Daydream Away (A Javi Martínez Story)

Chapter One

 I looked at it from afar and then, took it closer to my sight.

 What was I thinking? What was I thinking? What was I thinking?

 It didn’t feel heavy or uncomfortable, just… Different.

 What was I thinking? What was I thinking? What was I thinking?

 Taking a deep breath, I knew I’d have to come out of the car sooner or later; I couldn’t be late for work again.

 As I passed through the reception and made my way to my office, I could hear the whispers“ring… engaged… Walcott…”

  What was I thinking? What was I thinking? What was I thinking?

 When I closed the office door and threw my body on the chair, I tried to answer my own question: what the fuck was I thinking?

 I knew I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t drunk, but the thing was: having dinner with Theo’s parents was always nerve wrecking for me. First of all: they hated me. Second of all: the first reason is pretty much enough.

 By the time I said “yes” – on a gala dinner in front of Theo’s entire family and some of his teammates – Theo already had three heads and I was almost sure the duck we were eating was alive.

 Me? I wasn’t drunk at all.

 The phone on my desk started to ring and I picked it up with a sigh“Mrs. Pearl wants you in her office.”

 Dragging my body and trying to ignore the voices “…diamond… wedding… WAG…”, I put the fakest smile on my lips.

 “Hello Mrs. Pearl.”

 “Sit. Let’s talk.” Her perfect manicured nails grabbed my right hand as she analyzed my ring “That’s a beauty.”

 I simply nodded, muttering a ‘thank you’ while I tried to pull my hand off her grip “What can I do for you, Mrs. Pearl?”

 “I know you’re excited and full of wedding plans…”  Mrs. Pearl started, giving me a tap on the hand as I grimaced. She wasn’t always so nice; she probably wanted a wedding invitation or something “But yesterday, Peter broke his foot…”

 Peter broke his foot. Yes! Peter was my biggest competition on the company and as much as I knew that it was wrong to wish someone’s evil, I couldn’t hold a smile.

 We’d been fighting over who’d take over this case – huge, huge case, an international one, involving a lot of money – and he’d won. But now his foot was broken, he wouldn’t be able to travel and that only could mean one thing…

 “Pack your things, yes? You can plan your wedding later. I need you in Bilbao tomorrow.” She handed me a big briefcase, that I’d recognize anywhere. Peter’sbriefcase.

 Oh God, he must be so pissed…

 “Here’s the chronograms, tickets, the key to the flat we rented for Peter… Well, now it’s your flat yes? Oh, and here’s the company credit card… I’m sure you can catch up on how the case’s going on your way there.”

 I picked up the leather bag with a nod, standing up.

 Should I leave, should I finish my shift…?

 “What are you waiting for? Are you stupid? The plane leaves in three hours. Go, go!”

 Oh, there she was. The always sweet Mrs. Pearl! “Bye!” I almost ran out of her office, only stopping on mine to pick up my purse and the car keys.