“Mrs. Cartwright?” I looked up to the woman sitting at the reception desk in the lobby.

“Hello?” I was confused by her questioning my name.

“Mr. Wellington is expecting you in his office this morning. Please follow me.” I looked over to Lilly and Erica, trying to mouth my concern to them, but they just raised their shoulders in a shrug, and followed behind us. “We can drop you ladies off along the way.”

No one said anything as we entered the elevator. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but what I did know was that I wasn’t scared. Max knew where we stood. We’d even had a decent conversation this weekend. He had seen a part to me that almost no one had. He had seen me at my most vulnerable.

When I had gotten home that night and still hadn’t heard anything from Adam, even through to the next day, I turned my phone off. It wasn’t the most adult thing to do, but it was the only way I knew how to control the situation. I scrambled to find the phone in my purse, realizing it was still off, and frantically turned it on. I might have missed something that would have prepared me for this on-the-spot meeting. It took a minute for my phone to come to life—seven missed calls, three voicemails, and twenty texts. Almost all from Adam. Only one voicemail from Greg, stating Max wanted to do my introductory meeting today.

I tried to riffle through the messages from Adam when the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, and I continued up while the girls headed to work. Every message was filled with rage. This wasn’t something that I was used to, but then again, I understood why Adam would be mad. I had never ignored him or turned my phone off. The last few messages were ones of worry and regret. My heart melted because I knew he didn’t deserve this.

I shot him off a text letting him know I would call him later tonight after work. A woman in a gray dress greeted me once the elevator opened to Max’s floor. I left the other receptionist in the elevator, while this new woman lead me to Max’s office. I hand’t been on this floor yet, but all I could see were conference rooms and one giant office against the back wall.

“Mr. Wellington is excited to see you this morning.” She stopped at the double doors behind her desk and turned back to me. I couldn’t read the smile on her face, but she opened the door and waved me in. “Good luck.”

Her words seemed more like a warning as I stepped into the lion’s den.

When I walked through the door, I didn’t know what to expect of Max’s office, but it suited him all too well. Light chrome office furniture, dark grey walls, an open window skylight above and off to the left-hand side of the office. The only thing that seemed out of place was the purple couch sitting to the side, which looked as soft as it probably felt.

“Please sit down, Alexa.” Max was standing in the middle of the office holding out a chair for me. I slowly made my way over. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be when I sat down. We were both silent while he made himself comfortable across from me. He took his time getting papers straightened out on his desk before settling his eyes on me.

“How was the rest of your weekend?” I looked down at my hands that were planted against my legs and smiled. I didn’t know why he cared, but I knew he meant his question with all sincerity.

“It was actually pretty good. Well, until this morning.” I looked up to him now. He was standing over his desk, hands planted firmly on top of it. His eyebrows were drown together in confusion and the fire in his eyes scared me.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, just, I didn’t even know I was meeting you this morning.” The confusion didn’t leave his face. “I turned my phone off after I got back to Lilly’s on Saturday and didn’t turn it on until I was in the elevator this morning.”

“This meeting made you upset?” I understood now how what I had said didn’t make sense. It wasn’t the meeting this morning that had my mood heading south. It was the texts from Adam, and the more I thought about them, the angrier I got. I didn’t have to tell Max any of that, but for some reason, I wanted to. For some reason, Max felt safe. Like a third party who judged, but only because he didn’t know Adam or me, and I felt like that was the best-case scenario right now.

“No.” The word came out as barely a whisper, but I was looking at Max directly in the eyes. The tick in his jaw stopped and his eyes softened.

“I see.” He sat back down, readjusting the papers on his desk a second time. “You don’t have to disclose. We can just jump into your work here.”

Max handed me a copy of my application, which was only half filled out. I tried not to laugh at how pathetic the application looked. I had barely filled anything out on it.

“I know that Greg did your phone interview, and you came highly recommended from Lilly, but what I don’t understand is why you only filled this out halfway. You haven’t listed where you graduated from or what degree you graduated with. I don’t see previous employers on here either.”

“I didn’t think it mattered all that much since I had already gotten the job and was given this to fill out after the fact. You’re just now looking at it anyways.” The silence quickly filled the air and Max sat there waiting for the answers to his questions. “Fine.”

I readjusted myself, my hands not leaving my thighs this entire time. Them being glued to me meant I wouldn’t fidget, but talking about myself made the urge grow stronger. I let out a huff and laid it all out for him.

“I went to USC, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. I worked in retail for six years before coming here.”

Done. Simple. I didn’t have to talk about myself anymore.

“Creative writing? Why are you working in the accounting side of the business, then?” He moved from his seat to the one next to me.

Great. He wanted to know more. I loved learning about new people, I just didn’t like talking about me or my life. I wasn’t that interesting, but with how intently Max was listening, exactly like he had in the cable car, I felt like I was being plastered all over TV.

