Amy had been tossing and turning all night, debating about whether or not she should go through with her consult at all. She might not know Sean as well as Christian did, but she had a feeling that even if she did call to cancel, he wouldn't think any less of her. After all, he did seem rather hesitant when she'd called as it was. To be honest, she couldn't figure out if her restless sleep had been on account of her nerves about the whole situation or the inhalation of coke she'd taken an hour before bed, but if it was going to do nothing but keep her awake all night, she'd refrain from making the same mistake again.
On her drive over to the McNamara/Troy office, she could feel her anxiety returning stronger than ever. She went back and forth in her mind, debating whether or not to pull over on the side of the road and take care of the problem once and for all. It would probably have been a bad idea though, considering that someone might come out of nowhere and see her. They'd probably call the cops and that was something she'd rather not deal with. After parking her car around the block, she stole a glance at her reflection in the rearview mirror, took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and finally exited the vehicle. Slinging the strap of her purse over her right shoulder, she rounded the car and stepped up onto the curb, striding along the sidewalk towards the front of the building.
It was eerie that her current nerves were reminicent of her first visit. The day she came to find her father. She had no idea what to expect. She had never, ever, considered plastic surgery before. Crossing her arms over her chest, she dropped her gaze to the ground, quickening her pace. When she reached the front of the building, she stole a glance at her watch. It was three minutes until four thirty.
Suddenly, she collided with someone heading in the opposite direction. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She bent down to grab her purse, which had slipped off her shoulder on impact, but never did she anticipate who she would end up bumping into. Replacing the strap on her shoulder, she finally brought her eyes up to the figure before her but instantly froze when she came face-to-face with her father. Her adoptive father, Frank. The first thing she noticed was the damage done to his face, which she couldn't help but feel that he had deserved.
"Sorry for what? For replacing me with someone else or for that someone putting his fist in my face?" His cold eyes locked on hers, which succeeded in causing a chill to creep down her spine. "You're still my kid and I'm still your father. Not a damn thing is going to change."
She trembled involuntarily, taking a slow step back from him. Just then, something occured to her. Her eyes shifted from the door to which he had stepped out of a moment ago, then back to him. Had he just paid a visit to her real father? Her brows furrowed inquisitively, her eyes narrowing in thought. "What are you doing here?" She demanded, her voice a little louder than she had expected.
Frank rolled his eyes with a sigh. "What the fuck do you think I'm doing here? No, if you really want to know what I'm doing here," he motioned back to the door, "go ask that son of a bitch who thinks he's your father."
If she had any courage at all, she'd reach out and hit him, but after what he'd done to her already, she knew that would only make matters worse. Much worse. If she got entangled in another battle with him, it would screw up everything in a number of ways. She'd cause a scene outside her father's business that could jeopardize his career, he'd discover the reason why she was here, but worse than that, she could potentially end up having to spend the night there, assuming Frank beat her up twice as bad this time as before. "He's not a son of a bitch and he is my father. My real father. And what the hell are you talking about? I want to know." Her bafflement grew. What was he talking about, and what did it have to do with Christian anyway?
Frank took a step towards her. She quickly took a step back. There was no telling what he was about to do, but she had a pretty good idea. He had probably intended to hit her. Either that or to hug her, but truth be told, she hardly thought it would be the latter.
She got up the courage to utter the next words. "Don't...touch me, please. Just don't."
He took another step towards her, a frustrated sigh escaping him. She took another step back. A scowl crossed his face. "I didn't want to hurt you, but you left me no choice. You disobeyed me."
Her heart constricted in her chest. She swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat. Suddenly, she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, but she fought with everything inside her not to let them fall. "I disobeyed you? How? I just wanted to find out who my real father was. After all you've done..." Her voice trailed off, deciding against going further with that sentence and took another step back, just incase he took it upon himself to lunge at her at the last minute.
