night.
At little after noon, Ms. Lila stuck her head into my office. At first, I thought she might ask about picking up lunch but when I looked up, I saw that worry lined her face. “Mr. Young, there’s someone here to see you.”
I quickly pulled up my schedule on my laptop. Had a forgotten about a client meeting? I didn’t see any appointments. “Who is it?”
She scrunched her face even tighter. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t say. A young woman.”
I stood and followed the tiny office assistant to the reception area. I was surprised to see Ella standing there. She looked so small, like she had shrunk since the last time I saw her. My surprise immediately turned to despair when I saw how tired and haggard she looked. Dark circles shadowed her eyes and her normally silky hair was plastered to her head. She was also wearing worn out , paint-filled jeans and an equally worn-out, paint-filled tee shirt.
And she was barefoot.
“Ella,” I couldn’t hold back the concern in my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I need you.” Her words were like a desperate plea.
“I get off work in a few hours. I’ll come by right after work. I promise.” I now deeply regretted not seeing her the previous night. Whatever was going on now probably could have been avoided.
Tears starting streaming down Ella’s face. “Please,” she managed to get out through a sob.
I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to reveal about my relatio nship with Ella to Ms. Lila. We really didn’t talk about our personal lives with each other. But Ella looked so fragile, like she was cracking right in front of me, and I sensed that I was the only one who could hold her together. So, I took a step toward her and took her into my arms. She melted into my embrace.
“I need you,” she whispered.
“I promise I’ll be there right after work. Just let me finish up here.”
When I looked in her eyes, she didn’t seem convinced. I wasn’t sure she was thinking completely rationally.
She averted my gaze. “You don’t want me.”
My heart sank. I wondered how she could have possibly a rrived at the conclusion. Not seeing her yesterday was clearly a mistake. In hindsight, I obviously would have done things differently. Her not having a phone was also an issue. I knew with certainty that I was going to see her again but I now understood that she didn’t know that. She didn’t have that same level of certainty. And why should she, given her history? The pieces started to fall together quickly and her demeanor suddenly made a lot more sense.
I wanted her more than anything but I needed to be able to convince her of that. “I do want you,” I stated.
“I’m not a doll you can put away on a shelf and take down to play with whenever you want.”
Was that truly how she felt? It hit me like a brick to the side of my head. Did she think I was using her, just like every other guy, to satisfy my own needs? Had I not taken into account her needs and her desires? She did tell me how important it was for her to see me every day and I chose to ignore it because I put work before her.
But work was important. I needed my job to survive. Maybe she didn’t understand the significance of that because she had so much money from her family she never needed to work.
I kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. We can talk more about this later. I promise I will be there right after work. I won’t even go home first. I’ll go right to your place.”
She furrowed her brows as she seemed to digest what I had just said. “Okay,” she agreed finally. “I’ll see you after work.”
I felt a twinge of fear, maybe even slight panic, as I loosened my hold on her. Something was still not right but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I considered telling my boss I had an eme rgency and taking the afternoon off to be with her. She looked like she could fall to pieces at any moment.
I placed my hand on her shoulder.
At little after noon, Ms. Lila stuck her head into my office. At first, I thought she might ask about picking up lunch but when I looked up, I saw that worry lined her face. “Mr. Young, there’s someone here to see you.”
I quickly pulled up my schedule on my laptop. Had a forgotten about a client meeting? I didn’t see any appointments. “Who is it?”
She scrunched her face even tighter. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t say. A young woman.”
I stood and followed the tiny office assistant to the reception area. I was surprised to see Ella standing there. She looked so small, like she had shrunk since the last time I saw her. My surprise immediately turned to despair when I saw how tired and haggard she looked. Dark circles shadowed her eyes and her normally silky hair was plastered to her head. She was also wearing worn out , paint-filled jeans and an equally worn-out, paint-filled tee shirt.
And she was barefoot.
“Ella,” I couldn’t hold back the concern in my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I need you.” Her words were like a desperate plea.
“I get off work in a few hours. I’ll come by right after work. I promise.” I now deeply regretted not seeing her the previous night. Whatever was going on now probably could have been avoided.
Tears starting streaming down Ella’s face. “Please,” she managed to get out through a sob.
I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to reveal about my relatio nship with Ella to Ms. Lila. We really didn’t talk about our personal lives with each other. But Ella looked so fragile, like she was cracking right in front of me, and I sensed that I was the only one who could hold her together. So, I took a step toward her and took her into my arms. She melted into my embrace.
“I need you,” she whispered.
“I promise I’ll be there right after work. Just let me finish up here.”
When I looked in her eyes, she didn’t seem convinced. I wasn’t sure she was thinking completely rationally.
She averted my gaze. “You don’t want me.”
My heart sank. I wondered how she could have possibly a rrived at the conclusion. Not seeing her yesterday was clearly a mistake. In hindsight, I obviously would have done things differently. Her not having a phone was also an issue. I knew with certainty that I was going to see her again but I now understood that she didn’t know that. She didn’t have that same level of certainty. And why should she, given her history? The pieces started to fall together quickly and her demeanor suddenly made a lot more sense.
I wanted her more than anything but I needed to be able to convince her of that. “I do want you,” I stated.
“I’m not a doll you can put away on a shelf and take down to play with whenever you want.”
Was that truly how she felt? It hit me like a brick to the side of my head. Did she think I was using her, just like every other guy, to satisfy my own needs? Had I not taken into account her needs and her desires? She did tell me how important it was for her to see me every day and I chose to ignore it because I put work before her.
But work was important. I needed my job to survive. Maybe she didn’t understand the significance of that because she had so much money from her family she never needed to work.
I kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. We can talk more about this later. I promise I will be there right after work. I won’t even go home first. I’ll go right to your place.”
She furrowed her brows as she seemed to digest what I had just said. “Okay,” she agreed finally. “I’ll see you after work.”
I felt a twinge of fear, maybe even slight panic, as I loosened my hold on her. Something was still not right but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I considered telling my boss I had an eme rgency and taking the afternoon off to be with her. She looked like she could fall to pieces at any moment.
I placed my hand on her shoulder.
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