The Thrill

56

'Hey...' I greet from the door, entering his office with little warning.

'Hi.' He simply responds, leaning into his seat casually.

If he wasn't going to make this weird, neither was I.

'What do you want me to do today?' I balance on the front of my heels, slowly rocking back and forth as I watch every shift of posture in him.

'Nothing.' He shakes his head ever so gently, but his gaze felt so much more intense.

'Let me ask you something.' He gets out of his seat, his figure stood tall behind his desk.

'Yesterday-' He begins but I react to his words instantly.

'I'll forget yesterday even happened.' I say in assurance, hoping this would be the best conclusion for both me and him.

'I don't want you to do that... Because every word I said, I meant.' He corrects, his eyes telling me the exact same as he looked to me with nothing but sincerity.

'I'm not a man of regret's, especially not when it comes to you.' He chuckles, his playful side coming out once again.

I laugh at his light-hearted joke. It made me feel so much more better that he didn't take this all negatively.

'So you were actually being serious about the no work thing?' I double check.

'Yep, take the day off if you want.' He suggests with a small shrug. And he should know I of all people would be quick to take up on that offer.

'Great! I'll see you tomorrow then.' I say in a hurry before rushing towards the door as I hear his deep laughter fade away down the hall.

———

I make sure to check my phone before even touching the handle of the door to the house, remembering how I still hadn't received a text from Emilio. But there was nothing, just the blank 'hey' from earlier.

I let out a tiresome sigh, pushing the door open with a loss of hope. He hadn't texted me throughout this whole trip so this really shouldn't be any different, but I thought the surprise text might have meant something different.

But I guess not.

I slouch up the stairs, making a slow journey to the room for a hopefully long nap. Besides, there wasn't much else for me to do.

The sudden vibrations from my pocket diverts my attention, the feeling of my phone quaking against my thigh instantly lighting some sort of hope that it may be Emilio. As I reach to check who it was calling me, a number I'd never seen before spread across my screen, I answer with a sigh.

'Is this Milan?' A person questions from the opposite line.

'Yeah, who's this?' I listen intently waiting to see who it was.

'It's Cameron. I was wondering if Emilio dropped by the house by chance? I have something I need to speak to him about.'

'He's not here. He's on a business trip... Didn't he tell you?' I explain, thinking he must not be aware of Emilio's whereabouts.

'Oh, I know about that but he just landed an hour ago. I thought he would've gone home to relax after the flight.'

I feel the air clog at the back of my throat, forgetting how to breath properly for a second. The news comes as a surprise to me since the last time I checked he was supposed to be gone for a month. But he was here... And I had no clue.

'He didn't... mention it. Where do you think he might be?' I ask Cameron, desperately in need of an answer.

'You know Emilio, he's probably at the office trying to fit in whatever work he can.' Cameron chuckles jokingly but he might be right. So on pure instinct I charge back down the stairs, heading out of the door and into my car... Straight to him.