"You already have a father. I'm your father! And I want my daughter back. I'm not going to let you disregard me like a piece of shit. Your mother kept you away from me since the divorce, but I'm not going to let her take you away. Not this time. I may not have been there for you these last few years, but that's all going to change. As soon as you learn to let this son of a bitch go." He sighed in frustration. "I've done a hell of a lot for you, but you never appreciated any of it, did you?" When she didn't reply right away, he resorted to shouting. "Did you?"
She winced at the tone of his voice, her eyes shifting back to the door of the McNamara/Troy office, praying that his voice hadn't been within hearing range of Christian, and at the same time, praying that it had. Her bottom lip trembled as the tears began streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head stiffly, her heart pounding in her chest. "No, and I'm sorry. I am. I just..." She sniffled softly, slowly bringing her eyes back up to him. "Can I just please go now? I have to go in there."
For a long moment, her words didn't seem to affect him. He simply stayed planted in the same spot, staring at her with a fiery vengeance burning in his eyes. An irritable sigh escaped him as he placed his hands on his hips. He tilted his head to one side, rolling his eyes before finally stepping out of her path. "Go."
Swallowing hard, she inched her way towards the door, quickly but cautiously. She refrained from uttering another word. The less she said to aggravate him, the better off she would be. She was ten inches from the door when the sound of his voice startled her, half-expecting him to have kept quiet. That showed how well she knew him.
"You tell that son of a bitch I'll see him on Wednesday, and if knows what's good for him, he won't fuck it up. I already warned him about what would happen if he did."
She froze at his choice of words, her brows furrowing in bafflement. All of the breath had suddenly been sucked out of her body. She felt as though she'd just been kicked in the stomach. What was he talking about? Wednesday? What was happening on Wednesday? She shuddered to think what he'd done or said to Christian, but before she had a chance to turn around and question him, he was already stalking down the sidewalk away from her. "I'll see you soon kid," he called over his shoulder.
Exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in, she brought one of her hands up to her face, wiping away the tears. She sniffled softly. There was no way she could possibly go in looking like this. She probably looked like a mess, and if Christian saw her, well, there was no telling what he'd assume happened. Turning away from the door, she leaned her frame against the wall. Opening up her purse, she reached inside and fished out her hand mirror. Taking a peek at her reflection, she sighed deeply. She didn't look that bad, but her eyes were red and still fresh with tears which threatened to fall. After wiping away the excess tears, she applied some mascara and fresh eyeliner in an attempt to cover it up. If she wasn't out in the open at the moment, she would have probably taken a hit of coke to make herself feel better, but that wasn't possible.
Pushing herself away from the wall, she took a calming deep breath and squared her shoulders. Holding her head high with a presentable face, she got up the courage to finally enter the office. She didn't open the door entirely when she stepped inside though. Instead, she took the approach of peeking inside beforehand, making absolute certain that Christian wasn't anywhere in sight. Luckily, he wasn't, but the quicker she got in there and got this over with, the better chance she had of him not seeing her or even knowing she'd been there. She stole a glance at the waiting area before stepping up to the desk, surprised to see that there were no other patients waiting to be seen. Things were definitely heading in the right direction.
The petite and curvy blonde behind the desk looked up when she entered. She was clad in a pair of blue hospital scrubs, and her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The woman couldn't have been more than twenty-five. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I have an appointment with Dr. McNamara at four thirty." Her eyes shifted back and forth between the woman and the hallway.
"All right." The woman looked over an open binder on the desk before her. "Amy Gellar? Is that you?" She lifted her chin, meeting Amy's eyes once again.
She nodded quickly before her attention shifted back to the empty hallway. "Yeah, that's me. Uh, can I just go in? I know where his office is...I think."
The blonde woman gestured to the waiting area behind Amy, giving her a friendly smile. "Why don't you take a seat and I'll alert him that you're here."
