The Ace

Chapter 7 - Gotcha

It's been almost one month since I started working at Agostini and, fortunately, things were finally falling into a rhythm. 

I noticed Antonio had been sort of avoiding me all of a sudden; he'd barely respond to my emails (all genuine business questions, no funny business) and the few times we'd cross paths he'd give me a simple nod with a stern face, just barely acknowledging my existence. It kind of bothered me at first but it didn't take me long to get over it; after all, it was nothing more than a schoolgirl crush. 

Cassie and I began a weekly tradition where every Friday we would have a movie night. She and I would hang out either at my place or hers with several bottles of wine and never-ending piles of junk food. It was great to finally catch up with my best friend and make up for all the lost time since graduation. 

Work came naturally to me and I quickly got the hang of things at Agostini. I was the quickest in my department and held the longest streak for not messing up any of the numbers which was surprising, considering I did most of the calculations in my head. It made me feel good about myself, honestly. Cassie and Nick always swung by my office randomly throughout each day to crack a joke and sometimes they'd even take their lunches in my office with me. I became somewhat close to Nick but not in a weird way, more in a comfortable kind of way. 

He and I becoming friends meant I was around Ace more than I thought I'd find myself. Ever since my birthday, he became much colder towards me for virtually no reason at all. It seemed as if the sound of my voice was the equivalent to nails on a chalkboard, or at least that's how his facial expressions made it seem. I still felt an intense heat around him and I constantly found myself wanting him around. I damn near hated him but my body clearly didn't. I noticed that Ace, Nick, and a dozen other men from different departments liked to stay late at the office. It was normal at first, I assumed that they needed to catch up on work that they couldn't get around to finishing throughout the day, but after the second week, I noticed it was always the same exact men and it was way more often than normal. 

I trusted my gut and didn't ask too many questions. I especially didn't let my negative thoughts get to me like they did before I even officially got the job. I liked to convince myself that maybe I was right, maybe they do all have a secret fit-club and liked to lift weights - or inject steroids -  together in the exclusive gym in the company's basement or something. 

I was currently seated behind my desk, focusing entirely on the paperwork I had laid out in front of me while chewing on the butt of my pen. It was Thursday and the clock read three o'clock, only two hours before work would be over for all of us at Agostini, or most of us, at least, and I was ready to get the hell home. 

Cassie had texted me earlier today apologizing for rescheduling this week's Friday-night date but explained to me that her parents needed her home for the weekend due to an urgent matter. She assured me that everything was okay, refraining from giving too many details but I didn't push. If she wanted to tell me, she would, and I was never the person to let curiosity get the best of me. 

I never pushed somebody to tell me things when they didn't want to. Instead of getting flustered when somebody would say "I have to tell you something...actually, nevermind," I would simply say "okay." 

It was funny how frustrated people got, though, when they'd notice that I wasn't going to beg for them to continue. 

I noticed some shuffling in my peripheral vision and I instinctively looked over. Ace was lazily seated behind his desk, his thumbs quickly typing out a text message on his phone. There was absolutely nothing on his desk that showed that he was actually working. Even his computer was asleep from the lack of activity.