Close As Strangers

02. Professional

"Ryan?"

I looked up from the file and my eyes met those stunning green ones. "Xavier."

I was speechless as I stared into the eyes of the man I had once loved. His once loving green eyes were now foreign to me. As I stared into his eyes, I felt my chest tighten. We used to be in love, but now we were as close as strangers.

"Ryan, what are you doing here?" Xavier asked, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm a, um, journalist at Luna Press," I said, biting my lip. "Let's just get this interview done."

Xavier walked my way and sat down on his desk so he was directly in front of me. Xavier muttered something under his breath as he looked down.

His gaze returned to mine. "Why?" Xavier asked, there was anger in his voice and it showed in his eyes. "Why did you leave without a proper goodbye?"

"Xavier, please," I said, playing with my nails. "Let's just keep this professional."

Xavier gripped the desk, looking down.

I nervously turned on the tape recorder and set it down. I grabbed the file and opened it up again, ready to ask him the questions.

"Mr. Hale," I softly said, looking at Xavier. He scoffed, shaking his head. "Recently you were given a large donation for further research-"

"Ryan, I need an answer," Xavier cut me off, looking me in the eyes. "I need to know why you left. I deserve an explanation."

I grabbed the tape recorder and quickly turned it off. I shoved it in my bag.

"I-I can't do this," I said, standing up. "I have to go."

I started walking away, but was stopped by a soft grip on my wrist. I let out a small breath and turned to look at Xavier. He slowly let go of my wrist as my eyes met his.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking down. "Goodbye, Xavier."

I grabbed my purse and walked out the office, feeling like someone just ripped my heart out of my chest. I quickly made my way to the elevator and out the building. I managed to get a cab within two minutes.

I gave the cab driver directions to mine and Destiny's shared apartment, well, the apartment building. After a fifteen minute drive, I arrived. I thanked the cab driver and paid him.

I made my way inside and up to the 7th floor rather quickly. I opened the door to our apartment and sighed as I walked in.

Our apartment was pretty big. We had a nice living room decorated incredibly, a decent kitchen, and we both had our own big rooms. Destiny instantly turned around when she heard me close the door.

"Are you okay?" Destiny asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're never home this early and you look like someone just gave you the worst news ever."

"I-I...I saw Xavier," I said, looking at Destiny. "I-I was supposed to interview him."

"Holy shit," Destiny said, turning off the tv. "Get your ass on this couch and start explaining what happened."

I let out a small laugh and sat down next to Destiny. She gestured for me to start explaining.

"He kept trying to ask me why I left," I said, playing with my hands. "He said he wanted an answer and I just left."

"You didn't tell him why?" Destiny asked, cocking her eyebrows. "You do realize that in the four years of you traveling the world and taking online college classes he was beating himself up over it?"