She sighed wearily, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she leaned against the glass counter. "Okay, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I really need to see him as soon as possible." It was sort of pointless to say that, considering she was probably the only patient in the office at this time of day, but truth be told, she was far too nervous to think straight.
"It shouldn't take too long. Please have a seat." The woman persisted.
With a roll of her eyes, she finally pushed herself away from the counter. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned her head to the see who it was, and realized then that it had merely been her imagination. There was no one there, except for a couple orderlies, one male and one female, traipsing back and forth between rooms at random intervals. Without another word, she scurried towards one of the three white cushioned chairs -- which looked more like loveseats -- lowering her small frame onto it. Her leg bobbed up and down incessantly as she gripped the strap of her purse, her eyes shifting from the front desk to the hall. Her heart drummed madly in her chest as her stomach knotted up.
She felt as though she had been waiting forever, and as the seconds ticked by, the chances of Christian not finding out she was here were getting slimer and slimer. A sigh of relief escaped her when she heard Sean's voice. She lifted her chin to see him step into the waiting area.
"Good afternoon Ms. Gellar." He greeted her with a kind smile.
Him calling her by that name made her cringe. It just didn't sound right. She sprang up to her feet, giving him a small smile and slinging her purse over her right shoulder. "Troy," she corrected him. Her cheeks flushed in mortification, suddenly wondering why she had even done it at all. Then again, she was and always would be a Troy so what was so wrong with that?
Sean smiled sheepishly, nodding his head in regard. "Ms. Troy."
Suddenly getting an eerie feeling that someone was watching her, her eyes shifted in the direction of the front desk, noticing that the blonde woman was staring at her, a bewildered and slightly astonished expression on her face. Shit. Why hadn't she just kept her mouth shut? Why did she always have to talk so loud? As if her cheeks couldn't get any redder, they did. Bringing one of her hands up, she tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. She shifted impatiently on her heels, her eyes shifting from the hallway to Sean's face. "Actually, can you just stick to calling me Amy? That would be better." Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug.
He nodded. "Of course." He stole a glance over his shoulder before his gaze settled back on her. "Right this way." He turned on his heels, leading the way towards his office.
She quickly followed behind him, all the while, wishing he'd walk a little faster so she could slip into the comfort of his office before Christian popped into the hall. Hopefully, he was busy with other things or another patient. As disgusting and inappropriate as it seemed at the time, she'd even be thankful if he were busy screwing someone in his office. Whatever it took to keep him away. Her eyes shifted in the direction of Christian's office as they passed it, her heart skipping a beat. She was certain he would step out of it at that very second, maybe even hear audible moaning, but she saw nor heard a thing. This was just too good to be true. Where was he? Had he gone home already? No, the office was still open. Was he on break? Was he even working today?
"Amy?"
She snapped out of her thoughts, realizing now that Sean was in fact speaking to her, and that they had reached his office, which was just down the hall from Christian's own. "Huh?"
"Is everything all right?" He inquired, his brows furrowing in concern.
"Oh, yeah." She gave him a firm nod. "I'm fine. I just kind of want to get this over with before...well, you know. No offense." Her eyes shifted in the direction of her father's office.
Sean's eyes roamed in the same direction before they met each other's gaze. He shook his head. "No offense taken. Why don't you step into my office and we'll get started." He opened the door, stepping inside. She followed closely behind him, sighing an allieviated sigh when he finally shut the door and crossed to his desk. He gestured to the two chairs across from his desk. "Please have a seat."
Amy obeyed his command and scurried towards his desk, collapsing into one of the chairs and setting her purse on the one beside her. She crossed her right leg over her left, resting her elbows on the arms of the chair and looking over at him expectantly. As he sifted through some papers sitting on top of his desk, she chewed anxiously on her bottom lip. He finally found whatever forms he had been searching for, set them in front of him and lifted his chin to look up at her, folding his hands on the desk before him.
"Ms. Troy--I'm sorry, Amy, tell me what you don't like about yourself."
