5
Around four in the afternoon, while I was in the filing room, the glass door on the right side leading to the CEO of Verlag's office opened.
I turned my head toward him but quickly averted my gaze and shook my head. I wasn't in the mood to see him. Clearly, this wasn't my day.
I sighed.
I continued searching for the file I had come for. At this moment, I wished I could go home soon to be with my little one.
"Why is it that you have a sour expression every time you see me?" Stefan asked from the doorway. "I thought after helping you in the elevator, you'd be friendlier with me."
"It's not that I'm unfriendly towards you on purpose, but I won't be friendly just because you're my boss. It's my nature and I'm not fond of men who think they can have any woman they want," I looked at him from the corner of my eye, grabbing the file I was looking for.
I exited the filing room, inspecting the contents of the folder in my hands. I sat down at my desk, placing the file on the table, and started looking through each page.
I had to insert a sheet in its corresponding place. Those sheets were organized by departure dates.
I liked what I did, and thanks to that job, I had met a lot of people, and now, without even realizing it could happen, I had more friends... and Adri, my son.
Despite what happened to me when I was twenty-two, I had always been certain that I would have him, even if I had to raise him alone.
That made me think of Oscar, my last partner.
I clenched my right hand while breathing slowly, trying not to cry. I couldn't deny that I missed him, but if I told Madeleine or Joshua, I knew they would tell me to forget about Oscar.
I snapped back to reality when I heard the door to the General Manager's office open. Joshua walked out with a smile, and when he saw me looking at him curiously, he approached the table, crouched down, and placed his hands on the table as he said to me:
"I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" I said without much excitement.
"Madeleine is picking up the kids, and we're all going to have dinner at the ShangHai Chinese Restaurant."
"To the ShangHai Restaurant?" I repeated, puzzled. "Why?"
"Madeleine said we should go, you know how she is," he grinned mischievously. "She says she's noticed you've been a bit down..."
"I'm not down. It's just that..."
"When you got stuck, you remembered what that bastard did to you, didn't you?" I had no choice but to nod. "It's true. Since then, you haven't been stuck with a man again."
"Believe me, I'm happy with Adri, and if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have him by my side now, and... well, Oscar's departure would have been tougher."
"We know that very well, but since you're not with him, it's our duty to take care of you and your son. Plus, Adri is good friends with Madeleine," he said with a smile.
"They're together all day!" We both laughed.
"Finish up with that and go home to change. We have a long night ahead with those two troublemakers," he commented playfully.
"That's what I'll do," I smiled.
"That's the spirit. We'll pick you up at eight."
"Oh, I forgot to mention that Adri won't be home. I'll pick him up at five," I told him.
"Alright. We'll swing by at eight for you guys," Joshua informed me.
I nodded as I smiled. Joshua got up, also smiling, and left. I continued with what I was doing until my boss's brief visit.
O/N:
Unbeknownst to either of them, Stefan had overheard everything from the door of the filing room.
He had cracked the door open to continue watching the young woman sitting at the table in front of the General Manager's office. Now, he was even more curious to know what had happened.
He opened the door a little wider and gazed at her intently. Something inside him told him that this girl wasn't like all the others he had encountered.
He decided to return to his office and leave her be. Even though he was going to try to capture her attention, he felt a need to protect her.
It was the first time he had ever felt something like that.
He smiled half-heartedly, taking a seat in his black leather chair and started searching for something on the internet. He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking about her, especially the face he had seen that morning.
That face had become imprinted in his mind.
He rested his arm on the table and propped his chin on his hand, not taking his eyes off the screen.