"You okay?" Eddie asked, looking at Lisa who was staring at a blank page in her notebook without saying anything. She was taking deep breaths and seemed to be lost in deep thought.
"Hey, Lisa?" Eddie asked again, prompting her to look up at him. She blinked a couple of times before nodding.
"Yes, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm not feeling my best but I'm exhausted. It's been a hectic few weeks." She replied, muttering more to herself than to him. Eddie frowned, he knew she was working herself harder than she really should be in her condition but he didn't know how to tell her to slow down without making it obvious that he knew.
He almost felt sorry for Lisa, which was weird. She had almost everything going for her- she was beautiful and educated, came from a good family in a good financial position, and she was an executive for one of the top companies in the world. Yet, here she was, having a baby with a man who was in love with someone else... and she didn't even know it. Sometimes Eddie really just wanted to sit her down and set her straight. After all, she wasn't some crazy, unreasonable young girl, she was in all reality a very nice lady and she deserved to know that the person she was looking at was no longer looking at her.
"Maybe you should take a couple of days off, for self care." He said, and she smiled, shaking her head.
"Not possible right now. We have so much going and a big press conference next month... there's no way." She said.
"You're health is the most important thing." He said and she seemed to consider it.
"Yes, you're right and maybe after next week, I'll take a long weekend. Right now, I really have to get all this in. I'm on a deadline." She said. "But I promise, as soon as I can, I'll take a day."
Eddie sighed and nodded. She was as stubborn as Bobby. In fact, those two were more alike than they would ever know. He was sure that in some alternate universe, they might have even been friends... but he knew that it could never be the case now.
"Alright. You win. I'm going to take these over to Danny, then to Kevin." Eddie said, taking some forms he had her sign. She nodded, handing him an envelope.
"Can you get this out today?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, ma'am. You have meeting in 10, with Brian and Nora." He reminded her and she nodded, looking around before picking up some papers.
"Right, then I'll walk out with you. I need water." Lisa said, standing and moving towards him. Then she stopped, placed a hand flat on the desk and leaned.
"Are you okay?" Eddie asked, noting how she closed her eyes.
"Yeah, I am." She said, but she placed her free hands over her stomach and sighed.
"Nope, you need to sit." He said, helping her into a chair. She shook her head but sat down nonetheless.
"I'm really fine, I just got up too fast." Lisa replied and Eddie raised a brow. He knew she was lying, he knew she wasn't feeling well at all but what could he say, how could he make her see that what she needed was to go home and rest?
"Let me get you the water and then I'll have Brian and Nora meet you in here instead." Eddie said, making her look up at him. "You did want to show them the board you're putting together, after all."
Lisa seemed to think about it for a second. It was true, she did have the big board to show them, although she had intended to wait until the end of the week. She needed an excuse to move around as little as possible.
"Okay, please do that now." She said, standing slowly and moving back around towards her chair.
"Right away, boss." He said, smiling at her.
"Thank you, Eddie. What in the world would I do without you?"
---
"It smells... disgusting." Bobby said, looking down at the pad thai that she and Eddie were about to devour. She leaned over it with a frown... what was that smell? Eddie raised a brow as he watched her.
"I don't smell it." He muttered, leaning in and doing the same. It smelled normal, well it smelled good. He and Bobby made there way here at least a few times a month, it was one of their favorite spots.
"It smells... sour. I can't explain it." She said, "I'm sure something in here isn't fresh."
"Well, I can't say I smell it but we can ask them to take it back." He said and Bobby shook her head.
"No, we don't have that much time." She said, glancing at her watch. "I'll just pick up a sandwich in the lobby."
Eddie shrugged but he was not surprised. Bobby could be very picky when eating, especially when she was stressed which he could tell, she was. It wasn't just work that was starting to really weigh them down, it was everything else. The stress of working so close to Matt and Lisa, the stress of not knowing what was going on with her sister... and then there was something else.
Eddie couldn't quite put his finger on it but he was sure there was something else. She'd gotten very secretive, even for her. He watched as she sipped on her water, then looked at the glass for a few minutes. She reached over, taking a couple of limes out of the plate and squeezing them one at a time into her water. A few minutes later, she asking for more.
"You're such a weirdo." He said with a chuckle making her frown.
"Why?" She asked.
"You just are... the biggest weirdo." He said.
"Whatever." She replied, looking to her phone as it vibrated. She stared down at it for a second, before rejecting the call and tossing it into her bag.
"Don't tell me..." he began but she shook her head.
"No, I don't think so but I don't know the number and I'm not in the mood. If it's important, they'll leave a voicemail." She said. Ever since the visit to Texas, she hadn't received a single call from her parents but that didn't mean she wasn't thinking twice before accepting any calls from within their area code.