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, uncrossing her legs and then crossing them once again, only this time, her left leg was crossed over her right. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she fiddling absentmindedly with her fingers. She hesitated before finally uttering softly, "my breasts." She paused, watching as Sean picked a red pen up off his desk and removed the cap, then continued as he put the pen to the paper to make a scribble. "I was thinking about...going up a size? Maybe two. Whatever you think." She shrugged her shoulders.
He froze, slowly raising his eyes up to her face. His brows stitched together in thought as he fixed his gaze on her chest, which undoubtedly caused her to flush in motification. Of course it could have been worse. It could have been Christian staring at her boobs. A soft sigh escaped him, and for a minute, she thought he was going to turn her away. Then, he gently nodded his head. "Would you mind unbuttoning your blouse? I'd like to get a better assessment before we go any further."
This time, it was her who froze. For a long moment, she didn't say or do anything. She just sat there staring at him dumbfoundedly. She knew it was inevitable that he would ask her that. How else would he be able to decide what she did or didn't need? Even if she had the surgery, he'd have to see them anyway.
"Amy, if you're that uncomfortable with it, maybe it's better you give this more thought before doing anything you might regret later." He told her simply.
She exhaled sharply. How did she not see that one coming? She shook her head stiffly. "No, I'm fine with it. Sorry." Her cheeks flushed once again as she slowly began unbuttoning her blouse, her hands trembling in the process.
Sean pushed himself up to his feet, rounding his desk. He came over to where she was seated, perching himself on the edge of his desk and once again, focused his attention on her chest, waiting patiently for her to reveal her breasts. It took her a moment to take her bra off, but when she finally did, he assessed her chest with an intent eye. She willed herself to stay still, not sure whether he was going to actually touch them but praying that he wouldn't. Her heart pounded fiercely against her chest as she forced a huge lump down in her throat. She didn't have enough courage to look up at him so she simply fixed her eyes on the fish tank that sat behind his desk.
After another minute, he brought his eyes back up to her face, sighing softly. "Look, Amy, I don't mean to discourage you from considering plastic surgery, but I think your breasts are fine the way they are. The symmetry is excellent, the sloping is natural. At your age, they are exactly where they should be."
She turned her head away with a roll of her eyes. After slipping her bra back on, she swiftly buttoned up her blouse. Why had she even come here at all? For him to waste her time and tell her she was fine? Well, if she was fine, why didn't she feel like it? She dropped her gaze to her lap, a weary sigh escaping her. "I still want them," she spoke in a meek tone of voice. Stealing a glance up at him, she saw him drop back down in the chair behind his desk.
He folded his hands on top of the desk, his features turning somber. "I really think you should try speaking to Christian about this. As I said before, there's still a possibility that he'll find out about it. Maybe not right away, but eventually, you'll have to tell him. Once he looks over our roster, he'll see scheduled you for surgery. In all honesty, I don't think either one of us should be putting our relationship with him in jeopardy by keeping something as serious as this from him."
He was right. Damn it! He was right! Why did he have to be right? Still, she hadn't gotten this far just to be turned away. She sat back in her seat, propping one of her elbows up on the arm of the chair and leaning her cheek on her hand. "Isn't there some way around this? I mean, I'm over eighteen for God's sakes. It's not like it's going to kill me. I just don't want him to know about this. If I got them done and he ever were to ask..." Her voice trailed off, not quite sure where that sentence was even going. There wasn't a right answer to that.
Sean gazed at her expectantly, clearly waiting for her to finish what she was saying. When she didn't, he spoke. "If you don't mind me asking, Amy, what made you consider getting your breasts done?"
She looked back down at her lap, fiddling absentmindedly with a loose string on her dark denim jeans. Chewing on her bottom lip, she shrugged. "I don't know. I just want to be different. I haven't been able to make my own decisions in a long time, and now, I finally feel free to do that. I've moved out of my mom's house and now I want to finally be independent. Plus, I've always thought about changing my body. I'm not exactly happy with it."
