I threw the french fry in my mouth as my eyes roamed all around the cafeteria and I observed certain people I never even had seen before.

Sasha had called in sick today and she was my only lunch buddy so without her I was just sitting and observing people I probably would never even talk to.

My phone chimed and I brought my attention back to the table. I saw Zach's message and a smile made its way on my lips as I opened it.

Zach was sitting on a beach with his dog, Mars, and his new boyfriend, Jake beside him. He had a big grin on his face that made me smile that at least one of us was happy.

It had been almost a week since I went to Mr. Rhodes place and after that each time I saw him, I couldn't help but remember that day when we shared a beautiful yet hurtful moment.

Every time something awkward between us happened, it was always I who ignored him but this time, Mr. Rhodes too wasn't bothering talking to me or even looking at me unless it was necessary.

Not like I minded.

If I wanted to stay unhurt and work here to earn my living, it was better for me to stay as far away from him as possible.

***********

"My head hurts like a bitch," I said into the phone and Zach chuckled.

"You should take a vacation, too. It's so great here in Australia. Join us Belle," Zach said as he slurped his drink.

"And leave dad alone? No thank you," I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of which, how's Darren holding up?"

"I honestly don't know. He's.....he's getting weaker every day. It's scaring me," I whispered the last part and buried my head in the pillow.

"Hey it's okay Belle. He'll be fine. Just have some faith," Zach assured me and I mumbled a 'mhm'.

"How's Jake?" I asked, trying to get my mind off the depressing things for a short while.

"Oh he's great. He's actually excited to meet you, you know," I could hear the excitement and happiness in Zach's voice as he talked about him and I smiled.

"Yeah sure. Tell him to come to New York sometime," I said and rolled on the other side of the bed.

Zach went Australia almost two weeks back on a business trip. The show that he was hosting was organised by Jake and as Zach quotes 'we just clicked'. And now both of them had taken a break from work to get to know each other.

I was genuinely happy for him. Zach's parents died while he was very young and since then although I tried my best to be there for him, I knew he felt lonely and if Jake really was as great to him as Zach explained, I couldn't be more happier for them.

****************

The next day as I entered the building my first instinct was to check if Sasha came to work today or not, because believe me eating all alone in a room full of people sucked.

Luckily for me, she had come today. I smiled and waved as I walked over to her counter.

"Hey, how are you feeling today?" I said as soon as I approached her.

"Yeah I'm better but I wanna sleepppp," she whined and put her head down on the counter.

"Aw. I feel you," I said and chuckled.

We talked for a little while before I realised that it was actually time to get to my office. Although Mr. Rhodes wasn't calling me much these days, but still I needed to be there in case he needed anything.

"Anyway, I'll see you at lunch. Gotta run before Mr. Rhodes starts spitting fire," I joked.

"Yeah you better run girl. He was in an awful mood today," Sasha said and I nodded and made my way towards the elevator.

After an hour of working, I realised there were only twenty minutes left to the meeting I was supposed to attend with Mr. Rhodes.

I put the papers in a folder as I stood up, fixed my hair and dress and made my way to Mr. Rhodes' office.

This was going to be hard.

Since the last few days, there wasn't any group meeting which required my presence but this meeting meant a lot to this company so Alex told me I had to be there as Mr. Rhodes' secretary.

"Come in," I heard him say and I opened the door and stepped inside, trying my best not to look at him straight in the eyes.

"Are you prepared?" was the first thing Mr. Rhodes asked.

"Yes, here is what I analysed from that e-mail you sent me," I sat down on the chair and handed him the papers as I bit my lip in nervousness.

"Hmm," he hummed going through the all nighter I had pulled.

After ten minutes of discussing each and every detail, we got interrupted as my phone started ringing in my pocket.

I briskly put my hand in the pocket and pressed the power button which cut the call.

Thankfully, Mr. Rhodes didn't seem that much annoyed as I didn't let the phone ring twice.

But not a minute later, the phone rung again. I did the same and declined the call. Whoever it was, clearly had no manners whatsoever.

The third time when it rang, I could see the irritation and annoyance in Mr. Rhodes' expression that I wanted to kill whoever wasn't getting the hint that I was busy.

"Miss Reinhart, would you please take that or power off your phone?" Mr. Rhodes said, his voice laced with irritation.

"I'm sorry Mr. Rhodes," I apologised and pulled the phone. Just when I was about to turn it off, the person called again and when I saw the name, I realised that I couldn't just ignore this call and I was supposed to take it no matter what.

"Just give me a second," I said, embarrassed, and stood up from the chair.

As I walked towards his sofa, I slid my finger across the answer option and put the phone against my ear,

"Hello?"

The other person started talking as I frowned and tried to get my head around what he was saying. All the colour in my face drained and I turned pale as I tightly clutched the phone against my ear and almost yelled,

"Excuse me?!"

************

❤