"It could be the social worker." He said and she nodded.
"I know and she'll leave a voicemail if it is." She replied.
"So, nothing yet?" He asked. Bobby smiled to the waiter who brought her another small plate with limes and she began to squeeze them in one at a time.
"Nope." She said, sipping a bit of water and then picking up another lime.
"Why don't you just order a lemonade?" He asked and she raised her brow.
"You're right. that would be better." She said, signaling for the waiter again.
"I'm telling you, you're such a weirdo." Eddie said.
"Why don't you stop trying to distract me and tell me what in the world is going on with you?" She asked, now turning to look directly at him. Eddie froze for a second before looking back down at his food.
"I already told you." He said and she shook her head.
"No, you went on and on about your mom, then insisted we talk about my problems but you never told me more about that guy." She said.
"There's not a lot to tell." He said.
"Tell me about the pair of blue eyes." She said simply.
"Does it matter? He's out of my league." Eddie said.
"Why?" She asked. "Don't tell me he's one of those pretty boy socialites that are too good for everyone?"
"Pretty much." He said and She frowned.
"Oh Eddie, you should know better." She said.
"You're one to talk." He muttered and she sighed. He was right there, she really couldn't say anything. She'd fallen in love for someone who was way out of her league.
"I'm sorry Eddie, I'm not judging you at all. I just know how complicated it can be." She said, reaching out and placing a hand over his. "Besides, that's not an issue if he really likes you but... You told me he has a boyfriend."
"He left him." Eddie said, making Bobby stare at him surprise.
"Really?" She asked and he nodded. "When did that happen? Did he tell you?"
"Yes. It happened not too long ago and he didn't tell me, I found out through the grapevine. He actually stopped answering my calls." Eddie said, looking down.
"Oh Eddie, I'm sorry." Bobby said. "Maybe he just needs time."
"I don't know. Those two have been together so long, they might just end up working it out. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he stopped calling." Eddie said. Bobby watched him for a moment, looking so sad. Eddie who was always so bright and bubbly, always working so hard to cheer her up.
"We really suck at this whole love thing, don't we?" She said with a smile, trying to make him laugh... and he did. He chuckled lightly. Then, she saw him raise a brow.
"Isn't that Michael?" Eddie said, and Bobby frowned.
"You're trying to change the subject again." She accused but he shook his head and pointed in the opposite direction.
"Nope, that's him." Eddie replied as Michael approached.
"Hey!" Michael said, with a big bright smile. Bobby was a little overwhelmed by it and so it took her several seconds before she replied.
"Hi." Eddie said, breaking the strange silence. "Are you picking up lunch?"
"Was thinking about it... Not sure what to have. How are you liking the pad thai, Bobby?" Michael asked, making Bobby frown.
"She's not. She says it smells weird but I think it's pretty good." Eddie said, making Bobby turn pink.
"It DOES smell weird." She replied. "But usually I'm pretty fond of it. I think I'll just stick to a sandwich."
"Actually, a sandwich sounds great. Where do you recommend?" Michael asked.
"The ones in the lobby shop are really good." Eddie said. "Why don't you go with Bobby? I feel bad letting her just watch me eat."
"Oh, no. I'm not just going to leave you alone." Bobby said but Eddie shook his head.
"No, don't worry. I'll be done soon anyway. Besides, I'm a big boy, you can trust me not to get lost." Eddie said.
"What do you say?" Michael asked. Bobby looked at Michael and then Eddie. How could she say no?
"Sure. Let's go." Bobby said, standing from the booth and moving away.
The two walked in silence for several minutes, Bobby unsure of what to say and Michael wondering what was on her mind.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot." Michael finally said as they entered the shop in the lobby.
"No, you didn't. Don't worry." Bobby said.
"Well, I didn't mean to force you into having lunch with me." He said, "I can tell you didn't want to come with me."
"It's not that." She said, "I think Eddie used you as an excuse not to talk to me about something."
"Yikes, so I arrived at an inopportune time?" Michael asked.
"It's okay. I'll get him alone sooner or later." Bobby said reassuringly as they moved up the line.
"I'm glad I interrupted though. I really wanted to speak to you about something." Michael said and she looked to him.
"I'm all ears but in the future, you can just schedule a meeting into the calendar or come knock on my door. I'm happy to help if I can." She said.
"Actually, its not about work." He said, making her turn to him in confusion. "I wanted to ask you to be my date for the party on Friday."
Bobby stared at him with a blank expression on her face, replaying the words to herself, processing them slowly.
"What'll it be?"
She looked up towards the man at the counter who was waiting to take her order.
"Roast beef." was all she could say.