“This was the job that Lilly could get me an interview for, so I took it. I may have a degree in creative writing, but I am a total math geek at heart.” I laughed at my own words. Normally when I told friends of this truth, they thought I was weird. I couldn’t believe that I was telling my boss now, that I was opening up to him. By the look on his face, he didn’t seem to think this was weird at all. It settled me a little that he wasn’t judging me, especially since I was laughing at myself. He didn’t even see how nervous I was, or maybe he did and just didn’t care.

“You have the brains and the looks.” His comment barely caught my ear, but it was there hanging in the air. I blushed. I didn’t want to bring attention to the comment. It may have seemed harmless, but the butterflies in my stomach said something else. “Is there a possibility that you would want to transfer over to our editing department?”

“I’ve thought about it, don’t get me wrong. But I’m actually happy where I am now.” It wasn’t that I loved math more than reading, but there was something about working with numbers that made my blood rush. Max moved his attention to the phone that was vibrating on his desk, and then back to me. “Go ahead. I should get downstairs to work anyway.”

I could tell the moment the words came out of my mouth that he was disappointed, and I was a little, too. Our conversations were becoming less strained. I felt like I was understanding exactly who Max was for the first time, and I had only known him for a week.

“Wellington.” He answered his phone in one hand and motioned to the door with the other. I took that as my cue to leave, but instead of heading out of there with my tail between my legs, I realized Max was following me. His hand grazed the lower part of my back, brushing at the seam of my skirt, as he led me to the door. He didn’t pull away, and shockingly, neither did I. It wasn’t like it was an advance, was it? He was being a gentleman.

I could let him be a gentleman.

He stopped us just before letting me out. “Just remember, the offer still stands.”

He left it at that and closed the door. I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or whomever was on the phone with him. I made a pit stop to the bathroom to get ahold of Adam. I knew I had said later, but I was hoping I could at least get the arguing out before I started work. Three rings and nothing.

I knew he was upset, but I truly didn’t know what to do right now. We had never had this kind of thing happen before, and now that we weren’t in the same state, my mind started to race with all that could go wrong. Could he be so upset that he wouldn’t talk to me, period? Would he still come out here? Was I overthinking all of this? Something in the pit of my stomach told me that all of this was wrong, that something wasn’t the same between us anymore. My heart broke at the thought of this.

Lilly and Erica took me under their wing after I showed them the messages Adam had sent me. I was grateful to have them here for me. There were promises of alcohol tonight. The only thing I didn’t tell them about my meeting with Max was his offer to move me to another department. I didn’t know why, but it felt good to have something just for myself for once. Right before it was time to leave, Greg came by my desk.

“Alexa, I was wondering if we could talk in my office before you leave?” I packed up my things and followed him into his office, waving goodbye to the girls. The concern on their faces didn’t help me. Two meetings. One day. Now I was worried, when I knew I shouldn’t be.

When we walked into the office, I noticed more stacks of manuscripts on his desk. My worry went away and excitement filled me, especially with the prospect of Greg asking me to help out with another project. Even though I had told Max I wanted to be in financing, it didn’t mean I didn’t love reading and editing. “Please sit down.”

Taking my seat, I looked around his office. Thinking about Max’s office today in comparison to Greg’s—they were totally opposite. I hadn’t noticed before, but Greg’s office was filled with color and paintings adorning his walls. It felt like a museum, but one that you could stay in forever.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me on that last proposal. Max thought that your estimate for the author was quite accurate.”

I perked up. “Thank you, Greg, but I thought that the rough-bound copy of the book was thanks enough. Especially since it was signed.” I was happy that he wanted to personally thank me, but I didn’t think it necessary. My enthusiasm left as Greg cocked an eyebrow.

“What book?” His question threw me as I pulled it out of my bag. since getting this book, I had finished it at least a half-dozen more times, marking my favorite spots with sticky notes.

“I’m sorry, Alexa, but I didn’t give that to you.” Now I was the confused one.

“Then who did?” I was holding the book in my hands, staring at it. The book felt heavy in my hands. I knew what he was saying. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself yet. This book had been my friend for the past week. I read it almost every night before bed.

“All I know is that the only people who knew about you working on the proposal were Max and me.” Max. His name coming from Greg sent chills up my spine. I didn’t know if that was bad or good. What I did know was that instead of being angry, which this time last week I probably would have been, I was grateful. Max said he wanted to get to know me, but it seemed that he was already there.

“Max.” His name coming from my mouth felt like a first.

I heard a sound from behind me. I turned around to see Max standing in the doorway, his arm braced against the frame. His face was in a hard line, like he didn’t know if he was going to say something or not. Our eyes locked just before he turned to leave without saying a word. I could see through the glass of Greg’s office that he was headed for the stairs. He didn’t even want to wait for the elevator to get away from me.

“I didn’t know he was going to give you the book.” I couldn’t even look at Greg, because what had just happened was definitely not something my boss should have a part of.

