Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“Are we moving too fast?” I ask her.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Look, let’s just stop, okay?” She lets out a cry, turns, and leaves my office.
The door shuts and I stare at it for the next few minutes. What the fuck just happened? I’m tempted to go after her. Tell her that everything will be all right and that I’d never hurt her. That’s exactly the wrong thing to do. If I’m to have a chance with her again, I need to give her space.
Chapter 18: Olivia
“A lot of work sure gets done on the third floor,” Rosie says as she hands me my coffee. “Jace is always the first one in and here you are a close second.”
I blush and smile weakly in response and wrap my hands around my coffee. It’s takeout and for a second or two I contemplate drinking it at the café to delay going to the office.
After the outburst I had yesterday, Jace must think I’ve lost it. It was dramatic and not me at all but I can’t tell him that without telling him the whole truth. I’m not ready to do that and not just because I haven’t completed my assignment. I’m not ready to lose Jace yet. After yesterday, our affair is over but I still get to see him at the office. My hurting heart will get small doses of him until I get over him. It’ll be like slowly peeling off a Band-Aid. Minimal pain.
“Thank you,” I tell Rosie as I turn away. Yeah, we do get a lot of work done…and a whole lot of loving.
God, I’m going to miss that. A sob forms in my throat and I quickly swallow it down. I drag my feet but I finally get to the elevators. Today it moves faster than usual and in mere moments, it deposits me on our floor. I square my shoulders and walk purposefully toward the office.
I go through the motions, my heart in suspense as I glance at the door, expecting Jace to burst out at any moment. He doesn’t. I sit behind my desk and turn on my computer. I did the right thing in ending things with Jace. Of course, it’s going to be painful. He meant a lot to me and in the short time I’ve known him, I’ve become fond of him.
Fond? I almost laugh myself. Instead, I reach for my coffee and take a gulp. It burns as it goes down my throat. I shouldn’t have been having an affair with my boss. Ending things with Jace was the right thing to do. How many times will I need to say this to myself until I believe it?
Time moves too fast. At ten minutes to eight, I stand up like a robot and head to the kitchenette to make my boss his cup of coffee. Maybe if I think of him as my boss and not Jace, my lover, I’ll get through this with my dignity intact. The machine beeps softly when the coffee is ready. My fingers tremble as I carry Jace’s coffee to his office.
I knock and he calls out to me to enter. Every sound is magnified. My knock is loud and brash. Oh, God. I’m going to be sick. I push the door in and eyes looking anywhere but at Jace, I enter.
“Good morning,” I mumble.
“Morning.”
That voice. It pierces straight into my heart like an arrow. I crave to hear Jace whispering sweet words into my ear. I hate the formality between us now. Am I a fool for ending things before I have to?
“Would you like to go through your schedule?” I ask him.
“Sure.” He sounds so unaffected by everything. As if his life has swiftly moved on.
The unselfish side of me wants it to be so. The selfish part of me wants Jace to suffer as much as I’m suffering. I tap my tablet and clear my voice. We’ve done this enough times that I can do it without thinking. Jace speaks only once to instruct me to respond to one of his managers by email.
I’m relieved and in pain when I finally leave the office. It’s a long drawn-out day and apart from his rounds, Jace does not leave his office. At exactly five, I leave, opting to write from home. I’ve already sent a piece to the PR department and I’m waiting for their feedback while working on the next.
The rest of the week is not any different and by the time Friday rolls around, I’m itching to let loose. Work-wise, I’ve gotten a lot done. I had a meeting with Amelia and she’s happy with the introductory pieces I’ve done so far. She did grill me about my relationship with Jace but I’ve denied any involvement with him.
I did manage to convince her that it wasn’t me in that picture and even if she looked doubtful, she was convinced. I’m still hanging on to the piece that I wrote about Ivy and how she was given the wrong sperm. I told her that things were going well and I’m getting a really good idea of how the clinic worked. She was satisfied with that but I know that as soon as my time at the clinic is up, she’ll expect a full write-up of what I’ve learned. I’ll deal with that when the time comes.