Page 79 of Insufferable Boss

'What do you mean?'

'This is not a small company,' I said. “And this is not a small sale. Are you just in the habit of giving money, and millions, and millions of it, I might add, to just anyone?”

I understood then where she was coming from, and I sighed as I leaned into my chair and watched her.

“You're asking if this is purely professional?”

“Yes,” she replied, and I was sure it would be easier for me just to admit that this is the case, the more impossible it became for the words to form.

“No, it's not”' I replied.

For the first time, I couldn't read her expression at all. This was where the shrewd part of her came out, and I could do nothing but watch it.

“Why isn't it purely professional?” she asked, and I sighed.

“You know why.”

“'You want me to assume why?” she asked.

“No, I don't.” I wanted to get closer to her, but I stayed right where I was.

“Lena... I know this is not appropriate to say, but I want to say it. I don't want you to assume.”

“Go ahead,” she said.

“I think... things stopped being professional between us a while ago. I also think that they stopped being casual with us as well. I know it wasn't the plan, but... I'd like us to stop for a moment and acknowledge it.”

She nodded, and I could see then that this wasn't all in my head. I had suspected at least that she felt the same way, but now I was immensely glad that I had spoken up.

“Is it possible?” I asked, and she finally met my gaze.

“Is what possible?” she asked.

“That we take a shot at this for real. That we see where it could go?”

She stared at me for so long that I was sure she was going to reject me. But then, to my almost disbelief and relief, she nodded. However, before I could say a single word more, she turned around to leave.

“Think about resolving the issue with my brother as quickly as you can,” she said. “He did give us a heads up, but he's quite impatient, and at the snap of a finger, he can take this to your sister instead. Maybe he'll get pissed off at something or the other, and that's it.”

“Alright,” I replied, and she exited the office.

I couldn't take my eyes off her as she left, at the gentle sway of her hips and her calm movements. Her hair was flowing down her back today, and she had on white tailored pants and a jacket. She looked wonderful, and when it dawned on me that soon enough, we could be together for real, I didn't know how to contain the excitement that I felt. It had been a while since I felt this way, and suddenly it made all the looming problems that I had to deal with seem like they were a million miles away.

38

Lena

I hated airports. Generally, anything that had to do with me traveling was not the best of experiences, but the outcome was usually worth all the pain. Like, for instance, today I was welcoming my best friend in the whole world to New York, and I was so excited that I arrived early. Another reason why I found myself walking around the airport and being restless was because I felt quite weak. I was sure it was the fatigue from focusing on setting up the new department, and staying cooped up in the office was making me clouded.

There was also the reason that I was avoiding one person in particular, and this time it made absolutely no sense to however, I couldn't help it. I was surprised by what he had said to me in his office just earlier that morning; however, I was also happy. So happy that it had contributed to my restlessness and mental fog. In essence, I felt too much from the day and needed the relief from her... the change in perspective. The moment she came out from the arrival gate, I was more than ready to give her a hug.

"Oh my God, why are you here?" she asked in surprise.

"I could have just taken a cab; I know how busy you are."

"It's fine," I told her. "I needed the time away."

She gave me a look like she wasn't sure that that was the whole story, but the excitement at reconnecting again soon trumped all of that, and soon we headed back to the car.