𝐀𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐲𝐚
I'd sworn off of love and men after the fiasco that was my last relationship. Until I spent one steamy and passionate night with a dark haired stranger. A man that I thought I'd never see again. Until I found out that he was my new boss...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aaliya hadn't come in today. And that never happened. After the amazing sex that we'd had three days ago, I'd expected to see a shift in our relationship. Because I sure as fuck had felt it and I was pretty sure she had as well. But surprisingly, she'd been MIA. Which wasn't usually her MO - at least not since we'd finally come to an agreement. Which was it was absurd that she hadn't answered a single one of the several texts I'd sent nor any of the twenty seven missed calls and eight voicemails I'd sent her. On top of that, I hadn't been able to catch hold of her friend, Mira, either. And it was driving me crazy to the point that I was considering abandoning everything and seeking her out. But I couldn't. Because I had a fucking job to do - a job I was starting to hate more and more by the minute.
I took the stairs as I climbed down a floor, heading towards the Communications department.
"Hi, is Mira here?" I asked the freckly faced guy near the front as he nodded furiously, his eyes going wide.
"Mr Miller! Good morning." He said breathlessly as he rearranged the papers in his arms. "Yes, she's actually at her desk right now." He jerked his head towards the right, pointing his finger at the black haired woman that was sitting curled up over her desk.
"Thanks." I smiled politely at his flustered body language before coming to a stand behind Mira.
"Mira," I greeted, by way of her name as she startled, snapping her laptop shut with a force that surprised me. But not before I peeked at what was on her screen. Apparently she was doing something on a google doc. Whatever, that wasn't why I was here right now. I quirked an eyebrow as she spun around in her chair. "Where's Aaliya? She hasn't come to work today." I asked, cutting right to the chase.
"You don't know?" Her forehead crinkled in confusion as she tapped her pen on the table.
"Know what?"
"She's taken a leave for the rest of the week."
"Why? Is everything okay? Why didn't she tell -" I cleared my throat, backing up and pasting an indifferent expression. "I mean, I was just wondering why one of my top employees wasn't in today."
She snorted, turning back to her desk, organising it as she pulled out a file. "You don't have to pretend, you know."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I pressed, unsure as to whether Aaliya had actually told her anything or if she was simply bluffing.
She muttered something that sounded vaguely like dense idiots, the both of you, under her breath before sighing audibly. "She's sick, Neil."
"What?" It felt like the air had been punched out of my lungs. Why hadn't she told me? Texted me?
"Jesus." Mira looked at me weirdly. "You'd think that I just told you that she was on death row." She rolled her eyes. "Relax. She's just got a cold. It's allergic. She gets it every time around this year. It's the season." Fair enough.
