Promises (18+) ✔️

Twenty Eight

She was the last person to get in and a few people snickered and made rude comments when she apologized for her tardiness. She kept her head low as she made her way to the only other empty seat; it was between Jake and James. She sat down, setting her laptop and notepad on the table as the noise continued. Jake squeezed her hands underneath the table and she smiled at him sadly.

"Miss Sanders if you don't have anything to contribute to this meeting, I'd suggest leaving. We're all adults and this is just distasteful behavior," Parker growled at a woman seated at his end of the table and the room immediately quieted.

She glanced over at him where he was at the head of the rectangular table but his head was already bent towards her screen. He looked immaculate as ever in his black dresshirt and pants; he'd probably left the jacket and his tie at his office. His blue tinted reading glasses looked darker from where she sat, his dark hair looked longer than before and a few strands fell foward into his eyes. She wished she could help him push it away. As if reading her thoughts, he swept the hair away from his face and looked up.

His gaze held hers for a few seconds before he blinked and cleared his throat. Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she wondered if she was having the same effect on him. He bit his upper lip before rearranging the papers in front of him.

Stephanie stood up and went to pour him coffee from the carafe that was on the snack bar. He thanked her before gesturing to the man beside him. The man stood up and began briefing the small crowd.

Ellie zoned out for most of the meeting and only came to when James tapped her shoulder. She looked up to see all eyes on her, all excluding Parker who was saying something to Stephanie.

She cleared her throat and began giving them a run down of her case. Parker nodded a few times, reading from the photocopies James must have passed around. He didn't look up once, not even when she was done. She took her seat and waited.

"So the trial should go smoothly right?" He asked still not looking up.

"Yes. He'll most likely be found not guilty."

"Okay that's good."

The meeting continued and she didn't remove her gaze from Parker's face, willing him to look at her. She wanted to talk to him and apologise. She wanted him to give her a smile or even say her name. She missed him terribly and had stopped being angry at him a while ago. She had also stopped texting after the first week and was crushed at every notification that came in on her phone that wasn't from him.

She didn't know when the meeting ended exactly, but when Jake shook her shoulder, she turned to see the room emptying out. Parker and Stephanie were still seated. James had taken her things and was already moving out the door.

Jake handed her a tissue and she frowned at it.

"Your cheeks are wet. I'm not sure he can see it, but you should probably wipe it off," he whispered.

"Thank you," she laughed quietly as she dabbed at her cheeks.

Jake took the tissue from her, "you'll ruin your make up, let me help."

He gently wiped her cheeks with the tissue, offering her a small smile. There was the sound of throat clearing before she heard his voice.

"Steph please go through the documents with Jake. Miss Parks, can I have a word with you in my office?"

She nodded and watched as he walked out of the room. Jake pulled her up and pushed her gently towards the door. Stephanie even gave her a tiny smile as she walked past her to go sit with Jake.