Happily Never After

Chapter 6

The rest of the drive to work was done in silence. The only sound was from the tyres as they glided over the surface of the road and our breathing. Occasionally, Carter would clear his throat but never speak. Awkward! 

The car slows down from its fast speed of over 50mph and came to a stop by the entrance of the thirty floor office building. Phillip, the driver, briskly moves from the drivers seat to open the door next to Carter. 

"And I got you here with ten minutes to spare," Carter smiles, checking the time on his watch and getting out the car. 

I glare at him and pick up my bag before sliding along the back seat and taking Carter's offered hand. I step out of the car and look up at him. "Technically, your driver got me here with ten minutes to spare." 

"Yeah, but still." He drops my hand and places it on the base of my back, guiding me away from the car and into the building.

During our walk towards the elevators, Carter's hand moved to rest in the middle of my back but I stayed silent. I reach my hand out to press the elevator button but he pulled it back with his free hand. I look up at him and he shakes his head. 

"This one," he mutters while guiding me towards an empty elevator at the opposite side. He carefully guides me into the brightly lit elevator and presses the number 16 button. "Privacy is always better." 

I nod. "Sure it is." 

The doors close and we start our ascend up to my floor. I rest back against the cool wall that faces the closed doors and hold my bag by the handles with both hands. I slightly look up at Carter and watch him as he starts undoing the buttons on his long black coat, revealing his perfect black suit, white shirt and simple red tie that matches my red blouse. 

"I can wait for you when you finish and give you a lift home if you want. Only fair." He fixes the collar of the coat and looks down at me. 

"It's fine," I smile. "I'm going to talk to my friend and sort everything out." 

"Offer's there if you want it. Just let me know." Disappointment fills his voice which makes my heart beat a little faster and sadness wash over me. 

"I will." The lift slowly comes to a stop and I stand up straight. "Thank you for the lift this morning, Carter. I really appreciated it." 

The doors slid open and I step out into the chilly office. This was weird. I look at the receptionist who sat at her desk with her coat buttoned right up, woolly hat and gloves on. 

"Rachel, what the hell?" I ask, the lift doors closing and leaving me to get on with my day. She turns and look over at me. 

"Heating's went bust. No hot water or anything," she shivers. "Something about a pipe freezing up during the night and exploding this morning." 

"How long have you been in for?" I ask, faintly seeing my breath as I spoke. 

"Got called in at half seven this morning. Everyone's been told not to come in and I've been calling them to confirm it." 

I nod and start walking towards my office. "Is Zoe in?" 

"Try her office. If not, she'll be in with Mr. Hayes." 

I walk along the empty floor space and look at the deserted desks. Everything was so different at this time in the morning. Normally, the empty chairs would be filled with people talking or typing but they weren't. It felt strange. 

I bypass my office and go into Zoe's, seeing her stand with her back to me as she talked on the phone to someone. I stand by the slightly opened office door and listen to her conversation.