Chapter Seventeen
Harrison
Caroline had been working at the office for a few days now, and from all accounts, she had been doing a great job with our numbers. I was interested to see how she would pan out, but once Brian and I went over the numbers, everything matched up. The books were a lot more organized than they were before she came along and so far, I had no complaints. If she kept it up, I was going to have to find a way to lure her into staying here a long time and skipping out on her move to California. I arrived at the office by 9:44 am. We were just a few days away from the trip to California, and I was looking forward to the getaway. Brian was stoked about the trip, but it was more so due to the fact that we were closing a big account than it was anything else. My mind was on relaxing, but his was on business. He was a pitbull, and I loved that about him.
Just as I got out of my truck, Brian drove into the parking lot. He lazily pulled himself out of his car, his body slouched over like a zombie as he walked towards the front door. “Brian? Everything alright, man? Late night?” He didn’t crack a smile as he made his way to me. “Brian? What’s wrong, man?” He exhaled. His eyes were locked onto the pavement as he shook his head. I could feel the weights on his shoulders. “Let’s go inside.”
We both entered the building after I unlocked the door. We walked side by side, quietly, as I waited for him to open up. I knew he would let it out when he was ready, and I didn’t want to force him to speak. That’s not how we did things. We just made ourselves available whenever the other was ready to talk. That is what he did for me when Sarah died, so I gave him the same respect. “My daughter, man,” he said as we got onto the elevator. I immediately thought he was going to tell me that his little girl passed away, too. My heart nearly stopped with the anticipation of the news. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy. No man should ever have to bury his children. The elevator doors opened when we landed on our floor. “She is sick. She got sick on Saturday, and we thought it was just a cold, but it turns out that she has the flu. She has been in the hospital since Monday night. She can’t keep food down or anything, and I just feel so helpless.”
He wiped tears from his eyes as we walked into my office. “She is just 4, you know? She doesn’t understand what is going on and she keeps asking me to make it better and I can’t. I can’t. All I can do is be there for her, and I’m scared, man. I’m scared I’m going to lose her.”
I put my hand on his shoulder, “Brian, that is just a worst-case scenario. Now, the flu is a serious thing for young children, but she will pull through it. I know she will. We have the best doctors and medical plan that money can buy, so don’t worry about it. As a matter of fact, you need to be there with her right now. Why are you here?”
“Well, I took off yesterday to stay at the hospital with her and my wife said she was going to take off today so I could come in.”
“Bullshit. You take your ass back to the hospital with your daughter, Brian. Are you crazy?! Go. Now.”
“Harrison, just–”
“No, man. Your daughter wants her father, so you need to be there. I wish I had a moment like that with my daughter, and God forbid something happens to her, you will regret it every moment. So, go. Please.”
“Alright… but, the thing is… I’m not sure that I will be able to take the trip to California this weekend.”
I twisted the blinds on the window. The sunshine shot inside the room like an animal that was waiting for the chance to break free from its cage. “That is fine. I’ll go and handle it myself. No problem.”
“Are you sure?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I am sure. Listen, thank you for your concern, but I’ve got it. Right now,” I put my hands on his shoulders and led him to the door, “you need to get out of here and be with your daughter. I don’t want to see you back in this office until she is out of the hospital. If you come in, I am docking your pay.”
His laughter struggled to break through his disappointment. “Docking my pay for coming to work. Isn’t that something?” Just then, Caroline walked by us on her way to her office. She wore a tight-fitting dress with high heels that placed her just inches shorter than me. Her long, bare legs flirted with my imagination. Her hair was pulled into a bun with two sticks extending from the back. I had no idea what they were, but she looked amazing.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said in passing.
“Morning, Caroline.”
My eyes followed her down the hallway until she disappeared into her office. “How about you see if Caroline will make the trip with you? The whole reason I wanted you to come was just to keep me company because I know the ride is pretty long by yourself.”
“Yeah. That might not be a bad idea. But anyways, I’ll figure out the next steps here, and in the meantime, you go be with your daughter. Send my regards, will you?”
