By seven thirty, I had finished filing and cataloguing the artwork for the gallery. I even managed to squeeze in my report for the day. I wanted to type in and ask Alexandra about William's non-involvement on the gallery. Why didn't he know about it? But, I don't want to cross that business relationship and make it personal. Was it even personal?
I sent in my report and quickly gathered my things before William decided to go home early. I didn't want to look at him again today after the incident in the elevator. So I made my exit before the clock on my computer indicated that it was seven thirty.
When I reached home, I felt a sudden sense of relief sweeping over me. I made myself a sandwich for dinner and munched down on it with a can of beer as I switched on the television. Before nine, I was already in my bed, curled up into a ball under my sheets. With nothing to think about, my mind went back to the elevator scene again.
I closed my eyes in the dark room and pictured that moment. I could literally feel his warm breath on my cheek. The lingering scent of his cologne and body wash seemed to have drenched my comforter. I opened my eyes and pushed everything away from me. What have I gotten myself into?
The next morning, I was half dead as I lay down on my front. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear my alarm going off. But I was too tired since I couldn't sleep properly last night. My mind kept on drifting to the image of his lips and his blue eyes. I just couldn't get him out of my head. I had to do something to change this or I'm going to be in deep trouble.
When I reached the office building an hour later, I stood outside for a second like a statue. I was hesitant to go in and was contemplating whether I should go in or not. The truth was I didn't know why I debated in the first place. I didn't feel good about the fact he physically affected me. I didn't even dare make a coffee trip today. If they wanted it, I can just take my time to go and get it.
With a huge breath, I straightened myself up and marched on. As I reached the lobby, I gave Danny a short wave of good morning, which she returned with her fingers pointing at me and gesturing it to go to her. I looked at her for a second, puzzled. But I followed through and walked up to her.
"Hey, is there something you need?" I asked as I reached the counter.
Without a reply, she placed a glossy magazine on the counter in front of me. "Have you seen this already?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
I looked at her in confusion and glanced down at the magazine. At first, I didn't know what I should be looking at. But then Danny's finger pointed at the photos below the headline. It was a photo of William walking into the restaurant from yesterday afternoon. And beside him was me, but it only showed my side profile.
I grabbed the magazine, putting the image closer to my face. "What the...?" I hissed in shock as I continued to look at the photos.
"You should be glad about this, Andy. At least, the paparazzi didn't capture your full face," Danny stated in comfort, like this wasn't really something major.
"Are you kidding me? That's obviously me!" I exclaimed in outrage, slamming the magazine back to the counter.
"Shh! People might hear you," Danny hissed frantically, putting a finger in front of her mouth to tell me to keep quiet.
"What do you expect? This is very major for me. For him, this is nothing," I countered back heatedly in a whisper.
"You don't have to worry. I've already called Maggie. She'll help you out," she stated confidently, like she had handled stuff like this before. Well, maybe she had.
"You must think I'm like one of those girls..." I mumbled angrily, annoyed at myself.
"You aren't those girls, Andy. Now, stop moping and head on upstairs. Maggie is waiting for you," she commanded, grabbing the magazine out of my view and pointing at the elevator.
"This is really bothersome," I mumbled again and walked towards the elevator, giving Danny a curt wave of goodbye.
When I reached my floor, I hesitated a little when I thought of William being there. What were his thoughts on the magazine? Is he just as pissed as I am? Well, maybe not as pissed, since the man was used to it.
With a sigh, I walked out of the elevator and up to my desk. Maggie noticed and greeted me with a face breaking into a smile as she held up the same magazine that Danny had shown me.
"So, what do you think?" she asked, her voice held a teasing edge to it.
"As you can see, I'm not happy about it," I replied, pointing at the frown on my face.
Maggie chuckled at my reply and placed the magazine back down on her desk. "Don't worry. I already told the press that it was a misunderstanding. You were just an associate there for lunch," she stated nonchalantly, like this was how she always handled the situation.
"Is that the same excuse you used to all the girls he slept with?" I asked bitterly, dropping my bag down on the floor underneath my desk and I sat down.
"No. Not really," she replied, sounding unsure of herself.
I turned towards her, my eyes blazing in annoyance. She noticed my stare and chuckled. I can't believe that she found this situation amusing.
"This really isn't funny, Maggie."
"Oh, come on, Andy. It isn't that bad. You aren't really sleeping with him, are you?" she asked, her amusement clearly showing as her eyebrows wiggled playfully.
"What? No! That won't happen. Ever!" I fumed as I almost screamed the words out.
"I was just playing with you. I know you don't like him," Maggie replied softly, looking slightly guilty at what she said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," I countered calmly, giving her a weak smile.
"Well, at least I already know it would be hopeless for me," a familiar voice suddenly interjected and startled us both.
Maggie and I turned towards William, who was silently standing by the elevator, looking like the Mogul man he is. But today, he looked even more gorgeous as he was wearing something light-a grey three-piece suit with a navy tie-instead of his usual dark suits. His hair was slicked back with a few strands out of place. It made him looked effortless.
I blinked a few times and then felt my face heat up for no reason as his blue eyes darted at me. I froze on my seat, not able to look away from him. Slowly, he walked towards me with a smile playing at the edge of his lips.
"You look lovely today," he commented as he reached my desk, pausing for a second.
When I didn't directly give him a reply, he smiled at my lack of words and turned to Maggie and greeted her with a good morning. As he did that, the short second gave me the chance to snap myself back to reality. I wouldn't let him sweet talk me.
"Mr. Maxwell. Good morning," I finally said before he made his way to his office.
He turned towards me, slightly stunned for a second before he gathered himself and grinned.
"Good Morning, to you, too, Andy," he replied before entering his office and closing the door behind him.
I swiftly turned myself away from where he just stood and faced my computer. To my left, I faintly heard Maggie's soft chuckles, which turned into a cough as I glanced at her.
After that, there was a definite silence as we both turned to our work and kept to ourselves. Maggie didn't bring up the topic of William and me for the rest of the day, which was the total opposite of what I was doing inside my head.
Twenty
As days passed, the awkwardness between William and me only increased drastically. Half the time, I wouldn't even know how to approach him. It got even more unbearable when he offered me another ride home. Since then, I vowed to go home before he even stepped out of his office. By now, it's safe to say that I'm avoiding him. It was for the best. But why did I feel upset?
As I sat down on the chair beside my father, absentmindedly peeling an apple for him, I thought about the dreaded magazine cover again. Even though that article came out earlier this week, it felt like it happened today.
"If you keep on sighing, I'm going to call some backup to pound that gloominess out of you," my father threatened me as he lightly knocked his fist against my temple.
I looked towards him, giving him a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, I won't mope anymore, promise," I swore guiltily.
"Billy called today. He said that he would come visit us sometime soon," he stated, changing the topic.
"Yeah, I heard that from Terry. Is he staying here for the day or overnight?" I asked, trying to sound interested.
"He'll be staying over at Terry's for the night." He shook his head from a distant memory.
I looked at him and raised my eyebrow in question. There was more to the story than he was letting on. But instead of telling me, he just smiled and looked back at the overhead television. It was like we didn't say anything to each other at all.
After a few minutes of silence, there was a soft knock on the door. I glanced up in time to see Doctor Stanley come in. It's been awhile since I'd seen him.