“Is it okay if I head out now?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Greg started to stand, but I shooed him to sit back down, still not able to meet his eyes. I placed the book back into my bag, feeling ashamed that my heart was fluttering so much. I left the room without either of us saying a word.

I mentally kicked myself as I took the elevator down. Just because Adam and I weren’t talking right now, it didn’t give me any right to have these feelings for anyone, especially not my boss. Yeah, sure, Adam and I had had our rough patches before, but they always ended in us working it out and making our relationship that much stronger.

When I left the building, I got the same feeling I had last week when I left alone. I looked around, making sure I was good, and then headed towards the road. My mind wandered back to the texts Adam had sent. He was so angry. He had cursed at me and called me a cunt, his least favorite word. I flinched just thinking about it. It wasn’t until I almost stepped into the road and a hand grabbed my waist and pulled me back that I heard the sound of a car horn blaring. The vehicle in question shot past me, horn still sounding.

Close one.

I closed my eyes.

I wasn’t alone.

I turned around to see who my savior was and came face to face with Max.

“You trying to get yourself killed?” He had one arm wrapped around my waist and the other hand on my cheek. I almost leaned into him but stopped myself. I stood frozen as he wrapped himself around me. His jaw was tight and lips in a thin line, but when his eyes searched mine, they were filled with concern. I didn’t understand how a man who was so hard on the outside, could be so caring on the inside.

“No, but thank you.” I tried to laugh it off and Max let me go, but his touch lingered on my body.

“Why are you getting out so late? Greg asking for more help on his projects?” And there it was, back to work talk, a safe place for us. Greg must be a known procrastinator. “I can ask him to let up on the extra work.”

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t mind the extra work.” I didn’t want to tell him that he had planted the seed of moving departments, that that was where my mind was heading. I didn’t want him to know that he had that much influence over me. “I should be getting home now.”

“I can drive you.” Max pointed down to a pickup truck. It was completely different than the town car I had seen him in last week.

“That’s okay. I live across the street.” I smiled wearily at him.

“At least let me walk you. You don’t need to be getting injured this early into the job.” He took another step backwards, his laughter finally filling the space between us. I felt a strange tug in my chest. I didn’t like it. It was the kind of feeling I got when I read my books, when you started to like the one person you shouldn’t. The types of feelings that led to something more. I didn’t know what it was about Max, but something drew me to him—not physically but mentally. He was smart, and that drew me to him, even though he was an arrogant ass. I wanted to get to know more about him, but on a professional level, and maybe even one day, a friend level.

“I’m fine, Max. I’ll be safe. I promise.” I turned around, but this time before I crossed the street I looked both ways and made my way towards Lilly’s apartment. Before I headed into my building, I turned around to where I had been standing with Max. I caught his stare just as I had on Friday night when he left me. My heart leapt a little, and I pushed the feelings down deep inside of me to lock away. I made my way up to the apartment without another thought. I couldn’t have any more of those thoughts. The lights were off except for the one in Lilly’s bedroom. I made my way quietly across the apartment and to my bed.

I lay there for what seemed like hours, thinking about my conversation with Max earlier today and then the one at the curb just before coming home. I picked up my phone again and dialed Adam. It was only eight, but I needed peace of mind from my husband. On the second ring, the line finally picked up.

“Hello?” Adam’s voice sounded groggy.

“Adam.” My heart sank. He hadn’t even known who it was when he answered.

“Alexa.” His voice sounded tense now.

“Did I wake you?”

“Nope.” I heard the loud pop of his P. “Just a little tired from not sleeping at all.”

Worry filled me. I hadn’t meant to keep him awake. I knew he worked nights, and I hadn’t even taken into consideration that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“I’m sorry. I should have answered the phone.” I whispered the words, scared that if I didn’t sound sorry enough Adam wouldn’t believe me. I brought my hand to my mouth, biting on one of my nails. It was a habit I hadn’t entertained for a long time, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“You should have.” His words were hard and tears were starting to form. He had completely disregarded my apology. “I didn’t know what to think. I thought you were dead at one point.”

“I’m so sorry.” My words broke out of me as a sob.

“Don’t. I need to know you won’t ever do something like that again. That you won’t leave me like that.” The words were like a knife to the heart. I had hurt the man I loved, but then I thought to how hurt I was.

“I promise.” This was the second time I said this tonight, and this time I didn’t know how true it was. Would I break this promise to Adam? I didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from, but I knew during this conversation that something had completely changed. That my marriage was changing and I didn’t know how to stop it.

“I’m going to get ready for work.”

“Okay.” I felt as low as I could feel right now.

“I love you, Alexa.”

I sighed at that. “I love you, too.” I caught my breath. “Adam.” I hung up. I had said Adam. I had. I knew I had. But before saying his name, I had to stop, because I had almost said something different. I had almost said Max. It wasn’t necessarily that I loved Max, but it seemed like he was consuming my every thought. I didn’t know what to think, so I turned into the pillow and cried myself to sleep, knowing that sleep could cure almost anything.