He scowled. "Well, there are other alternatives to changing your body without going to the extremes of surgery. If you're dissatisfied with your breast size, perhaps you could consider wearing a different bra. Physical fitness, although its a long-term solution, also works for most people. Have you thought about that?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "That's not going to work." She leaned in a little closer, lowering her voice. "Hey, what Christian doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
His features remained somber, and from what it seemed, he looked to be contemplating her words. Maybe fighting with his conscience at the same time. "Well, in the off chance that I agree to give you your surgery, how exactly do you plan on paying for it? The single procedure alone will cost in itself around seven thousand dollars."
Her eyes widened in astoundment. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why did he have to continue throwing stones in her path? This was getting harder and harder. "Well..." She began, chewing anxiously on her bottom lip.
"Do you have a job?"
"Well...not really. Not yet anyway. I thought maybe..." She shook her head, knowing full well how stupid it was to even consider it, "nevermind."
Sean's brows stitched together inquisitively. "What were you thinking? Please, tell me."
She dropped her gaze to her lap once again, "nothing. It was stupid." She exhaled sharply. "I just thought that maybe...I could have Christian pay for it, but that would mean that I'd actually have to tell him so see, that wouldn't work."
He gently nodded his head in understanding. "Then how do you plan on paying for your procedure?" She opened her mouth to say something, even if she had no idea what, but he held up a hand to stop her. "Before you make any other suggestions, I just want you to know that we only take on pro bono work if it's life threatening, which, in your case, I don't think it is."
She wasn't quite sure what the definition of "pro bono" was, but she had somewhat of an idea. Either way, this whole thing was getting her nowhere. She didn't possibly have an answer to his question, and the longer this went on, the more time she was wasting. Especially on something that was already a lost cause. She grabbed her purse off the chair beside her and sprang up to her feet. A scoff escaped her lips as she slipped the strap of her purse onto her right shoulder. "You know what? Just forget it. Just forget the whole thing. This was a waste of my time anyway." She whirled around on her heels and marched towards the door.
Sean sighed deeply, watching as she moved across his office. "I'm sorry Amy, but maybe after you've talked it over with Christian, we could work something out."
She shook her head vigorously, waving her hand in the air in disregard. "I said forget it!" She was in such a rush to get out of there that the moment she stepped into the hall, she slammed into someone heading in the opposite direction. "Oh! God, I'm sorry!" Boy, she was just bumping into everyone today, wasn't she? Fantastic. Sarcastically speaking, she didn't realize just how fantastic it was until two familiar looking hands came out to steady her, preventing her from falling over. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she looked up, coming face-to-face with none other than Christian.
His expression was a mix of bewilderment and pleasure. "Amy. What are you doing here, sweetheart?"
Her eyes widened in astonishment. Great, great, great, great, great. She had been trying so hard to avoid her father, and now it had come back to bite her in the ass. Her cheeks flushed as she stammered a reply. "I--I came here to visit your partner Sean." Okay, so she'd gone with the first thing that had come into her head, but she couldn't tell him the truth. She stole a glance over her shoulder, peering back into the office where Sean was now on his feet, standing beside his desk with a perplexed look on his face. "I just thought it would be nice to get to know him a little better."
Christian exchanged a look with Sean before he met eyes with Amy. He smirked down at her, nodding his head in regard. "Well, not that I don't appreciate you stopping by sweetheart, but couldn't you have picked a time outside of business hours?"
Her brows furrowed incriminatingly before a scowl crossed her face. She knew that her reason probably came as a longshot to him, but she hadn't stopped to consider that. Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Sorry, I probably should have." Something suddenly occured to her and now that he was standing before her, she might as well take the opportunity to get her facts straight. She opened her mouth to continue when Sean's voice sounded.
