There is only Nate and Saxon on this floor—well, I guess only Saxon now, as all the staff are on the floor below. There are only a few offices up here, as well as a large boardroom. The apartment attached to Saxon’s office takes up the majority of the floor. I guess I could have one of the spare offices, although I’m not sure if they’ve been set up or not.
“Not that Saxon is much company. I practically sit in front of a closed door,” Ruth says.
I laugh to myself as I think about the differences between Nate and Saxon. I guess looking after both the boys for years meant Ruth got the best of both worlds. Saxon and Nate would always balance each other out. Another reason they were so close, and a major factor which kept them from rarely disagreeing.
Ruth lightly pulls on my hand, and my feet automatically follow. My head is moving down the hall, starting fresh and moving on, but I leave my heart in front of Nate’s office door, willing it to open.
Saxon’s door is closed, as Ruth predicted. She walks straight up and knocks twice, barely waiting for his response before opening it.
“Come in.” Saxon’s voice is low, dull and monotonous, and he doesn’t look up as we enter.
“Look who I found wandering around in the parking lot,” Ruth says excitedly.
Saxon looks up with a blank expression on his face. As soon as his eyes lock on mine they widen, and his mouth parts slightly to take in a breath. There’s no other word to describe it: it’s pure dumbfounded shock. The silence becomes awkward, and I begin to fidget with the straps of my bags.
“Brooke,” he whispers. He is looking at me like he has seen a ghost. “What are you doing here?” There’s something raw in his voice, but I can’t tell if it’s indignation or bewilderment.
Glancing over at Ruth standing by the door, she looks as confused as I am. I thought he wanted me to come here; he seemed so keen about it and almost pushy. It’s as if he’s not happy to see me, his tense body language and cold reception. I thought this was a good idea, but now I’m not so sure.
As I begin to turn to leave, Saxon flies up and out of his chair, charging towards me like a man on a mission. He hugs me so tightly he momentarily lifts me off the floor, holding me close against him. Now I’m the one in shock. Wow, okay, so he is happy to see me?
I stand uneasily with my arms down by my sides while his are wrapped tightly around me. It’s uncomfortable so I slowly reach up to give him the awkward pat. You know the one. The weak, soft pat on the back indicating to the other person to release their hold and step back. Except Saxon doesn’t do this. He keeps holding on tight until I clear my throat and he finally moves away, although still gripping my upper arms tightly.
“I can’t believe you came, Brooke. I was sure after I left you on Friday I would never be seeing you here. You seemed so against it.” There is awe in his voice, and I wonder if everyone knows what a big deal this is for me or if it’s just Saxon. Him understanding the magnitude of my loss. He gets it. He gets me. The connection between us sparks again, and I automatically feel comfortable in his presence.
“I wasn’t going to… I wasn’t even going to consider it,” I say in a quiet voice.
“What brought you here, then?” He steps back and looks me up and down. “You look like you’re dressed to stay,” he says, and I see the corner of his mouth slightly tip up.
“I am here to stay. I can’t keep going on about keeping Argo and putting off actually coming in and taking over.”
“Taking over?” He frowns in confusion.
“Yes. Once you teach me everything you know I’ll be able to take over.”
He smirks at me. “Everything I know? I don’t think we’ll be able to accomplish that.”
“Funny,” I say with no humour in my voice. “You know what I mean. Once you’ve shown me everything and I can run this place on my own, the sooner you can leave.”
Saxon’s eyes go wide. “Leave? Are you firing me?”
“No…” I pause. “But I’m sure you’re ready to move on. You’ve already put your life on hold for three months for me and now I’m here. If we work really hard I’m sure we can have you leaving in six months or so,” I say enthusiastically.
Saxon is looking at me with narrowed eyes, as if he’s trying to figure something out, but he only nods slowly at me and steps back. He waves his hand toward to the door, gesturing for us to leave, and I turn to see the door is shut and Ruth has gone. I hadn’t noticed her leaving.
Walking to the door, Saxon reaches around to open it for me. Stepping into the hallway, I wait to follow behind him. He leads me further down the corridor to a door on the opposite side to his and Nate’s. I look at the closed door and then back at Saxon. I’m positive this space was being used as storage.