Just Maybe...

CHAPTER 26 - IVANA WILSON: "The Invitation"

The dread is finally over! Preparing for it on such short notice made me nervous, but now that it's over, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off. I gave the presentation, and it went surprisingly well, but of course, my boss wouldn't say a word about it. It's always so hard to read his expressions. All he does is throw instructions and wait for his subordinates to execute them.

I was sitting in my office, swirling in my chair, deciding what task to do next. There was a pile of files sitting on my table. I turned on my laptop to check my emails when I received a message.

I almost squealed in happiness when I saw it was a text from my dad. Some positivity, I hope.

I opened the text but was greeted with nothing but disappointment.

"Hi, sweetie. I have planned this Thanksgiving with Jannice. I know we celebrate this together, but I'll be back home the next day. Maybe then we can celebrate. Hope you don't mind!"

Of course, I was happy for them but couldn't get over that tanginess of not having my family around during festivities.

Right then, I received another text from Shawn. Well, let's see what my brother has in store for me.

"I will be out for work this Thanksgiving. Besides, I'll try to be back soon. Sorry :p"

Well, great!

Thanksgiving has always been special to me, and the joy of having your loved ones around is unparalleled. When mom passed away, dad made extra efforts to make me and my brother feel loved. We cooked together, ate together and filled our walls with laughter. I guess we have moved on.

I hopped on to work to avoid this feeling of loneliness. It's moments like these when your brain starts spiralling, and you hate everything around you; a boss who's rude and disgruntled; a family who's drifting away; a best friend with who I haven't properly had a conversation within weeks. It felt like these gloomy grey walls would cripple right now and absorb me in them. I looked up at the ceiling and felt my eyes getting heavy.

I was occupied in my thoughts when my phone rang.

"Hello, my opalescent sunshine!"

"Hi, Ash."

"Well, someone's a killjoy. Something happened?"

"Not much, just my boss, your dear brother being a pain in the ass."

I heard a female voice in the background, I couldn't figure out the words, but it sounded cheerful, like rain on a summer evening-

"Helllooo Ivie, you there?"

"Uh yeah, sorry I zoned out."

"My mom wants to talk to you and it cannot wait."

I could feel his eyes rolling back, it almost curled my lips.

"But we are not done yet. We have to talk, but as of now, she's all your mom."

I know he wasn't letting it go.

"Hello, darling! How are you?"

"Hello, Thea. I'm doing great. How about you?"

"Fantastic! So, I wanted to ask you something. I know I'm being selfish, but I hope you don't have any plans for Thanksgiving?"

"Um yeah, I'm absolutely free."

"Oh! That's great. You are coming to ours then. No excuses."

"I would love that, thank you."

"Pleasure's all mine sweetie. See you on Thanksgiving then."

"Sure thing. Thanks for the invitation, Thea."

Thea has always been like a mom to me; sweet, caring, pleasant, she's everything I needed right now.

With a somewhat change in mood, I got back to work. I checked my iPad as there were some new emails from Darren notifying some client details. I also noticed that he has a meeting scheduled for Thanksgiving. Is this man truly equipped with an AI brain devoid of emotions?

It was almost 7 when I finally completed my last task for the day. I shut down my laptop and grabbed my bag to leave. I stopped by Darren's office just to make sure he had nothing left for me to do. But as I reached his cabin, I saw it was empty and the lights were out. I asked the lady at the reception and she told me he had to leave early. So, I guess that's my cue.

After having a long day, I just laid down on the couch when I reached home. I was famished, but I was too tired to cook. I just grabbed a frozen pizza from the refrigerator and popped it in the oven. I despise frozen pizzas, but it was too much work to cook something else. They are my emergency supplies.

I almost dozed off after eating the pizza but, I was jolted awake by the ringing of my phone. It was Ash. Not a good time. I am exhausted but knowing Ash, he isn't going to let it go. I just wanted to sleep. I picked up the call, and before I could say anything, I heard a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"How could you not tell me that your pain in the ass boss was Darren?"

"I was going to -"

"Seriously, Ivie? I thought we share everything with each other."

"I know. I'm sorry. I was about to, but you were so excited about your surprise for Ana, and I didn't wanna... You know."

"Come on, Ivie. That's no excuse. I am quite upset. No matter what, you're my best friend. I want to be there for you. Now that I'm with Ana doesn't mean things have to change between us. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I promise not to do that again."

"Good girl. You're an idiot to think that I'll leave you alone so easily."

"I bet. Hey, Ash."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for always being there."

"Aww. Someone is being emotional. Now, go take some rest. I'll call you later. Bye, Good night."

"Bye, Ash."

Maybe that's what you want at the end of the day. Someone who cares for you.

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