The one from thirty minutes ago—yes I did."
Golden hid her sheepish smile as she quickly walked back over to her desk and sat down. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I lost track of time talking to Sanjay."
He cocked his head to the side, his expression unreadable. "Mmm, yes, so I gathered."
There was a sharpness in his eyes that she couldn't quite discern as he looked down and reached for his coffee at the end of the desk. It was odd, she realized she kind of hated it when his gaze shifted away from her, it made her feel suddenly alone as if he was pushing her away again.
Grayson sipped his coffee, watching her over the rim of the cup. "Tell me, how did you like the work of Kaveh Zadeh?"
Golden twisted her lips as she thought about the Iranian history lesson on poetry. "Can I be honest?"
A smile began to pull at Grayson's lips. "Always."
"It was terribly boring."
The smile turned into a full grin and Golden nearly sucked in a breath at the sheer beauty of it. God help her.
His fingers tapped at the cup of his coffee. "It was, wasn't it? It was nothing like his first book."
Forcing herself to get a grip, Golden focused on the conversation. "Right! I looked him up and it said he won awards for the first book. Let me tell you, I couldn’t tell from reading this book."
Grayson laughed, the rich sound echoing in the spacious office. As they delved deeper into their discussion, the remaining hours seemed to slip away unnoticed as they exchanged opinions on various topics. They were lost in conversation until the soft chime of the clock announced it was already four o'clock.
As she gathered her things, Grayson stood by the door waiting for her. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a ride home?"
With her purse in hand, she gave him an exasperated look. "Every day for a week now you have asked me that and every time I give you the same answer—no."
He made a deep sound of discontent in his throat as he followed her to the elevator. In the lobby, she said her goodbyes to the other staff and pushed her way through the heavy double glass doors, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. Probably just worrying like a dad, she thought to herself with a rueful smile.
Yeah, a dad. That's how she should start thinking of him.
Golden grinned to herself as she crossed the intersection and headed down the sidewalk toward the hotel. She could just imagine the shock and probably anger if Grayson knew what she was thinking. He could hardly handle her calling him Mr. Rosebank, calling him Dad even in jest would probably get her fired.
