Chapter Eleven
Nina
One solid week passed without me seeing Ashton at all. It was as if he’d turned into a ghost at the station. His work got done, but no one saw him doing it.
The ride home that Sunday evening after our wonderful weekend was a quiet one. Ashton claimed he was just tired and that was why he was being so quiet. He had the driver drop him off first, leaving me with Lila and Duke.
When I asked Duke if Ashton had said anything to him about being upset about something, he told me there was nothing. So, I took Ashton at his word, thinking he was really tired.
Monday came, and I fully expected to see Ashton all chipper after a good night’s rest. But I never saw him at all. And the door to his office was closed and locked. I knew that because I tried to open it.
I let it go that first day, thinking that maybe he was sick. Then Tuesday came, and the same thing happened, door closed and locked, Ashton nowhere to be seen by anyone.
At the daily coffee breaks with Lila and Julia, I asked them both to see what they could find out about the suddenly elusive man.
I’d thought we were headed in the right direction. He had almost kissed me, after all. His actions now made no sense to me.
The only information that I got was from Julia, telling me that he was actually at the station. He was doing his work from his office and watching the newscasts from there too, directing the cameramen through an earpiece from his desk.
I wondered what he was doing for lunch all those days. Lila told me she saw food being delivered a couple of times. He was eating in his office as well.
It wasn’t like Ashton Lange to keep to himself the way he was doing. He was a social person. And I was getting worried about the man.
If he’d changed his mind about us, all he would’ve had to do was tell me that. I would understand. It would hurt, but I would get it.
I didn’t get what he was doing by becoming a recluse right there at work. If he wasn’t socializing at work or home, then when was he talking to people?
I headed up to see Artimus and Duke, hoping to get some answers. I had a feeling they were being tight-lipped with their wives about Ashton’s behavior. Maybe their wives weren’t being as demanding as I could be.
Heading up to their offices on the top floor, I got off the elevator and saw Brady, the receptionist, working with his intern, Veronica. She was the newest addition to our coffee meetings, but she’d missed it that morning. Brady had her busy elsewhere, but where exactly that was, none of us knew. When I’d asked that morning, he’d simply said that she was indisposed at the moment and wouldn’t be joining us for coffee.
As Brady was busily cleaning the chairs in the lobby, I took a moment to talk to Veronica. Leaning on the desk she was dusting, I asked, “So, what were you up to that you couldn’t have coffee with us this morning, Veronica?”
When her cheeks blushed immediately, I had my answer. Not that she gave much away, but I’d already had my suspicions. “Oh, I had to clean out the closet with the office supplies in it. It took me most of the morning.”
Looking over my shoulder at Brady’s back, I smiled as I saw the way he’d gone stiff. He and she had a thing going on. We all knew it, even though they tried to pretend their relationship was completely professional.
“Is that so?” I asked. “You know, we have an excellent maintenance and janitorial staff that takes care of things like that. Don’t let the boss-man make you do unnecessary chores.”
Suddenly Brady was right behind me. “I’m training her to be the best receptionist there is. Merely standing at a desk looking pretty won’t cut it in this busy.” He pointed at Artimus’ office. “He and Duke are waiting for you, since you called this impromptu meeting. You should hurry. They don’t have all the time in the world, you know.”
Veronica turned away to get busy with something else. “See you later, Nina.”
“Yeah, later.” I walked to the door to Artimus’ office and gave a quick knock. “It’s Nina.”
The door opened, Artimus using the button under his desk so neither of them would have to get up. I found Duke and him talking away about the football game that’d been on the night before. “And the yardage he made was impressive too,” Duke said, before they turned their attention to me. “Hey, Nina. What’s up?”
“I’ve got questions.” I took a seat in front of the desk, next to the one Duke occupied.
Artimus steepled his fingers as he sat in his chair behind the desk. “Shoot.”
“I want to know what the hell is wrong with Ashton. And I know you two know what it is.” I leaned forward, placing my palms on the desk. “And I’m not leaving here without an answer. So, fess up, guys.”
I watched the men as they eyed each other, then Duke looked at me. “Nina, we have to be respectful of our friend. We’re not about to be telling tales he’s asked us to keep quiet about. Not even to you.”
Now I knew for sure that they knew what was going on. “Did he tell you not to tell me?”
