The Job, Mary-Kate Olsen

XI

As we entered the living room, Valentina was sitting on the couch, watching some show that was playing on the TV. The sound of our footsteps must have alerted her because she turned her head towards us, a faint smile on her lips.

We got closer to the couch and Valentina hastily got up and said hi with a smile. I looked at Mary-Kate. She had a small awkward smile plastered on her face. This entire night was unfolding itself more unexpectedly each second after another.

"Mary-Kate, meet Valentina," I introduced. Mary-Kate nodded, offering a polite smile.

"Hi," she greeted softly.

"It's very nice to meet you-" Valentina began, but I quickly glanced at her; preventing any potential embarrassment, such as her saying, "Ana has told me a lot about you!"

"Likewise," Mary-Kate replied.

A moment of silence settled in the room until Valentina began, "Do you want to stay for a while? We've got cookies and hot chocolate, I'm sure this will help you change your mind a bit from whatever was bothering you earlier."

Mary-Kate's mouth opened slightly, and she looked at me. My eyes met hers.

"Do you want to stay?" I murmured.

She shrugged. "I- I mean... You're with your friend, I don't have anything to do here. I should leave I've already been enough of a bother tonight."

Valentina shot me a subtle glance, silently urging me to say something to persuade Mary-Kate to stay. I knew there was something more than just professionalism weighing on her mind.

"Mary-Kate, you're not a bother" I interjected, my voice soft yet firm. "In fact, I..." I paused and sighed, "Nevermind..."

Mary-Kate hesitated, her eyes flickering between Valentina and me. There was a vulnerability in her expression, a glimpse of the woman she was behind the professional façade she often wore at work.

"Please stay," I said in a gentle, yet sincere tone.

Finally, Mary-Kate relented with a small nod, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Alright, I'll stay for a while."

As Valentina bustled off to fetch cookies and hot chocolates, Mary-Kate turned to me, her eyes betraying the poker face she was trying to pull off.

"I'm sorry for intruding like this," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just needed someone, and..."

"You're not intruding, Mary-Kate" I whispered.

Her gaze softened, and for a moment, the weight she had on her shoulders seemed to have lifted. Our eyes locked for a moment.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I was about to say something, but Valentina reappeared with a tray of cookies and steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

We settled on the sofa, Valentina on the left, me in the middle, and Mary-Kate on the right, close to the wall. The atmosphere between Mary-Kate and me became heavy once we settled on the sofa. I couldn't fathom how we had gone from her not looking at me in the eyes once while we worked opposite each other, to us sitting on the sofa next to each other. It was almost as if I could sense her perfume. Valentina got me out of my trance when she started talking. I looked up and Mary-Kate had had had the same reaction as I did when Valentina had started speaking. We both looked at Valentina.

"So, what movie are we watching?" Valentina asked excitedly.

I smiled a little and looked at Mary-Kate.