It's Raydormas!
Pt 1/5
Through the blinds, he watched her still walking around in her office, picking up folders, reading, arranging them into piles. It would have been more efficient to just sit down and go through them. She had tried that a couple of times, but somehow she always got up sooner or later. Andy shook his head in amusement and crept closer, lounged against the doorjamb, watched her.
"You're in a better mood."
Sharon's head shot up at the unexpected interruption.
"Why not? Rusty's free, I am free, the kids are coming, it's Christmas in a week!"
Inwardly Andy laughed at the small bounce she did mid-step. That combined with the light in her eyes were potent clues to what she was actually feeling. In case it wasn't already glaringly obvious from her smile and the cadence of her words. Or the fact that she was too restless to settle down for fifteen minutes.
"Told you it was only going to be a week."
She paused with the files and looked him in the eye. There was something unpleasing in that look, but it disappeared as soon as he caught the tail of it.
"Thank you for being there to try cheering me up."
Her gaze didn't waver and the previous statement was the umpteenth repetition of her only references to the... other night, as Andy had subtly dubbed it in his plans to bringing up her reaction to a simple friendly massage. Clearly now wasn't the time to discuss it either.
Besides, everything seemed to be generally fine, so maybe there wasn't a need for a discussion. After all, in his mind it all boiled down to 'big deal, don't make it one'. Even if in hers it probably didn't.
Whatever.
Still his next question might have included an exasperated sigh.
"So when's the Raydormas exactly?"
"Why?"
"So I can get my shopping done."
Again she paused to scrutinize him. This time the unpleasing shade in her look was... cautiousness.
"You are not really going to buy them anything, are you?"
Even if her wariness made him irritated, displeased — a friendship where one friend felt the need to be on her toes around the other was not much of a friendship at all — the fact that he was too stubborn to let her get her own mind alone was enough to make him push instead of calming the situation.
"Still sure about not wanting a Christmas present?"
"I don't need anything."
"Everything in life isn't about needing, Sharon."
"Alright, I don't want anything."
Andy scowled at her, but Sharon dismissed him completely. She went back to her reviews but he could feel the looks she gave him over the rim of her glasses. The cautious looks. Andy sighed and took in her office. No Christmas decorations anymore, as expected. Clean, sleek, stylish. The only touch of real personality was the 'Work with me people' sign screaming her odd sense of humor.
The other personal affect he noticed was a box of Belgian truffles lying open on the front edge of her desk. The wine red and gold lid thrown aside boldly stated 'I'm damn expensive' and the red silk bow made Andy conclude the thing was a Christmas gift. From whom, he had no idea. Probably not from her family, since she didn't seem like the type to be overly addicted to sweet things and people closest to you should come up with thoughtful gifts. Besides, she had said 'open one each' and he assumed it meant Rusty's present for her.
Come to think of it, that meant the chocolates were from someone she didn't consider buying her a true Christmas present. The price tag he associated with the assortment told it was from someone meaning business though: someone relying on generic gifts — business associates, people going for normal levels of sucking up — wouldn't choose large sets of big name truffles.
Could it be from Jack? The misguided present a thoughtless partner resolved to. Hide the lack of sincere thought in big bucks? If it was, clearly the ruse hadn't worked. Only one quarter gone and spending their days in her office.
"I bet if I could come up with the perfect present, you wouldn't say no."
"Big 'if'."
Alright, the comment had taken even him by surprise, but the laconic shut-down irked him.
"Your attitude could do with some adjustment. For that, I'm gonna buy your kids the best presents they have ever seen."
"And that will adjust my attitude how exactly?"
Again with the confrontational pose! Infuriating woman! Just accept a gift and patchy logic and be done with it!
"Teach you some humility when your kids unwrap amazing presents and you'll get none."
"My kids buy me amazing presents."
"Not the same thing, you've had thirty years to school them."
"Twenty-five, thank you."
Apparently Rusty brought down the average, Andy noted, but was too kind to say it. Kind, or too in control of his faculties.
And then he realized that yes, her Maths were better. Well, he never got the hang of rounding rules and he was into younger women, after all.
One more thing she had to be right about!
"You probably have been thinking what to get them since last Christmas," he analyzed with a contemptuous sneer while inching closer, "No matter, I will overshadow you so much you won't see a candle for a week."
"That's petty."
"Vindictive. Only way to fight your ungraciousness."
"Andy," she sighed, deflated by his choice of word, "you don't need to make any gestures towards me."
"I don't. But I want to."
Thinking what to say on that, she reached for sugary reenforcements. She wanted to expressly remind him that they were friends off-duty and alone. Everything, mostly, came down to favors and general friendships. Anything else, it didn't matter. She was still formulating the response when he shocked the words back into her throat by stealing the last pink truffle from under her fingertips. Before she had the mind to protest, he headed out of the door with a cheeky wave.
Mid-way he twirled around and with all the clichés of Holiday cheers called out around the melting chocolate, "Hey, it's Raydormas after all!"
She squinted after him, too late in finding a way in which to remind him of the operative word 'Raydor'.
