The Closer (18+) ✓

| 10.3 | post-magnificent-sex

❝And maybe I'm not up for being a victim of love
When all my resistance will never be distance enough.❞

Chapter Ten:
Post-Magnificent-Sex
(cont'd)

"Tris?"

A tap on my glass door alerted me that I had a visitor. I looked up in relief to see that it was just Jaden, my posture visibly relaxing. I nodded to let him know that he could enter and he did so, a little hesitantly. It wasn't the first time for Jaden to enter my office but with the thick cloud of misery lingering above my head, I could see why he was being cautious.

It had been a week since my little discovery in Hans' bedroom, a week of putting up with his relentless calls and texts, emails and not to mention the dozens of flower bouquets he had sent to my place with apology notes attached. I ignored him, and returned each and every gift he sent my way. I wasn't just pissed. I was furious. There's nothing in this world that can't be fixed. But some things once broken, stay broken forever. That included trust.

Although I hadn't said a word of the truth to anyone else apart from Helena, it was tearing me apart inside every time I was put on the receiving ends of a questioning look from the others at the office. It wasn't long before everyone else had figured things out themselves; that the powerful Hans-Tris duo had broken up due to a major scuffle. I wish I could say it had done some good and gotten Tim to start acknowledging me again but he only continued to avoid me like I was empty air. I don't know what was worse - having my trust crushed again by a man I had started to love, or seeing that my very actions of doing so had sabotaged a great friendship with another.

Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I shut the open file in front of me and rested my elbows on the table, leaning forward with a small smile on my face.

"Anything I can help you with Jaden?"

He walked over, slow in his steps, and plopped down on the vacant chair in front of my desk. I could see that he looked a little more jittery around me than usual as he started to speak, the tentativeness in his voice evident.

"Everyone's going out for drinks later tonight and, well...Frannie sent me over to check if you're in better spirits and would be willing to join us?" he ended his words on a slightly-high pitched note, puppy eyes imploring me into saying a yes. It was admirable, really, that the others were concerned about me and were sending the office baby as a way to get me back on my feet.

"I would love to, Jaden, but I'm honestly not feeling up to it yet."

He winced at my rejection but nodded understandingly. "Okay." I shot him a smile that didn't reach my eyes, and turned back to the work at hand. Even after a couple minutes passed, Jaden hadn't left the seat and simply had his eyes trained on me. Under normal circumstances, I would have made a joke and told him off for crushing on me so obviously with his undying attention but that wasn't the case now. He cleared his throat and I was brought to look back up into his swirling pools of coffee-brown eyes, a question raised in my own.

"He came by three times today, you know?"

The very mention of Hans had me stiffening in my chair. Jaden gave me a panicked smile and added, "Not that I'm trying to upset you or anything. It's just that..." he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, eyebrows crunching together, "A guy like Mr. Castellan wouldn't be so hellbent on seeing someone like that unless they mattered a lot."

"Jaden-"

"I know it's not my place to say any of this," Jaden cut in. He leaned forward on the desk, propping his hands on the glass. "I mean, I turned him away each time and told him you didn't want to see him. And when I couldn't convince him, Tim got him to leave."