Chapter 25
The next day, I was swamped with work. All thanks to Axel who basically had me kidnapped for a date on a Monday. But in all honesty, the date went surprisingly well. Not that I haven't enjoyed our first one. Yesterday was different, but kind of the same? I don't really know how to describe it.
"You know you don't have to finish it all today, right?" Harper caught me off-guard from my train of thought.
"Yeah, but I want to. I have to learn enough just in time for the Sydney audit." I rubbed the nape of my neck to somehow soothe the pain.
"Alright, you do you. I'll take my leave now." She lifted her wrist to look at her watch. "You have 2 more hours if you want." She slapped the divider, "Don't stay past 9:00, Lauren, okay?"
"Yup."
"They will lock up our floor."
"Okay. Thanks, Harper. Take care."
"You too." She waved bye and after a few seconds, I was all alone in the office.
Right. Back to work.
I tried to focus on the Account analysis to reconcile my aging of receivables when my phone rang bloody murder.
Oh, God, I must've taken too much caffeine. My nerves are a giant wreck.
I took a peek at my phone and saw an unknown number flashing. I picked it up, "Hello?"
"Lauren! Hey."
"Um, May I know who this is?"
"C'mon, really? It's not like we haven't been together."
"I'm sorry, can you just say who you are?"
"Aw! That hurts. But that really must mean you have completely moved on then."
I stayed silent. Though I have an inkling who this unknown caller could be, I couldn't bring myself to say it or even believe it.
"It's Clark! From College? Your ex-boyfriend?"
And that confirms it.
I scratched my brow in disappointment, "Why are you calling? I'm at work."
He chuckled through the booming sounds in the background, "Ooh, icy. And at work at 7 PM... Classic. Now I know I haven't called the wrong number."
My brows knit together, "Why are you calling, Clark?" I retorted. "To shame me? Piss me off?"
"I'm in New York. I just thought maybe you'd like to catch up, get some drinks?"
"Unbe-fucking-lievable. Don't call me again. Goodbye, Clark." I dropped the call and try to even my breathing.
Something about Clark just makes me tick. Whenever I hear his name, his voice, his laugh, it always brings me back to the dorm room, with him naked and sweaty with my roommate. Good thing that was the last day of College. I slept at Hailey's and packed-up the next day. Never spoke to him again until now.
I tried to focus back on the work at hand but I can't seem to shake it off my head.
I give up. I'm gonna call Hailey.
She picked up after 3 rings, "Wassup, girl?"
"Clark called me."
"What?" her tone changed.
"Yeah. It was... horrible." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It brought me back."
"Oh, honey." Her voice was empathetic. "What did he say? What did he want?"
I cleared my throat, "He said he was in the city, and if I want to hang out, basically."
"Oh, fuck in a stick."
"What?"
"He really had the nerve to call you up? Son of a bitch."
"Hailey..."
"No. I'd punch him square in the face."
I smiled at the thought of fueling mad Hailey. Such a protective Mama Bear.
"You went easy on him. If I were you, I'd pull a Carrie Underwood."
"Jesus, Take the Wheel?"
She scoffed, "Before He Cheats!"
"Oh."
"Yeah. Well, so, how are you? I mean, of course, you're not fine, you just called me."
"Yeah, no. Um, I was shaken a bit but, I'm good now? I felt like I had to just let it out and listen to my own voice to realize how stupid it was. I'm alone at the office so I can't talk about it to anyone here. And besides, I don't want to give out history to strangers."
"I totally get it." She exhaled loudly, out of words. "I don't know what to say anymore. Clark was just such a jerk. Always have. I never understood why you went out with him in the first place."
"Yeah, I know. So dumb."
"Yeah," she chuckled, "I told you so many times to just break up with him."
"And I didn't. Nature took course and well, you know the rest."
She exhaled loudly, "God, forgive me, I'd like to wrap my hands around his throat and just choke him."
I nearly choked.
"Oh, come on, Lauren! Your mind is so polluted. I didn't mean sexually!" she exclaimed.
"No, it's just funny," I chuckled. "You have to admit, it was pretty funny."
She let out a scoffed laugh, "Yeah, it was. Alright, I have to go. Josh is getting mad."
"No, I'm not." He interrupted the call.
"Give it back." I heard Hailey say faintly.
