Cristina

Chapter 5

This morning, I feel so disoriented. I kept waking up every few hours to pee last night. One would think I had several drinks.

I haul myself from bed, not even in the mood to go for my regular jog. Maybe I will just get some workout in the evening.

I drag myself through my morning routine, feeding Missy, and having Gwen on video call the entire time I prepare breakfast. She takes the time to remind me that Sunday is hers as if I would forget.

After ending our call, I make my way to the bathroom. I emerge from my bedroom, fully dressed and ready for my work day. I'm wearing full black, nude heels, and minimal makeup. I make my way through the door to work.

I am greeted in the parking lot by Nathan. He is pulling up at the same time. We walk and chat from the parking lot to the office building.

There is a total of three floors. I am on the third floor, while Nathan is on the second. Both he and Lily are. They work in different departments, but still on the same floor. Nathan is in operations, while Lily is in the accounting department. I, myself, am Mrs. Canton's assistant.

When we reach the first floor, we meet Lily. She is just a little bit earlier than us. She is chatting in the corner with a co-worker. He has quite a reputation with the women in this organization. He is no other than Lucas Neal.

When she sees us, I can see her tense. What's up with her? I trust that she knows enough about him not to get caught up in all that. She is a big girl. She can care for herself. I smile and wave at her, and immediately, she is walking over toward Nathan and me.

"Don't say anything," she says to Nathan, who is watching her with brows arched and all.

I keep telling him his actions, sometimes, make him seem so gay.

He throws his hands up, "just don't forget his reputation."

I walk a little ahead of both of them.

"Nathan, she is a big girl," turning my attention to Lily, I say, "right, Lily?"

She gives a weak smile and stutters a bit.

"I-I it's not even like that, Emma."

For some reason, she is acting as though she owes me an explanation. Again, she gets confusing at times. I instantly remember the incident where she kissed my cheek. I hope she doesn't feel like there is something between her and me. I don't feel anything other than friendship for her.

I nudge her arm, "like I said, you're a big girl. I trust your interactions with people."

She, Nathan, and I make it to the elevator. We get on, and before too long, we are all at our respective offices. I settle around my desk, sorting through some files on my desk, trying to decide which is more urgent than the next. I didn't close my door, and I can feel someone staring at me. Sure enough, when I look up, my eyes make contact with Mrs. Canton's eyes. She gives a half smile and gets up from her desk, moving out of my vision. I smirk to myself. She is kinda odd. She never speaks much, other than about work-related stuff. We have an ok boss/employee relationship, but just that. To prevent her from being caught staring any longer, I go and push my door a little. I don't close it all the way, but just enough to shield my desk.

I go back and start on my workload. My day is progressing rather uneventfully. I get a call from Darcy reminding me of lunch the following day, but that is about it for outside interactions.

As the day is coming to an end, Nathan sticks his head in my door.

"What happened at lunchtime today, sweetness?"

I groan, "sorry, about that, hun. I was so swamped with work. I just decided to have a sandwich right at my desk."

He nods, understanding my load. I take notice of his attire, which makes me check my watch. It is already 5:30 p.m. I should get out of this place already. Some days, I would go until 7 p.m., but work is over at 5 p.m.