It was Monday. I was back at work. I was determined to avoid Noah. It was physically and mentally draining. Anytime Mr Stinson needed something sent out, I jumped at the opportunity dreading hanging around at my desk just waiting for the time when Noah would eventually wander in. Elena gave me curious looks, probably wondering what the reason was for my weirdness but not actually saying anything because she was glad not to be walking around doing errands. I had been to quite a number of the floors today (excluding Noah's) and right now, I was on the ground floor catching up with Rosie at her receptionist's desk.
I had asked her how her weekend was, and in reply she flashed me the diamond engagement ring on her left hand with a barely contained squeal. Her boyfriend of about a year had popped the question on Saturday when they were having dinner. She was the definition of happiness and radiance, and while we discussed wedding destinations and colour palettes, I couldn't help but long for that kind of radiance she got from being in love even though I was so happy for her.
"So we haven't picked a date yet but I'm thinking December, we'd both be less busy then and we could also have this gorgeous winter wedding"
"A winter wedding? That sounds... cold"
Rosie laughed. "Yeah, my mom thinks I'm crazy but I have a vision. Mostly everything will be indoors and then photos can be taken with a gorgeous backdrop of snow. I would have shown you the pictures but I mailed the wedding catalogues to my mom"
"That's okay. I'm sure it will be stunning", I assured her with a smile
"Well, enough about me. What about you? How did your weekend go?" Rosie asked me
"Uhh", I shrugged, thinking back on my eventful weekend "It was fine, I guess"
"I heard you were down with a stomach bug or something, hope you're feeling better now"
Oh that. Yeah, that was my excuse when I had called in sick on Friday.
"Yeah, much better. It's like it never even happened"
"Oh, good", Rosie looked pleased at that "Noah was looking around for you. I think he wanted to check up on you"
At the sound of Noah's name, the butterflies in my stomach leapt to life. I leaned forward on her desk.
"Really? What did he say?"
"Uh... he just asked if I had seen you come in"
"What did you tell him? Do you know where he is now?" I hoped Rosie wouldn't detect the edge my voice had taken but she did, narrowing her eyes at me curiously.
"Wait a second, is there something I'm missing here?"
When I gave her a puzzled look, she added, "Between you and Noah?"
"Oh no", I gave an airy laugh "We're just friends"
"Good. 'Cause he has a girlfriend you know"
Oh, Rosie. If I had just spoken to her about my feelings for Noah before, maybe I could have avoided this entire heart ache. Wait, if Rosie knew that meant Elena had probably known too. And she had egged me on and made me think he wanted me. Ughh.
My phone rang just then interrupting my train on thoughts. I pulled it out and saw it was Mr Stinson calling and I immediately began feeling guilty and unprofessional, I had been hanging with Rosie for too long.
"Hello, Mr Stinson", I answered the call
"Ellie, I've been trying to reach your desk phone but you're not at your desk"
"Yes I'm sorry, I went to the ground floor to pick up your delivery at reception and I got a little sidetracked"
"That's fine", he said absent mindedly, I could imagine him now pacing the length of his office while talking to me on speaker phone "The maintenance guys are still working on the copier in my office and I need copies of the proposal documents for my next meeting in about ten minutes"
"Okay sir"
"Well come and get them, you can make copies in Accounting. And bring up my delivery of course"
With that, he ended the call.
I turned to Rosie. "Duty calls. I have to go make some copies for Mr Stinson in Accounting"
"Okay. Well I have a few copies to make too, let's meet there?"
"Sure", I smiled at her, knowing she was still eager to talk about her engagement. I left her just as she was gathering up some papers and made my way to the elevators with Mr Stinson's delivery in my hands.
I got to the top floor and went into Mr Stinson's office, Elena wasn't at her desk which meant she had eventually had to get up and go do something (haha).
Mr Stinson was on a video conference call with some investors from London. I stepped in and all eyes fell on me through the screen on the far end of the wall.
Wow, uncomfortable much.
"Yes Ellie. Please come and take this", Mr Stinson swivelled in his chair to hand me the folder.
I walked up and set his parcel on his desk, taking the folder he was holding out to me.
"Oh, before I forget, I'll need you to book a flight with American airlines for my business trip to Tokyo once you're done"
"Yes, will do", I said to him and he nodded me off dismissively. I left his office just as they resumed their discussion.
The elevator ride to Accounting was just a couple of seconds, I made my way to the copy room, walking past the offices and saying hi to a couple of familiar faces.
As I turned a corner I saw Rosie talking to Boz, one of the nice guys in accounting department just in front of his office. He sometimes had lunch with us joking that he liked hanging out with us 'white girls' because he couldn't while growing up in the hood. She was flashing her sparkler and grinning hugely, so I could guess what they were talking about.
I walked up to them. "Hey Boz"
"Yo Ellie. Rosie here has broken my poor old heart. Why didn't you tell her to wait for me?"
Rosie giggled and I smirked at him. "Wait for you to settle down? I don't think Rosie doesn't want to be an eternal spinster"
Boz clutched his heart. "That hurts, Ells. Deep"
I laughed and then I heard a voice come from inside Boz's office that made the laughter die quickly in my throat.
"Boz, I'm done fixing up your computer man, that will be ten thousand dollars"
Boz and Noah were friends too, of course.