"Okay, go now. Sorry for taking up your time with my issues." I smiled.
"Nah, I'm used to it. You only call me when you have problems." She said jokingly.
"Hey, for the record, I don't. And... you still love me anyway. Okay, bye." I said and dropped the call before she even had the chance to protest.
I took a deep breath to clear my mind. I have to focus up so my overtime would not go to waste. I've put my phone into airplane mode so there would be no more interruptions and faced the Account analysis.
"Ms.?" I turned my head in the direction of the department entrance.
"Yes?"
"It's 9 o'clock. We have to lock up the floor." The guard said.
I looked at the time on my computer, "Oh, right. I didn't notice the time, I'm so sorry. Please give me 5 minutes to save these and turn off the computer."
"Alright, I'll be right here." He replied.
I then went on saving my files, shutting the computer down, and tidying up my space while waiting for the computer to shut down completely. I smiled at the guard when I reached the office door. "Am I really the only one left here?"
"I'm afraid so, Miss."
I nodded, "Okay, I'm off. See you tomorrow."
"Oh, you won't, Miss. Unless you plan on staying here till 9 again." He chuckled, "I'm on a graveyard shift for a month; it started last week."
"Oh, that's why I haven't seen you around last week."
"Yeah." He nodded with pursed lips. "Okay, have a safe trip home, Miss."
"You too. Oh, I meant stay safe. I'm sorry, I'm just tired." I laughed. "Okay, Good night." I waved then entered the elevator car.
There was a slight pounding in my head as I walk into the ground floor lobby. Must be from all the work.
"Hey, I've been waiting for you." Someone said from my left.
I was taken aback, "What are you doing here?"
Axel walked towards me, "I was calling you on Instagram. You forgot this in my car last night." He handed me my scarf.
"Oh, right. Thanks," I said putting the scarf inside my bag. "How did you know I was still here?"
"I called Harper," He scratched the back of his head.
"Right," I pursed my lips. I have to know by now that Harper's always giving away my whereabouts to you.
"I'm sorry," He said apologetically. "I just had to give it back to you today because I have a flight to L.A. tomorrow."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Oh, don't look so glum. I know you'll miss me. I'll be back Saturday."
I scoffed, "Arrogant. I'm not even feeding your ego and yet somehow it finds a way to feed."
"What can I say? I'm just like a peacock."
"Oh, you're a peacock without the pea."
His laugh echoed through the lobby, "Good one."
I shook my head with a smile on my face and we began to walk slowly towards the exit doors, "Model stuff?" I inquired.
"Actor stuff." He pursed his lips.
"Can I ask what or are you on an NDA?"
"Nah, we can talk about it. Have you had dinner yet?"
Like clockwork, my stomach made a small growl. Oh God, I hope he didn't hear. "Nope, not yet. You?"
"Nope." He stopped as we reached the door. "What do you say let's grab a bite to eat?"
"Yeah, that'd be cool."
"Oh, before anything." He raised his index finger, "This isn't a date, alright?"
My stomach growled louder and I coughed loudly trying to mask it, "Yeah, of course." I said faux-dismissively and brisk-walked out the main door.
* * *
We sat at the table next to the window waiting for our orders.
"Aren't you afraid someone might recognize you? And next to the window, no less?"
"My sister owns this diner."
"Oh." I looked around the place, seeing it now in a new light and noting how the place looks well-maintained but the booths and tiling have seen better days.
Axel drummed his fingers on the table, "It's old."
I smiled, "Is it from an estate? Great-grandparents?"
His nose scrunched from a smile, "No. She bought it because they were about to close it down; the owner can no longer keep up with the operations."
I nodded, "They're no longer liquid, affecting their going-concern." I said mostly to myself.
"Yeah," he said, leaning back on his seat, impressed and amused at the same time. "You know, sometimes I forget you know about these kinds of stuff."
"Yeah. Well, I should. I'm not paying student loans for nothing." I chuckled.
He smiled, facing me.
My chuckled faded into a smile and I let out a small sigh, "So, anyway, why did your sister buy this diner?"
"Our parents met here."
"Oh." My back straightened and I found myself leaning forward, wanting to know more of the story.
"Someone's invested, I see." He straightened from his slump.
"I like stories. Spill."