“Of course.” He shook my hand firmly. “Thanks for everything, Harrison. I really mean it.”
“Absolutely.”
As soon as he cleared the floor, I headed to Caroline’s office. “Knock knock,” I said, poking my head into her room.
She smiled. “Well, hello again.”
“Hellos are usually better the second time around.” I sat down in the chair in front of her desk. A picture of Sarah was positioned right by her computer. “May I?” I said, leaning towards the frame.
“Of course.”
I picked it up and examined it like I was checking for abnormalities. Her smile was perfect. A few strands of hair were out of place as she posed with her cheek pressed against Caroline’s. They were inseparable, and now, it seemed like their connection transitioned into ours. “This is a nice picture. It captures everything about her. The silliness. The genuineness of her love. Everything all in one picture.”
“Yeah,” she said, admiring the image. “This is my absolute favorite picture that we’ve ever taken together. It was the day that we realized we were both going to graduate at the same time. It was like… like we were just destined to be lifelong friends, you know? It all seemed to point in that direction.” Suddenly, her countenance scrunched to the middle, the prelude to a rush of tears.
I placed the picture back in its spot, then walked to her side of the desk. “Hey, come on. It’s alright to cry.”
She fanned her eyes, “No, it’s not. Not at work. I am to be professional here.”
“You are to be human here as well. Sarah was dear to both of us, and it is unrealistic to expect you to hold in every emotion when you feel it. It’s alright. I am here. You are in your office, and I won’t hold anything against you.” I grabbed her by the hand and lifted her to her feet, then wrapped my arms around her. My hands roamed her back, offering silent waves of comfort during her pain. She embraced me with arms of passion.
“Thank you,” she said with her head on my chest. “I feel like such… such a big baby right now. Crying like this.”
“It’s alright. It is fine. Trust me.” Slowly, she released herself from my grasp and used a piece of Kleenex to dab her eyes dry. “Um, I was thinking – that maybe you should take a little vacation.”
“Vacation?” she asked, curiously. “I can’t take a vacation. I just started my job this week.”
“Well, it will be under the guise of a business trip. Brian’s 4-year-old daughter is sick in the hospital with the flu, and he can’t make the trip to California this weekend, so that leaves me to travel alone. I hate making those long trips by myself, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. You can be the cure to my loneliness, and you can get away from the city for a few days. What do you think?”
She glanced at the picture on her desk once again. It seemed as though she was listening to Sarah tell her all the reasons why she shouldn’t go. I still didn’t know how she felt about us having sex. We had the talk the following day, but since then, we hadn’t discussed it. I felt like she was wavering between a yes or no answer, so I spoke up. “This will be strictly business, Caroline. No um, extracurricular activities involved. I will have my own room in the hotel, and you will have yours. Like I said, I could use the company. That’s all I have up my sleeve.”
Suddenly, a smile flashed onto her face. “I think I will take you up on that offer.”
“Awesome. I am glad to hear that, Caroline.”
“Thank you for the invite.”
“Absolutely. I will send you an email with the details of our trip, and the meeting.”
“Wait, I have to come to the meeting?” A flash of nervousness lit her face up like lightning during a storm. “I don’t know anything about the meeting. I don’t know what to expect or what to say. What if I do something that cancels the deal? What if I screw something up accidentally? What if I–”
I laughed. “Caroline, Caroline, please. Calm down, OK?” I sat on the edge of her desk and fixed my attention on her. “It is nothing too serious. I will handle most of the talking and let them know who you are. It is not as bad as you think, honestly. I will send you a rundown of the itinerary for the meeting just so you can be abreast on the topics of discussion. How does that sound?”
She tapped her manicured fingernails on the surface of the desk. “OK, sounds good. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Likewise.”
We had exchanged smiles before I turned to leave her office. I looked forward to our getaway, even though I told her I was going to be on my best behavior. I meant that. I saw how she felt after we had sex on Friday night and I didn’t want her to experience that again. It was going to be hard to suppress my urges, especially knowing that the chance would be staring me in the face the whole weekend. Even though I was a man of my word, the right touch would break my bond.