Never trust a spy, trust me

Chapter 19 [with Book Cover 1]

            I sat down pondering. Lately, I had become sluggish. With no exercise what so ever, my body was becoming unfit. I needed to retrain myself. This meant more interaction with with my boss. I had to confront him in order to report what happened. Writing things down on paper was too risky. It was a Saturday and he would probably be working out in his own gym.

            I listened outside his doorway. There were two ways to test if someone was mad: if there was blasting music or a tense silence. I expected the latter as I tapped the door. He had a towel around his neck but the rest of his chest was uncovered. I wrinkled my nose in disgust; I didn’t want to be around a sweaty guy. If this was Blake, you wouldn’t mind at all. My face beamed at that thought.

            I didn’t notice I was ushered in until the door closed. Mr. Rehum began to lift weights and my mind went blank. Why did I think of Blake and suddenly everything else was empty in my mind? Love was beginning to compete with my job. I sighed. Riley rested his weights down and asked in an infuriated tone, “Did you come here to zone out?”

“No,” I replied pointedly. “Did you know that the subject’s mother is dead?”

“You were supposed to find out something new,” he commented snidely.

“Well maybe next time, tell me everything you know!” I said defensively. I was tempted to strangle him with the towel.

“I think you need some time off from this job.”

“WHAT? No….” This assignment was personal, I needed to do it.

“You need to sort out your priorities in life.”

            I got irritated. He kept using “you need to” and although he was my boss, he did not rule my life. I saw his point of view though. Whenever I came to the office, I was miserable. I would only be checking my cell for any texts every minute when none usually came. Blake wasn’t a very good person to communicate with when he was not physically there. He didn’t text or call much. It just happened to be one of his faults.

I took my boss’ last line of advice as an initiative. “I will improve.”

He relented. “One week.”

Despite my dejected face, I knew I had no choice but to accept. Due to the etiquette of politeness, I added, “Thank you, Sir.”

            Exercise was supposed to be a stress-reliever. Think again. Just by doing warm-up stretches, my muscles ached. From punching bags to dodging tennis balls, I slept heavily over the next couple of days. Blake also did his workout routine, ever since I knew him he was always one to continuously exercise. In school, it was because he had football practice and now, I guessed it was just to keep fit.

            We had started to greet each other with hugs and kisses more often. It was so carefree; neither of us was concerned with any sightseers in the house or neighbourhood. In contrast, everyone had become more vigilant since the incident and once I went with Callista to visit her mother’s grave. I bought yellow flowers and laid them there. I had never witnessed something so personal from anyone.

            It touched my heart, the fact that I knew someone whose parents were both dead. Another week flew by with its usual speed. It was a Friday evening and I knew something had slipped my mind but I couldn’t think of what. Callista had stayed back in school for some activity with Blake and James’s supervision. With my free time, I felt compelled to do something at his house. I found the perfect, simple meal online. I was just about to go into the kitchen when my phone rang. I didn’t realize how much time had passed; apparently looking up a good meal took me an hour and more.