Cristina woke up with a start. She looked at the digital clock on the bedside table.
"Good grief, it's that late already," she yelled to herself. She was still wearing the clothes she had on from the night before, when she had dinner with Parsons.
They had consumed two bottles of wine and Cristina, who was not much of a drinker, had felt light-headed. He helped her to up the stairs and to her room and wished her good night. She went into her room and immediately crashed on to the bed, falling asleep within minutes.
Parsons knew he could have taken advantage of Cristina, when her defenses were down but that was not going to be his modus operandi. He knew that the best way to get someone like Cristina was to have her come to him and to make it seem like it was her decision to do so. Till then, he was going to be the perfect gentleman.
Cristina ran to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and had a shower. She dressed quickly in a dove-grey suit and ran down the stairs, heading over to the diner, where they would continue to conduct the interviews. When she got there, she already saw Parsons interviewing someone there.
He watched her as she came in. She felt a little ashamed to be so late but he just smiled at her and gave her a wave. She went to the counter and ordered a coffee and a cream cheese bagel. She needed to get some sustenance before she could start her day.
Parsons finished up his interview and joined her at her table. He ordered a cup of coffee and waited for the waitress to pour his cup and leave before he spoke.
"So how was your night?" he asked.
"I feel bad that I got up so late," she said, munching into her bagel.
"That's okay. I let you sleep in. It's not that late and so far, only two people have showed up, and I already interviewed and sent them on their way," he said, taking a sip of his black coffee.
"So how long do you think that we will run these interviews for?" she asked.
"I think the cut-off time is about 4.30 so we can get out of here by 5 p.m. At lunchtime, we will check out of the hotel and just put our stuff in the car and be on our way that much faster in the evening. We should be back in Seattle by 7 p.m. Does that work for you?"
"Yup, that works," she said.
It was another tiring day for Parsons and Cristina, as they interviewed their clients. Most of their stories were very similar with tales of woe about illnesses in the household, sick animals and lost wages due to the illnesses. The day passed quickly and soon it was 4.30 in the afternoon.
They packed up all of their recording equipment, their papers and their laptops. After a brief stop in the restroom and an order of sandwiches and coffee, they were on their way. The drive back was lively, as the two discussed the case. Their interviews had provided them with lots of ammunition to pursue this case. Cristina was extremely revved up about this case. It would be the biggest case she had ever worked on, in her entire career, and if they were successful, it would be incredible to put that on her resume.
He dropped her off at her home. The house was in darkness, so she knew that Owen was not there. She hadn't spoken to him for the entire day. As she kicked off her shoes and put down her laptop, she looked at her phone. There were a couple of messages, with one of them from Owen.
"Cristina," he said. "Tried calling you today. I guess you left your phone in the room, again. When you get home, can you please call me? No matter what time it is, please call me."
She didn't really feel like talking to him. She went to her bedroom, drew herself a warm bath and soaked for about 45 minutes in the bubbles. She closed her eyes and did some serious thinking while she was in the bathtub. She knew what she had to do. It would not be easy, she thought. She dried herself off, sat on her bed, picked up her phone receiver and dialed his number.
"Cristina!" he said, joyfully. "You're home. Can I come over?"
"Hey," she said, quietly.
"I want to see you. Can I come over, please?" he asked, again.
"I don't think so," she said, speaking in the same quiet tone.
"Why?" he asked, anxiously. "Are you still mad about what I said yesterday? I apologize about that. If I come over, we will talk about it. Please."
"I am not mad, anymore, Owen but it did give me food for thought," she said.
"If you're not mad, anymore, then what's happening here?" he said, fearful of what she was going to say next.
She sighed before she said it. "I think we should take a break, Owen."
"Are you breaking up with me?" he was incredulous. "Just like that, you're breaking up with me. Is it because of what I said, yesterday?"
"I am not breaking up with you. I just think we should take a break, give each other some space," she said. "And what you said yesterday just made me think a little bit."
"So, I believe that your boss wants you for more than just being his assistant. I still think so. So you're going to hold that against me?" he asked.
"I just think that while I am working on this particular case for this particular boss, it might be better if we just have some space. Mr Parsons has been nothing but a gentleman to me. He hasn't made any untoward moves or advances. He has been perfectly professional towards me," she said.
She continued, "And I cannot continue working for him on this case – this huge, massive case – which could establish my career and then, come home to hear you denigrate my boss."
He was flabbergasted. "So while we're on this break, are we allowed to see other people, to go out on dates with other people?"
She paused. She really didn't want him dating but she felt that she could not keep him from going out with other people. After all, even though they had been exclusively dating for the past six months, they had never mentioned the "l" word to each other. They had never said that they loved each other.
She answered carefully, "I don't think I can stop you from seeing other people, if you wanted to do so."
That was not what he wanted to hear. He wanted her to emphatically state that she did not want him dating other people because that is what he wanted from her. "So that goes both ways, doesn't it? You can date other people on this break, right?" he asked, dejectedly.
"I was not planning to date," she said. "I just said that I couldn't stop you, if you decided to see other people."
"I don't want to see other people. I just want to see you. And you're telling me that I can't see you," he said.
"Just for this case and trial, if it gets that far. I am going to be working really long hours with Mr. Parsons on this case and I can't have any negativity from you about him. That would just be added stress," she said.
"So, let's just take a break for the time being. It won't be that bad. Mr. Parsons thinks we have enough evidence to get an out-of-court settlement," she added.
He sighed, loudly. "If this is what you want, okay. Goodbye, Cristina."
"Goodbye, Owen," she said, quietly. She hung up the phone and snuggled under her blankets. It had been a tiring two days and she was exhausted. She really hadn't wanted to hurt Owen and she knew that she probably did, by asking for this break. In fact, she knew she was hurting herself with this break because deep down inside, she knew that she loved him.
Owen closed his eyes. He could not believe it. This was not how he envisioned how he wanted to welcome her back into town. He thought he would have been able to come over, they could order some food and they would have spent the night, making love and then, falling asleep together. That is what he had wanted.
He wondered if he should just have kept his mouth shut about his suspicions about Parsons. But, in reality, he knew that he did not regret it. It needed to be said; she had to know what were Parsons' intentions towards her. Maybe she needed to figure it out for herself. He just hoped that she would not fall into Parsons' web. She was a smart woman, he consoled himself, and she will figure it out.
In the meantime, all he felt was alone. He already started missing her because deep down inside, he knew that he loved her.
The next day at work, Cristina and Parsons were in his office, looking over the interviews they had with their clients.
"So, you know, Yang, this case would mean working some very late nights, here with me. I hope you explained that to your boyfriend," Parsons said.
"Yes, sir, I am aware of that. I can assure you that it will definitely not be a problem," she said, firmly.
He immediately picked up from the tone of her voice that there may have been a separation between her and her boyfriend. "Hmm," he thought, "things are definitely shifting in my favor."
"Well, okay then. Let's get to work, shall we?" he said. His plan, to have her see him in the most favorable light, was actually coming to pass. He was definitely excited by the chase. He beamed at her.
She looked up at him. Surely, Owen was wrong about him, she thought. Was there something that she was just not seeing? She had a nagging feeling that possibly, Owen could be right.
"Yes, sir, I am ready to start," she answered.
A/N: Please leave your reviews. I do appreciate reading them. They do inspire me to continue, when there are times that I feel like chucking the whole thing in.