23
It's not you, it's me
Take me back, take me back to the summer night
When we dance, when we dance in the moonlight
Wanna know if you feel what I'm feeling now
Will I see you again?
—Someone
Jubël
MY EYES fought to stay open while I watched the spoon in front of me like it was the most interesting object.
It wasn't.
And my eyes were burning like hell trying to punish me for making them see such an ugly object.
Spoons are ugly, aren't they?
"What?" He spoke onto his phone and then spoke some more.
I might as well take that nap I was considering earlier.
The only thing that was stopping me from not turning into a grizzly was the elixir that was sitting in front of me in a plain glass jar. Ray was kind enough to get it for me, he told me he had already ordered it for me before, because the last time when he was at my place he had seen it almost empty. If I was supposed to feel grateful, I didn't. Because I was rather irked at him for not telling me the name of the coffee so I could get it for myself. But no, he had to be the bearer of it for some stupid reason.
At least I got the coffee. Thanks to him.
Earlier, I had gone as far as trying to search all the coffee out there with the same jar, just I so could find it myself. I thought it was a pretty smart idea. But apparently, no one sells coffee in this kind of jar. It was so unusual. It was a rectangular jar with a black matte lid and the handle moulded out of the glass on the side of the jar.
It seemed more appropriate to carry butterbeer, honestly.
Ugh, I didn't even want to think about something even relatively resounding to liquor.
It was the very reason my head was constricting and trying to swallow me whole. It made me realise that my frequent drinking episodes weren't exactly healthy for myself. I could feel my health deteriorating and as for someone who has a regular workout regime and considered herself pretty healthy, when I said I could feel it. That means I could feel it.
That's what you get for not sleeping and choosing to drink the night instead.
But even after acknowledging that, I hadn't been able to get that into my thick head.
"I don't care. She's in danger." He hissed onto the phone.
I rolled my eyes.
It's funny how he refers to his company as 'she'.
I giggled.
Ray looked at me a minute and his eyes softened, he mouthed two minutes and I whispered "take as much time you need." To which, he gave me a guilty smile and continued on his phone.
Guess who doesn't get a break even on his 'Lunch break'?
Raymond Fernsby.
That is correct.
I stared at him in awe as he continued to talk on his phone a foot away from me in this private restaurant where we had decided to meet up for 'Lunch'. He worked so hard. It was quite sexy. Normally, I would be annoyed if someone wasn't paying attention to me. And he was the one who had proposed that we meet up for lunch.
But somehow I really liked that about him. His dedication to his work. And usually, when he's with me, he keeps his phone away and just spends time with me. So since he was answering his call it must have been pretty important. And it was a working day so I completely understood. And I definitely didn't mind the view.
His crisp suit, perfect tie, brown classic shoes and hair in their usual neat combed-back fashion, just made him seem like a freaking catalogue model. I internally sighed at what a fan girl I had become. I pouted at the thought. I was not a fan girl. I just enjoyed the picture.
I smirked.
Before my mind got dirty I settled on my seat and decided to check all the pending emails I had to reply to.
There weren't any.
Ouch.
That's when I got a mail on my phone.
It was a job offer.
I blinked.
I don't remember applying for a company named 'Praouey'.
I blinked again.
It said it was an NGO and they needed someone urgently.
NGO.
So maybe I didn't apply to this, they had sent it out themselves.
I opened the search engine on my phone to search for some information about the NGO but I couldn't find much on it. If much meant nothing.
I sighed.
Maybe it was a small one, and NGOs aren't that big with advertising and marketing anyways.
I bit my lip.
It said the meeting is in two hours, and at a place that seemed more like a residential area than an office.
Perhaps they had converted it to an NGO.
Somehow I didn't have a great feeling about this. But again, it might be because I didn't know how working at an NGO would be like. I was conceivably just nervous.
And this was definitely for a good cause. And of course, I'll make sure I get full information before I accept the job.
Maybe a job with a good conscious would be just what I need right now.
I mean isn't it what everybody should do? Something good for the community?
"Alright then, you do that. I'll explain it to her." He nodded.
Okay, maybe 'she' isn't the company.
Or else...no. She is not the company.
What am I thinking?
I shook my head at myself and cleared the ridiculous thought.
"Hey, I gotta run." I stood up from the plush restaurant seat and then kissed his cheek for goodbye. He removed his phone from his ear and looked at me guiltily.
"It's cool. It's not you, it's me." I smiled and when I realised what I had just said, I turned and laughed right till the exit. Leaving Ray utterly confused with a small smile on his face surmounted by the hint of distress that was still present on his face, an offset of the phone call possibly.
So, unemployment can degrade your humour. Be aware.
***
Strange was the first thing that came to my mind when I arrived in front of the said address in the email that I had received.
"I know, but I just saw this opportunity and this seems like a really promising thing for the community," I muttered on the phone which was stuck to my ear as I peeked at the grey cemented building. I felt a ping of apprehension.
"How do I know that you are not making another excuse to avoid me?" Stefan voiced on the phone. His voice cutting through the rustling sounds that besieged him. I was deemed to meet Stefan today for my internship/course. And since I was now having second thoughts regarding that, he thought I was formulating this all.
He was doing a shoot right now.
A shoot that I was supposed to assist him on.
"You know what? I'll let you get to your shoot and tell you later how this went."
"Where is it anyway? I have never heard of that NGO."
"I had thought the same thing, but then not every NGO is big enough to be the Red Cross or something, you know?"
"Yeah well, if you want to work in an NGO that definitely would be a better option. And text me the address, I need to run it through my guy. This sounds absolutely bullshit."
"Fine. Just stop bugging me now." I rolled my eyes.
"It's called taking care. That's what friends do. You'll learn once you develop that feature." He coughed.
"Are you done? I'll talk to you later." I hung up the phone, quickly texted him the address.
Somehow I grew more anxious after that call with Stefan. That Bastard. I rolled my eyes. Yes, I had agreed to give him a second chance. I was reading this book about forgiveness. And man, I think I am looking at the world through new eyes now.
And truth be told, I did miss that idiot.
But of course, he's never getting to know that.
I reached the door and knocked on the door. It was too quiet.
Maybe I should leave.
But I had come so far, and maybe...
Ugh, know what, maybe this was someone playing a prank on me.
How I could be this stupid?
Even spontaneity has some limits, Emilia.
And I certainly had crossed mine with rejecting my dream job.
Maybe I should stop calling it my dream job, given that I had rejected it?
That's for later.
I decided to leave immediately when the door opened and a man in a white shirt and cream khaki pants that were too lose for him standing in front of me. The guy gave me a toothy smile, which made think maybe teeth wouldn't be his best asset. They were stained. A dentist might conk out by the look at them. I resisted the urge to twist my face in distaste and put on my polite smile.
"Hi, I am Emilia Hawthorne. You sent an email to me?"
The guy ran a hand through his greasy blond hair, took a step forward looked around the neighbourhood, which wasn't any better than this house, and then nodded and waved an arm inwards to let me in.
I hesitated for a split second before I moved inside the place. My gaze widened at what I saw in front of me.
***
A/n: Was that a cliffhanger? Maybe ;)
~Ria
***Please consider voting ⭐️ if you liked the chapter!***