Artimus shook his head. “He didn’t have to. We know Ashton pretty well by now. If he wanted you to know, he would’ve told you about it himself. And the fact that he’s virtually gone into hiding says he doesn’t want to talk about this with anyone. Not even us. And we won’t push him to do something he doesn’t want to do.”
They were good friends; I had to admit that. But they weren’t thinking things through. “This isn’t healthy for Ashton, you guys. Being all alone, all the time, isn’t good for a person. And leaving your friend alone, just because he thinks that’s what he wants, is okay, but only for a short amount of time. It’s Friday. It’s been an entire week. That man has come in early every day to get into his office before anyone can see him. He leaves later than everyone else for the same reason.”
Duke shrugged. “Maybe it was the black eye at first.”
Artimus frowned at him. “Whatever it was, if he wanted anyone to know, he would’ve said something. He hasn’t said a thing, so neither should we.”
Man, these guys are tight-lipped!
“While I’m stoked to see you two are truly Ashton’s friends, if you really want to help him then you’ve got to do something to get him out of this funk he’s in. Look, if he’s second-guessing whatever happened between me and him last weekend, I can understand that. I’ve never pushed him, and I never will. He deserves to know that, doesn’t he?”
Duke nodded. “Yeah.”
“I just need him to get out of his office for even a few minutes. If I see him, then I know he’ll talk to me, and we can set things straight.” Looking at Artimus, I implored him, “Can’t you get him out of that office for some reason today?”
With a deep sigh, Artimus nodded. “Yes, I think I can. I’ll ask him to come up to see me. Give me a half hour. You’ll have two chances to see him then. One when he’s coming up and one when he’s going back down. That’s about all I can do for you, Nina.”
With a nod, I had what I wanted and got up to leave. “Thank you. Once we talk, he’ll come out of this funk. You’ll see.”
I went down to my office and waited to catch Ashton walking down the hallway, right past my open door. There was no other way to get to the elevator.
Pretending to be typing away on my laptop, I made sure to keep my eyes locked on the hallway. And sure enough, Ashton walked by. And he walked by so quickly, not even turning his head the slightest bit in my direction, that it shocked me.
My chance had come, and I bolted out of my chair. As soon as I was in the hallway, I shouted out after him, “Ashton!”
He stopped, his body stiff, but he didn’t turn around. “I’m in a hurry.” He began walking again, as if that would be enough to stop me.
He was wrong. I hurried to catch up to him before he could get on that elevator. “Ashton, just wait a minute.” I got close enough to put my hand on his shoulder. “Please.”
Stopping once again, he didn’t turn around to look at me. “What?”
I got in front of him, so he didn’t have any choice but to look at me. “What the hell have you been doing all week?”
“Working.” He cut his eyes to the side, avoiding me still.
“You’ve never worked this way before. So why are you being so reclusive now?” I asked him, and then put my hand on his chin to force his face to mine. His eye was no longer black. There was no evidence of the injury he’d sustained from the volleyball accident at all. “Your eye looks like it’s back to normal. You look like yourself again. Handsome as ever. Come on, Ashton. Just be honest with me. What’s wrong?”
When he finally looked into my eyes, my heart froze. There was so much sadness behind them. It tore at my heart to see that sadness again. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to.”
I was perplexed. I had no idea what the hell to say to the man. But I came up with something. “Please.” It was all I could think to do. Appeal to his caring nature. At least the one he used to have.
With another shake of his head he tried to walk around me. “I’ve got to go.”
“To your meeting with Artimus?” I asked as I caught him by the arm to stop him.
Now his eyes narrowed at me. “How do you know about that?”
“Because I asked him to get you out of your office, so I would have a chance to see you. To talk to you. So there’s no need to rush. He won’t be freaking out when you don’t come up to see him. He’ll know I got to you.” I smiled at him to let him know I wasn’t going to be a bitch about whatever rejection I was sure would be coming my way. “Come on; we need to talk. I won’t be mad about anything you have to say to me. Even if it’s something I don’t want to hear. I promise.”
The way his face turned red told me he was less than pleased about my little plan with Artimus. “What the hell, Nina? You went behind my back—bothered my friends, not to mention my boss, and for what? I have my own reasons for staying in my office.”
“And they are?” I asked.
He jerked his arm out of my hand then headed back to his office. “To stay away from you!”
Stunned, I stood there, watching him storm away from me.
What did I do to deserve that?