Page 28 of Unexpected You

“You get migraines?” She hadn’t said a thing, but I had caught her rubbing her forehead every now and then and taking pills from her desk.

“Yes. Normally I can take my medication in time to prevent them, but this one hit me just as I was going to bed and I was too tired, but then it came back with a vengeance.”

“Are you okay now? Do you need to take the day off?” I’d sat down in the chair next to her, but I made to stand up, as if I was going to physically send her to bed or something.

“No, no. It’s gone now. But they wipe me out when I have them. My brain is always a little foggy and my energy is shot for the next day. I’ll rally.”

She gripped her coffee cup like it contained the elixir of life. Today I guess it did.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked, still concerned.

“No. Your job. That’s what I need. And don’t hover or ask me how I am too much.” She frowned and I almost wanted to laugh.

Eloise Roth was grumpy. Who would have thought?

She was grumpy and tired and finally showing me that she was human.

“I can do that,” I said, going back to my own sandwich. We ate in silence and I tried not to watch her too much. Fuck, the idea of grumpy Eloise was doing something to me. Low flutters in my stomach distracted me from my breakfast and my fingers tingled with…something.

Nothing I needed to think about. Nope. No way. Push that aside and do your fucking job.

Eloise did her work, but I kept catching her frowning and sighing. In general, she wasn’t a person who made a lot of noise, but I kept catching her when I pulled off my headphones to ask her something.

After lunch, I heard her curse under her breath. I’d been turning my music off and moving one-half of my headphones so I could hear her every now and then.

I swallowed a laugh and then heard another frustrated sound as she pushed her chair back and stood up.

“Not a word,” she said when I opened my mouth to ask if she was okay. Right. I wasn’t supposed to do that.

Figuring she was just going to the bathroom or taking a quick break, I went back to deleting comments on social media.

When she didn’t come back for at least twenty minutes, I wondered if I should go find her. Looking at her desk, I saw that she hadn’t taken her phone with her, or else I would have just sent her a message.

What to do, what to do. I sat there for another five minutes and then decided that I had to seek her out. What if she’d, I don’t know, fallen down or something? She could be bleeding out right now. Or maybe she was fine, and I’d just watched too many shows about first responders and medical emergencies.

She was probably going to be pissed, but I couldn’t take the risk that something was really wrong, so I left the office and hit the kitchen. No Eloise. The library. No Eloise. The backyard. No Eloise.

I tried the rest of the rooms downstairs. I’d never actually been upstairs, which was where her bedroom and the rest of the bedrooms and who knew what else were. This house was so large for one person, but she had the money to afford it so she could do what she wanted. I’d feel lost and small in a house this big alone. Even if I’d had the money, I would want something much smaller and cozier. I’d always thought a townhome might be the perfect kind of place. I’d have my own house, technically, but I’d be close to other people so I wouldn’t feel isolated. I liked being around people.

At a loss for what to do, I stood at the bottom of one of the staircases (there were two on either side of the first floor), and called, hesitantly, “Eloise? Just checking to see if you’re okay. You’ve been gone for a while and you didn’t take your phone.” And now I was babbling.

A few beats of silence passed and then Eloise appeared at the top of the stairs.

“I’m fine. You didn’t need to come get me. You’re not a nurse.”

She crossed her arms and the glare she gave me was frosty enough to freeze a glass of water solid.

“I know. But I am your assistant and I wanted to check on you. I’ll go back to work now.”

I didn’t move right away, letting her stare me down.

Eventually she uncrossed her arms and her shoulders dropped. “Fine. I’m fine. Just needed a minute. My mind isn’t cooperating with me and it’s frustrating.”

I nodded. “I can imagine it would be.”

“I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, take your time. Do you want some coffee? I know caffeine can help with migraines.” My mom had migraines growing up off and on and I remembered bringing her coffee to drink while she lay in the bedroom with the windows blocked out and an ice pack over her eyes.