Playing the Bosses

Oof...

The Countdown: Five Weeks Until Eva's Deadline

31 Days Left

Eva and Adrian were together for their usual Friday date night. Knowing Eva would have to wake up early for her flight with Caleb, the two opted for a calm night in, simply watching a movie at Adrian's place. As they scrolled through the infinite streaming options, searching for something to watch, they paused as they got into more details in their conversation about Caleb.

"So, he's taking you to the Bahamas for the whole day tomorrow?" Adrian asked. "Like, just a day trip?"

Eva nodded. "Yeah." She handed him the card with the itinerary. "Check it out."

Adrian accepted the card and looked it over. Eva couldn't get a good read on his expression. She expected some form of agitation or impatience given how he'd recently been in response to Caleb's pursuit of her. However, when he ended his reading of the schedule with an approving nod, Eva raised a bow at him.

"What do you think, Adrian?"

He stared at the paper for a few more moments before coming back up to meet Eva's gaze. "Does it matter?" When he noticed Eva's head jerk back, he clarified his sentiment. "I just mean, does my opinion on this matter in a way that would change how you think about the date? Whether you go on it? About Caleb?"

"Possibly. I value your opinion. You're... important to me." This is really what I've turned into, Eva internally chided herself. A messy bitch that caught feelings for the enemy... the enemies. I should be embarrassed. This shit's going to all go to hell in 30 days if I don't figure out what to do. Hell. Even if I don't figure out what to do, the shit won't end well. Losses all around... Except for Alexis.

"Eva?" Adrian called, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Did you hear me? I asked what do you think?"

"Hm? I asked you that first."

Adrian tilted his head to the side as he examined Eva. He noticed that over the past week or so, she didn't seem herself, and it had especially gotten worse after her and Justin met with the Rossi and they admitted they were launching a company for her to run. While she did seem angry at them for doing so without telling her ahead of time, the off behavior she'd shown didn't give any sense of that or hostility. Instead, Eva had moments where she seemed deep in thought or less talkative than usual. Like there was something on her mind.

"Yeah, Eva. I answered you. You didn't hear me?"

"Repeat it for me."

"I said to give him a chance."

"What?"

"I know it's... different from how I usually talk about Caleb but to be honest, he's capable of being a really sweet guy, even though he never lets it show. Seeing what he has planned for you guys... Maybe it means he'll show you that side of him."

"You're being oddly approving of this. Not that I'm complaining. It just sounds like a shift in tone from you. Similar to what I've been seeing with Caleb lately."

"Honestly?" Adrian shrugged. "I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting with Caleb. I'm tired of the tension between us. I'm tired of lying to myself..."

"Go on," Eva urged him.

"Caleb and I... I know you have a general sense of our history... I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I just feel... I just... I've been thinking about how I handled things and... I don't know. It wasn't right. Or... I could've handled it differently."

"Both of you are pretty skimp on the details with me, but this is one thing you two agree on. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What did he tell you?"