Un-Tying the Knot {h.s.}

Chapter 48

"I need you to take these to Harry. Immediately," Eleanor says, reaching for her dainty cup of espresso as Calley gathers rolls of fabric, stacking plates and silverware between them in perfect place settings.

"Oh..." I mumble, face falling slightly, stomach tying in a knot instantly. "Um...isn't he home now?" I glance at my watch in what I hope is a casual way. "It's almost 7:30."

"He's still at the office," Calley mentions, stepping wide over the fabric that's spilling onto the floor. "I just called."

Of course you did. Tramp.

Wait? Am I the tramp here? But...fuck.

I can't help but think about my own judgemental hypocrisy as I smile tensely, letting Calley shift the stack of plates into my hands. I can hear the delicate china jingling, and it instantly makes me nervous, not wanting to drop it.

While standing so close to Calley, I can't help but appraise the woman in front of me, taking in her soft doe brown eyes that are large, slightly almond shaped. They're accentuated by the smokey black of her eye shadow, popping against the fullness of her lips that are pulled tight over her teeth in a tight smile. Even through my own condescension, I can't help but appreciate her beauty. It figures that Harry would want someone like her, someone exotic and sexy. The anti-Eleanor.

Somehow, I just can't stop my bitter thoughts today.

"Calley stacked them in order. Lay each one out for him, and make sure he takes his time looking at them," Eleanor instructs before sighing in exhaustion, wrinkling her nose at the mess around her. I shift my feet nervously.

"If he's at the office this late, isn't he busy? I mean, I can have Isabelle take them first thing to--"

"Now, Olivia!" Eleanor says, her voice rising while her beautiful face pulls into a look of deep annoyance. "What part of immediately do you not understand? Honestly..."

"She's going," Calley says, nodding her head soothingly before giving me a nudge towards the door. The move enrages me, but somehow, I manage to swallow it, biting hard on my tongue until I taste a slight prick of blood.

I step out of the office quickly, hearing Calley ensure Eleanor that Harry will love them, along with Eleanor's self-assured "I know" that follows. I awkwardly shift the plates in my arms, trying to juggle them so I can grab my peacout, but the sound of silver sliding against china screeches in the near silence of the empty room.

"Olivia, is there a problem in there?" Eleanor asks, annoyance lacing her voice. I tense, shaking my head as if she could see me.

"No, everything's fine. Just getting the door," I reply, reaching for the handle and leaving my coat behind. I hope the Uber is on time.

"You wanna hit Dan Tana's for dinner?" I hear Calley ask as I struggle to reach for the handle to close the door behind me.

"No...I have a business dinner," Eleanor replies quickly, and I stop in my struggle, looking up at Eleanor's door perplexed.

Nothing was on her schedule about a business dinner. But then I snap back to my senses, brushing it off quickly. Eleanor probably just didn't want to be seen out with Calley.

Butterflies the size of pterodactyls beat around in my stomach as I take the Uber up the street to Harry's office. I watch the city street pass me by, pedestrians walking here and there, natives weaving around tourists who stop to gape at the lights or the city. Every cell in my body is pulling myself back, wishing with all of my might that I wasn't doing this right now.

I don't want to face him. I don't want to deal with the pain and humiliation when he greets me, doing his best to act as if nothing has changed between them. Maybe nothing has for him, but I can never go back. I've tried my damndest to avoid this, all this time trying to distance myself from him, but I've gone and fallen for him anyway.

The innocent crush that crushed me.

The elevator ride up to his office is too quick, the small lift hurdling me faster and faster toward the inevitable, and as I walk down the hallway towards the door of his office, I force my head high and pull my shoulders back. I won't give him the luxury of seeing me so bent out of shape about him. He probably got off on it anyway, having women fall for him left and right. There has to be a reason he was labeled as a womanizer early on in his career, right?

I realize, as I near his door, that my thoughts are teetering on bitter and hollow. And as much as I'd like to believe such things about Harry and his past, I know that they aren't true. Deep down, I know that he's not like that. He's not even really like how he's behaving at the moment -- but perhaps my vision is blinded by love.

But I can't have made up in my mind the entire foundation of who I've found him to be as a person, can I? Was it really all a lie? Has he always been a womanizing, cheating asshole? Or is he just not dealing with this well?

I brace myself, taking a deep breath as I struggle to open the door to his office.

Come on, Olivia.

I can't help but scold myself when I'm nervous. But seriously -- I need to get it together. If I'm going to spend a week in New York City with this man and keep working for his fiance, soon-to-be-wife, I'm going to have to find a way to be in the same room as him after we've slept together. Twice.

You can do this, Olivia.

I can do this, right?

--
A/N

Hi guys!

So...just a quick comment because a LOT of you really hated the last chapter. I got a lot of hate messages and a handful of snarky comments -- which honestly, is the biggest compliment in the world for me, because if I were capable of making you feel anger towards Harry or upset about a scenario, then I feel I've touched you. And that, to me, is the heart of good writing -- to push your boundaries and make you think about life, experiences, thoughts, etc. in ways you might not have before through the eyes of a character.

That said -- I would like to remind you that this is a story. It's meant to be entertaining. I like writing complex stories with complex characters that deal with complex human emotion. I write from my experience because I've dealt with a lot. That means that this story is not going to always be a happy, romantic, everything is grand type of story. Sometimes, you might not like Harry, or Olivia, or things they do. It's all a part of the story mechanics that give you something to still read about. If they get together with their white picket fence in Chapter 10, there's nothing more for you to read.

Please know that I -- and every other author out there that pours hours into writing things like this for free because we have to for our souls -- usually writes things for a reason and with a purpose. I promise that there will be resolution, but there will still be moments you may not like on the way to that resolution.

And if you don't want to stick on this journey, I respect your desire to stop reading. All I ask is that you channel your inner Harry and treat people with kindness so we can set a good example of how to be nice people for those that genuinely need an example. We don't need more Eleanor's in the world, eh?

Love you all.

Thanks for the support -- especially the love and comments that help me grow as a writer and gleefully inform me how you guys are feeling about something I'm so passionate about. It genuinely brightens my day.

xo,
NB