"You rip off! You're already rich, you sure as hell don't need ten thousand dollars" Boz called back into his office
"Hey, my services don't come cheap", Noah walked out of Boz's office smiling and as soon as he saw me, the smile froze on his face.
"Ellie..." he trailed off like he was at a loss for words
"Noah", I gave him a curt nod, trying to ignore how my heart rate had accelerated and then grabbed Rosie's hand "Come on, Rosie. I have to get these back to Mr Stinson asap"
Boz and Rosie looked confused at my abrupt tone but Rosie just nodded and followed. I got to the copy room before Rosie and took a few seconds to breathe long and deep, and clear my head.
Noah and I worked in the same company for crying out loud. I couldn't avoid him forever, and to prevent terribly awkward moments like the one that just passed, I couldn't hate him forever. I needed this internship to be perfect and for that to happen, I would just have to pretend like this whole thing with Noah had never occurred.
There, done. It was all in the past, it had to be.
Rosie came in just a few seconds behind me, still beaming as she set down the memos she wanted to make copies of.
"Can you believe Boz? He's such a perennial flirt", Rosie laughed, watching me as I started the photocopying process
"Yeah", I smiled "But he's a nice guy though"
"He is. Someday he'll fall for someone so hard, he won't even know what hit him"
The way I fell for Noah, I thought sadly, slipping the next sheet into the dual scan document feeder.
"Noah seemed a bit weird, didn't he?"
Her question caught me a bit off guard but I shrugged it off. "Oh really? I didn't notice"
"Yeah he's usually such a smart mouth, but he saw us and froze up. I don't know", her phone started beeping "Excuse me, I have to take this"
She picked up and had a short exchange I couldn't decipher.
"Ellie, I have to go back to reception. I asked Naomi to cover for me and she just called saying she really needs to pee", she rolled her eyes "Never trust a pregnant lady"
No, I didn't want her to go. I didn't want to be alone here with Noah just a few steps away.
"Do you really have to go? I mean this shouldn't take too long", I all but pleaded
"Sorry, Ells. I can't ever leave the reception unattended, rules are rules", she explained
"Well, okay" I tried not to sound too disappointed "I'll make your copies for you and get them to you then. How many do you need?"
"Oh, thanks Ellie that'd be great. Fifteen is okay", she said hurriedly "See you". With that, she hurried out of the room.
I took a deep breath. Okay, just because she was gone didn't mean I would have to face Noah today... I hadn't completed my thought when the door knob turned and Noah stepped in.
Shit.
I hadn't even looked at him but his presence, his scent behind me was so intoxicating. I gulped in a lungful of air.
"Ellenore"
"Hi Noah", I said shakily, pretending to be very busy with the copier
"Can you look at me?"
The demanding tone of his voice made goose bumps prickle all over my skin.
"I'm kind of busy here", I said to him. Before I knew it, he was right by my side, hands stopping mine from reaching for the next couple of papers.
"We need to talk" he said, hazel eyes scorching the side of my face.
I was scared to move, scared to look at him.
"I don't think we need to", I said quietly
He was quiet for a couple of seconds. "What do you mean?"
I found the nerve to look up at him now, and I was taken back by the look in his eyes.
"I mean I crossed the line. I thought... I mean I was curious and I over stepped the boundary. Let's just forget it ever happened"
"Ellenore, I can't forget what happened. I mean some stuff went down that night, heavy stuff and I'm so damn sorry for the situation I put you in"
"Apology accepted. I mean I'm over it really", I shrugged casually
Noah took a step closer, closing up all space between us. "Ellie... I told you I have feelings for you. Are you over that too?"
I could hardly breathe. Damn, why was my heart pounding so fast?
His face was just inches away from mine, his lips just breaths away from mine. I didn't dare tear my gaze from his hazel ones that were now turning stormy, scared that any sudden movement and our lips would meet. Scared that I wanted it to happen. Craved it, even.
I was the one who finally took the much needed step back till I was pressed against the copier.
I took a deep breath. "Noah, all I remember from that night is that you have a girlfriend. It's not that big of a deal, I was wrong and I'll admit to that. Now can we just move on and be friends without all of this awkwardness?"
Noah took a second to take in what I was saying. Finally he nodded and took a step back as well. "Yeah, you're right"
I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe we could get past this. But deep inside, I also felt a pang of disappointment. What did I expect? Him professing his undying love and leaving his long term girlfriend for me? That would be delusional.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Ellie", Noah said earnestly
His words only infuriated me. "Oh please, get over yourself Noah", I scoffed trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice "I was just trying to have a little fun. You're not the only guy in the world you know"
He looked surprised by my harsh tone, maybe even hurt. But I didn't care. My phone rang just then and I pulled it out. Speak of the devil.
"Well what do you know? Here's one right here"
The look on Noah's face tore right into my chest. He backed away from me, his demeanour now cool and distant. "I understand, Ellenore. I'll leave you to your call".
With that, he left the room and I leaned back heavily on the copy machine. Noah was really doing damage to my blood pressure. I took a deep breath and then picked up the call before it rang out.
"Hey Rob"
A/N: Last updates for a while. Tell me what you think with your comments and suggestions (and also votes) lol. Enjoy. Xoxo