"Amy wasn't bothering me, Christian. In fact, I don't mind giving her a few minutes of my time. She is after all your daughter."
Amy exuded an allieviated sigh as Christian nodded his head at his partner's words. She almost thought Sean was about to rat her out. She exchanged a look with her father, giving him as innocent of a look as she could muster. Crossing her arms firmly over her chest, she stole another glance over her shoulder, noticing that Sean was still standing there in the doorway of his office. She looked intently back at Christian, "I need to ask you something."
He looked from Amy to Sean then back to Amy. "What is it?"
Her eyes shifted expectantly towards Sean. He seemed to get the message without her having to speak a word. His brows arched in surprise, looking between the pair, "I'm sorry. Excuse me." He turned around and stepped back inside his office, shutting the door behind him to give them their privacy.
Both she and Christian watched Sean depart. Bringing her eyes back up to his, she noticed the expectant and somewhat questioning look on his face. Was he actually suspicious of her for being here? She didn't read minds but at the moment, she wished she could. After taking a quick glance around the hallway to make sure no one was listening in, she began. "Why was my--" She exhaled sharply. "Why was Frank here?"
His brows furrowed inquisitively. "Frank?"
"My adoptive father. Why was he here?"
"How did you know he was even here?"
"I ran into him outside."
His eyes roamed over her figure for a moment, scrutinizing almost every part of her exposed skin before bringing his eyes back up to hers. "Did he hurt you?" He spoke softly, a hint of vexation gleaming in his pupils.
She was touched that he cared about her well being, but that probably had more to do with his role as a father than a doctor. She shook her head. "No, but I thought he was going to. Look, I just want to know, why would he even come here? What did he say to you? What did he do? I asked him but he wouldn't tell me shit."
Christian exuded a deep sigh, a scowl appearing on his face. He brushed aside the fabric of his lab coat, planting his hands firmly on his hips. He took a quick glance in either direction of the hall just as she had. Focusing his attention on her once again, he lowered his voice to a tone that only she would hear. "He came here because I agreed I'd give him a nose job and a face lift, pro bono." She opened her mouth to snap at him, but he waved his hand in the air to stop her, "before you say anything, I'll have you know that this wasn't my idea. I wouldn't offer that asshole shit and we both know it, but since he's chosen to blackmail me into giving him his God damn surgery, I don't really have much of a choice but to give him what he wants. I just hope that he has enough sense to stay the hell away from us once its over."
She blinked back her astonishment. "What!" The nerve of that asshole! Could he possibly mess her life up anymore than he already had? She shook her head in disbelief. "Why is he doing this to me? To us?" She cried audibly.
He glanced briefly around the hall. "Can you keep your voice down sweetheart?" His eyes settled back on her face. "Look, I know you're just as pissed about this as I am, but I don't want the whole God damn world to know about it."
She scowled. "Sorry." She really needed to work on speaking in a normal tone of voice. This was the second time today she'd spoken too loudly, without even realizing it. It left her wondering once again...was this a trait she inherited from him? Her brows furrowed in consideration. "Wait, he's blackmailing you? How? What did he say he was going to do?"
For a long moment, all he did was stare at her, his face expressionless. Finally, he turned his head away and scoffed. He cleared his throat with a roll of his eyes. He met eyes with her for a split second before dropping his gaze to his feet. "He told me he would sue Troy/McNamara for every penny we have, unless I fixed the damage I'd done to his face." He sighed wearily, bringing his eyes back to her face, "the face lift was just an added bonus. I guess he figured since he already had the upper hand, he'd take full advantage of it."
She shook her head once again. "Asshole," she grumbled. As much as she tried to ignore it, something didn't quite add up here. Her eyes narrowed in thought, studying Christian's face for a moment. "Is that all he said he'd do?"
His brows stitched together incriminatingly, the tone of his voice becoming more audible with his next words. "What? You think I'm lying to you?"
Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I don't know. I just think he would have said he'd do more than that. He didn't say he'd hurt you or me in some way?"
"He told me he would sue our asses off, that was it. He didn't really say much beyond that point, except for a few derogatory words, which I'm sure you don't want to hear." This time it was his eyes that narrowed, much in the same incriminating manner as his brows had, "do you really think I'd make this shit up for kicks? Why else do you think he was here? He sure as hell didn't come over to share a drink with me in a weak attempt to make amends." He scoffed, averting his eyes to something else other than her face.
She sighed a frustrated sigh. "No! I'm not saying you made it up. I believe you! I just thought there was more to it than that." He was acting defensive and out of sorts even for him. Then again, she hadn't really known him that long but whatever was prompting him to act like this...she didn't like it.
"What more do you want to know? I already told you everything, but while we're on the topic at hand, was there more of a reason why you chose to stop by today?" He arched his brows expectantly, awaiting her reply. "If you wanted to get to know Sean, you could have at least called me before to let me know you were coming in. Did you even think to do that?"
Amy blinked back her astonishment. Was he actually serious? What was wrong with him anyway? "What's wrong with you?" She demanded. Stealing a glance around the hallway, she leaned in a little closer to him, lowering her tone of voice. "Why are you acting like this?"
A look of bewilderment crossed his face, almost as if his change of behavior was oblivious to him. "Like what?"
Her heart constricted in her chest at the spiteful tone of his voice. A tone she hadn't heard out of him since they'd first met. She bit down on her bottom lip, holding back emotions that were already rising to the surface. "You're being defensive with me, and the tone of your voice..." She shook her head, looking down at her feet. "Nevermind. Forget it." A single tear managed escaped the corner of her eye. She didn't need to deal with this.
Christian sighed deeply, his hands falling back at his sides. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." The spitefulness that was in his voice before had evaporated, and he genuinely sounded as if he was sorry. It still didn't make it any easier to look up at him.
She wiped away the tear the moment it trickled down her cheek. Inhaling deeply, she raised her chin up but refrained from making direct eye contact with him. "Forget it. I should just go. I really shouldn't have even come by to begin with." She adjusted the strap of her purse, pulling it higher up on her shoulder. In an effort to keep herself from looking at him, she unzipped it, and reached inside to fish out her car keys. When he didn't utter another word, she finally found herself looking up into his face.
He scowled at her, taking in a deep breath and exhaling sharply. He pursed his lips together with a shake of his head. "It's not you, it's me. I've had to deal with way too much shit today. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."
She nodded her head gently. "Still, I really should go. I'll talk to you later I guess." Without another word, she brushed past him, striding towards the front of the office. She was half-way to the door when he called out to her. Stopping in her tracks, she slowly rotated around on her heels to see him heading back in her direction.
"You're welcome to stay if you like. The office will be closing soon, and I don't think we have any other appointments scheduled for today anyway. You can stay and visit some more with Sean, and maybe we could grab a bite to eat on the way home."
She bit the inside of her cheek. It did sound tempting, but she ultimately found herself shaking her head. "No, that's okay. Thank you for offering though, but I got some stuff I have to do back at home. I still haven't finished unpacking all my stuff so I have to do that." She began inching towards the door on her heels. "I'll see you later though, okay?"
He hesitated before nodding his head in approval, turning his head to look off to his left. "Sure."
She sighed softly, taking one last look at him before whirling back around and exiting the office. As tempted as she had been to stay, it wasn't a good idea. Even though he'd already found out she was there, staying any longer might in fact be much worse. She couldn't possibly risk him finding out that she had lied to him, and suddenly discover the real truth as to why she had stopped by. If he didn't hear it from Sean, he'd probably hear it from someone else. As far as she was concerned, she'd gotten off pretty lucky, considering the small tiff they'd gotten into. However, when she least expected it, things could just as easily blow up in her face. She wasn't going to get her hopes up.
After all, the day wasn't over yet.