By popular demand, this is the sequel to my first short story, “An Underlying Discovery Within a Brief Moment.” I hope you like it!
<3,
Cleo
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An Unpredictable Turn of Events
Circumstances quickly change when larger doses of pleasure are added to work life, new proposals are made, and the essence of true feelings are finally voiced.
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Somehow, he convinced her to go on the business trip.
“I’m nervous about my press conference,” he confessed. “I need your good energy and smile to help me feel comfortable.”
She knew there was no way that this could be true yet, she liked the idea. Her mind wandered as she pictured herself, dressed in her most sexy business outfit, cameras flashing, and media attention all around.
“And what young girl doesn’t like Miami?” he threw in at the last moment.
“Do I have to decide right now at this very moment?” she asked playfully.
“No you don’t, but deep down you know that you’ve already decided. Going with me would be much more fun than staying here. Plus, you would miss me too much,” he said without flinching.
She flinched.
For the rest of the day, she weighed her options. She could stay in LA, in the comfort of her own single lifestyle, OR she could take a chance, a risk, and do something that not every girl gets the opportunity to do.
A few hours later, popping into her cubicle and standing uncomfortably close, he probed, “so have you decided yet Miss Cautious-about-everything?” He stared into her eyes.
“You would like to know, wouldn’t you?” she said in a sly tone as her lips gloss glowed beneath the fluorescent lighting.
He smiled.
“Fine, I will go with you,” she said much more enthusiastically than she actually felt.
“Great!” he exclaimed. “And I will get you your own hotel room so that you feel comfortable.”
She secretly sighed a huge sigh of relief.
The days went by and the time for departure to Miami approached. Three days of just him and her. Daunting. He had been floating around the office acting very excited for hours now and everyone else could tell. She could barely handle it. She was about to break. Why did he act like such a school boy sometimes?
He came up next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He smelled of laundry mixed with french fries. “You should come over before we go to the airport and I will cook you dinner. I am a great cook. What do you want me to prepare for you? I love to barbeque anything and we could just talk and have wine and I could pet you,” he spoke so fast as if trying desperately to release all of his adrenaline.
She froze. This was not good. As if the trip was not scaring her enough, this somewhat romantic invitation to dinner officially freaked her out.
She covered her wince with a half-smile and stepped back, creating distance between them. “Um, I don’t know about that,” she voiced. “I wanted to just keep focused on business things.”
The electricity between them instantly changed, although he said nothing at first. He looked as though she had just thrown him a curveball.
She waited patiently for his response, knowing that sometimes all a person needs is a little, uninterrupted time.
“Yes, I understand, but I can’t help that you are the most beautiful thing in my life.”
She was floored, as usual. Clearly this was not just business to him. The universe must be testing her.
“Is it best if I just don’t go to Miami?” she asked politely and half-jokingly.
He took her seriously now. “Well, it looks that way, doesn’t it?” he replied with just enough sarcasm to put a bad taste in her mouth.
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Weeks would go by before another word was shared between them.
The silent treatment was difficult to swallow at first. She tried to reach out to him a few times to check in, but he was very short with her. “This is how it should be,” she thought to herself.
Meanwhile, her career did not advance nor retreat. Everything seemed very stagnant, as if waiting for the next gust of wind to blow her in any given direction. Little did she know that a can of worms had been opened and this was merely the first taste.
He dove head first into his work after she had rejected him. He was successful, charming, and generous. How dare she say, “No.” So many women would kill to be in her position. Focusing on his growing wealth, he ignored her existence in his life… at least for the time being.
