Trial of the Senses
by
Ava LeBeau
Chapter 1 – The Power of Goodbye
„Don't hate me! ..."
„...You're everything I want you to be. ..."
„I've fallen in love with you, Christian."
I was still sitting on the couch when Taylor returned, his face unreadable when our eyes met for a split second.
With a curt nod he disappeared into his office, pulling the door shut behind him.
Had she mentioned me?
Had she told him about our fight?
A deep drawn sigh escaped me when I raked my fingers through my hair.
'Don't hate me!', I clenched my jaw at the very thought of our conversation earlier.
The ring of my phone cut through the oppressing silence that had pervaded the spacious living room and the sonorous voice of Ros jerked me out of my painful thoughts, the feeling of loss, defeat and failure still weighing heavily on me.
„... sure, I'll be in at around ten, Ros. Tell Andrea to schedule a meeting for 10.30 a.m. and to prepare the documents accordingly.", I straightened up and started pacing the room while Ros continued to update me on the latest developments.
From time to time I uttered an affirmative 'mm-hmm' while my gaze wandered to the laptop and phone that she'd left on the side table earlier.
'You'll never do that to me again!'
Oh, the power of goodbye, I mused, clenching my jaw again while Ros wrapped up our call.
About an hour and a very strenuous workout later I swiftly entered the business floor, Andrea, impeccably dressed as always, hastening to take my coat and following me to my office as I barked orders regarding today's schedule, striding straight towards my desk as I dialed Welch's number, a perfectly manicured eyebrow sharply raised the only sign to indicate for Andrea to leave.
Intent on distracting myself from last night's events, to numb the ominous melange of emotions it had caused, I buried myself in work, just like I did most of the time.
Thankfully there were several transactions pending that required special attention.
My day, only shortly halted by a quick business lunch with my lawyer, was a mere series of phone calls and hour-long meetings, whilst the constant flow of incoming mails and messages never ended.
At times I stared down at my phone absentmindedly while my direct reports outlined new proposals and discussed the risks, attempting to gain my approval.
No message from her.
No call.
Nothing.
On the verge of frenzy I grabbed my phone, typed a short message,
'Where are you?', it hurts to ask. 'I want you here with me.', I continued, only to delete it again.
I won't beg.
I'm used to getting what I want.
How dare she defy me?
Nimbly, I pushed my phone away from me, my face tense.
Another meeting came to an end, the attendees stood, packing up their files, nodding their goodbyes.
„Christian? Got a sec, please?", Ros lightly touched my elbow.
Together we headed back to my office. Dismissively, I waved off Andrea en passant as Ros closed the large wooden doors behind us.
'Where are you?', I could barely focus, my senses clouded like the Grey Enterprises Holdings tower in Seattle's drizzle today.
„That's unacceptable, Ros. I want the report on my desk by noon sharp!", I opened the office door, typing on my phone on the way out.
„Sure, Christian!", Ros sounded despondent, not that I did really care.
I asked Andrea to reschedule my meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning and left.
Feeling tense I sank into the smooth leather seat as Taylor closed the rear door of the Audi.
On the way down to the car I had messaged Claude to schedule a training session tomorrow. Also, Flynn had responded my request for a meeting tomorrow morning outside his usual consultation hours.
I scrolled through my messages again as Taylor gently pulled out into Seattle's evening rush hour traffic.
Just when I thought my mood could not get any worse today, an e-mail from Welch caught my attention. Apparently that José guy was up to something and I didn't like the sound of it. Not at all. I clenched my fist, glumly staring outside into the dark.
A/N: Let me know what you think!