He had developed a habit after that day. Erik knew it was bad but he couldn't help it. It was the only thing that soothed him anymore. Christine would ask questions and questions would just annoy him all over again.
He knew it wasn't her fault but sometimes he needed to deal with things on his own. This is why he went out of his way to avoid snapping at her.
She didn't deserve to have him pile all his shit on her and take it out on her. They'd come so far in their relationship and he didn't want to set it back to the beginning again. The beginning had been rather rough at times but more than a little worth it.
For the millionth time today, the phone rang- effectively breaking him out of his thoughts. He slammed a hand on it as he picked it up, muffling the sigh as best as he possibly could.
"Hello, how can I help you?" Erik questioned, using his best costumer service voice. Something that still made him cringe after years and years.
"You can help me by making sure your incompetent staff does this without fucking it up! Again!" Carlotta screeched.
He held the phone away from his ear, gritting his teeth. Why had they gone through the trouble of getting her back?
He still couldn't answer that question and he knew that his employees wouldn't have one that he found satisfactory, either.
Perhaps they just liked watching him suffer or perhaps they were trying to make him go grey early. Maybe both.
He put the phone to his ear and sighed heavily, this time more audibly. He hoped he could annoy her into leaving again. This time he'd be around to ensure that the bitch didn't get an opening to come back.
"Might I ask what my employees supposedly did this time around?" He questioned, not even trying to keep his voice pleasant.
"I said I wanted crimson! They sent me blood red!" Carlotta snapped.
Was there really much of a difference between these two colors? He sure as hell didn't think so. But then again, blood red should be the shade that someone was going for if they wished to seem fancy.
"I'll see what I can do. We'll send you a replacement. We'll cover shipment too." Erik offered as disinterestedly as he could manage.
Of course he was still expecting her to pay full price. He'd already compromised for her. Again. He was beginning to think that she was just trying to scam them at this point.
"No. That's not good enough! I want a discount too, at the very least. Since you insist upon making me pay." Carlotta demanded shrilly.
Erik groaned and rested his forehead against his desk, hunching over. Perhaps he wasn't so far off in thinking that this was all a scam at this point. But he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to get this over with and get out of here.
He needed a break. A nice long break. Maybe he'd even take a week off or something. But he'd leave explicit instructions to let Carlotta walk away from good if it came to that. It would be better for everyone.
"Fine!" Erik snapped, slamming the phone down.
Hanging up on her probably made her angrier but he really didn't give a fuck. He made a note of the discount and the replacement before storming out of the office.
He let someone know he was going on break as he passed them but he didn't stop to speak to them. He didn't have the energy nor the self control to do such a thing at the moment.
While he thought his employees were incompetent on their worst days, they worked hard and that was all that mattered to him. As long as they tried, they were worth having around.
Not only that but he didn't really have the desire to hold interviews again. That got on his nerves as well as he had to pretend that he actually liked meeting strangers and such.
He headed out to his favorite restaurant and then to the park, settling in for the next little while.
When he went home that evening, he couldn't find Christine. It concerned him a little bit because she was almost always ready to greet him.
He'd told her that she didn't have to but she liked to do so unless she had to work overtime. He cautiously removed his coat and hung it up. He padded into the kitchen and found it empty as well.
"Chrissy...?" Erik called quietly, peering out the back window.
When he didn't spot her outside, he headed towards the stairs. He checked every room before coming to the realization that she was in the bedroom.
He pushed the bedroom door open slowly to see her bundled under the covers, hands tucked under her cheek as she stared blankly at the wall across from her.
It worried him. He carefully apporached her and rested a hand on her leg, rubbing it gently through the material.
"Darling...is something wrong? I've been looking for you." Erik pointed out gently.
Christine didn't react right away. She seemed to be ignoring him. But before he could get up and leave her to her privacy, she peered over at him. It felt like she was seeing directly through him.
"Why haven't you been coming home for lunch like you used to?" Christine questioned, ignoring what he'd said as if she hadn't heard him.
Well, fuck. He should've expected her to find out eventually. She always seemed to do.
He remained silent, debating how to beat have this conversation. He would have to be delicate or else she'd just get even more upset.
But none of it was her fault. It was his own damn fault and his inability to deal with the changes that needed to be made.
It wasn't like he could just tell her that all of this still made him feel as if he was much older than he actually was. Not after they'd already had a similar discussion.