"Alright," he smiled. "Although, this is actually public knowledge. But since you wouldn't look me up, I'll tell you."
I nodded, urging him to go on.
"It was 1985. My Dad just closed a deal. He's a broker on Wall Street. Usually, when you swiped a big account, you go out to a bar and celebrate with friends but Dad's pretty peculiar," he smiled. "He likes to drink but he loves pancakes and milkshakes," he let out a hearty chuckle. "That's his celebratory food. He would sneak out of his way and hide from his co-workers just to get a pancake."
I smiled, imagining a man in a suit, looking left and right before going inside a diner to order pancakes.
"My Mom was a waitress here."
"Oh!"
"Yeah."
"So that's how they met?"
"Sort of. My Mom was waiting on a table with a group of boys and they were disrespecting her. You know, catcalling." He shook his head, teeth unconsciously gritting. "Dad just observed at first, sitting by that very bar." He pointed towards the bar. "But when the customers started grabbing her, Dad just ticked."
My mouth parted in anticipation.
"He went over and politely asked them to behave like men. This is sort of anticlimactic since they didn't ask for a fight, they just let my Mom be." I chuckled at his remark. "Maybe it was because my Dad was in his big boy suit and thought he was the boss or something, considering that this diner doesn't ask for formal wear." He smiled, picking on his nails.
"What the public doesn't know was after all that, Dad asked Mom why she was letting them do that to her." He looked down. "Dad always breaks a little when he tells this story to us. He said that he will never forget the heartbreak he saw in Mom's eyes as she said that she doesn't have a choice, that it was just a job hazard she'd have to endure if she wants to live," He raised his head and faced me. "Mom lived on her own. Her parents disowned her when she got pregnant in her senior year. Her boyfriend didn't want to have anything to do with the baby and life thrashed a 17-year-old girl so hard she had to give up her child for adoption."
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Did you ever find him? Or her?"
He shook his head with a sad smile, "Her. And no, there were no records that my Mom was the mother in the adoption. She thought she'd be so low her whole life that she didn't want my sister to ever find her. She thought she'd be bad news and she just wants her daughter to live a happy life without her messing the picture."
"Oh my God," I slumped in my seat. "You have an older sister..." my words trail off.
"Yeah."
I shook my head, "How old would she be right now?"
"I don't know. 34, I think."
The waiter went over to our table and laid our orders down.
"Thank you," I said dismissively.
I don't know how to react. Suddenly, I don't feel very hungry anymore. I looked at Axel and found myself trying so hard not to slack-jaw.
"Hey, it's alright," he smiled. "The food's waiting."
I swallowed in trying to keep my jaw in place, "I'm tired of fighting."
"What?"
"Can we just be friends? I mean you can be such a jerk but you can also be really nice, you know?"
His brows furrowed, "Are you just saying that because of the story? I don't need your pity, you know."
"No! It's not that," I said immediately. "I meant it. It's sick that we're acting like toddlers in front of each other."
He snorted, "Toddlers don't kiss with their mouths open."
"Don't they?"
He blinked with a sudden realization, "Oh my God, they do."
"So, what do you say? A platonic relationship doesn't sound bad."
"Hey, as long as it's still a relationship," he countered with his ever-knowing smirk.
"Ass." I laughed. "So?"
"Hm," he leaned his head with his index and middle finger supporting him by his temple. "Friends don't block friends."
"Oh, come on, that's a pretty big ask."
His eyes widened in disbelief, "Not as big as your platonic request. C'mon, I wouldn't pester you with texts."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah! You were the one who offered friendship."
I sighed defeatedly, "Okay. I'll unblock you." I picked up the fork to start eating when I felt his eyes were still on me. "What?"
"Do it now."
"For real?"
He nodded daringly.
I groaned, "Fine."
He chuckled heartily.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I looked up at him, phone in hand.
"Hey, what are friends for?"
"Jesus Christ." I clicked on unblock, "There. Don't make me regret unblocking you." I said then my phone rang.
"That's me."
I glared at him.
"What?" he said, acting all defensive. "I have to make sure you really unblocked me."
I cocked my head.
"Really! I swear, I wouldn't call or text you if it wasn't necessary."
I exhaled a breath, "Alright, if you say so."
He let out a few laughs at me and we started eating.