Part 2 - The Office

Monday morning. The alarm goes off but finds me awake waiting for it. I've thought about the event during the weekend, I even talked about it with my best friend but I still don't know what to do about it. Should I pretend it never happened? Should I tell someone about it? Maybe his wife? But who am I to interfere in her life like that? Maybe she already knows. Maybe they have some kind of agreement.

I take a deep breath and start getting ready. What I'm wearing doesn't seem important. Nothing does. The only thought that's going through my head is what is going to happen today. Maybe nothing will happen. They both must be as worried as I am. Mr. Downey doesn't even come to work everyday since he has a full schedule with meetings outside the office. Maybe today is one of these days.

I park my car and step in the elevator with a few more people. I don't know any of them so these moments are completely silent. No one's speaking and I can literally hear my heart beating. The higher we go the more people leave and I'm left alone when I reach my floor. I get out and start walking toward my office begging not to see any of these two. Gladly I only saw some other colleagues who I said good morning to and then I got in my office and closed the door behind me.

It helped me feel safe and comfortable. When I was walking I felt like Downey was looking at me from a secret place. But in here with the door closed I finally feel alone. He's never been to my office before, I doubt he will give me a visit now. He might not even remember me. I've been here for 3 years and I've met him twice. Both of these times being meetings in which we didn't even exchange words.

I started working immediately for two good reasons. Firstly because I needed my mind to be occupied on something other than Mr. Downey and secondly because I barely had any work done over the weekend. I couldn't concentrate, nothing helped me get the image of them off my head.

Whenever the phone started ringing my heart skipped a bit. I always thought it would be Mr. Downey or his assistant calling me to his office. But luckily none of these times this happened. Hours passed by and eventually I almost forgot about it. Until a knock on my door scared me completely.

"Come in" I say and my heart starts beating faster and faster by the second.

"Hey, I haven't seen you all day" Malcolm appears and I exhale in relief.

"Sorry, I was so busy I didn't even get out of the office" I only let him him know the one reason I didn't leave my office.

"Will you join me for lunch?" he asks and that's when I check the time and see it's lunch time already.

"Sure" I agree and take whatever stuff I need with me.

I usually spend my lunch break with my friends that decide to take their break at the same time with mine. We go to one of the very few places close to the office to get a bite or we stay at the office when we bring food from home. This time it's 4 of us at a table and we're now waiting for our orders. I haven't said a word to them, I feel exposed again. It's crazy but I feel his eyes on me all the time.

"Can I ask you an irrelevant question?" I ask and they all nod."What do you know about Downey?"

"I've only met him a few times, I don't know much really. He's really good at his job, that's for sure"

"He's been CEO since I started working here. I've been to a few of his lectures and in a few meetings with him. He always has these great ideas and he makes everything sound so easy and natural"

"All I know is that he's smarter than me, he has a better job than me, more money than me and he has a very hot wife" Malcom says laughing."Why are you asking?"

"No reason, I was just curious" I clear my throat and the waitress comes with our food.

When we got back to the office I started feeling anxious all over again. I kept checking the time but it seemed to pass by very slowly. All I wanted was to get out of here. I made some progress with my presentation and managed to answer most of my emails. When I was hopeful it was almost time to go I checked the time again.

3:53 pm. Great, another painfully slow hour. I sigh and go back to work.

I decide to ignore the time and do some work. I get my hands full with another chapter of my presentation and I search around for all the data and extra knowledge I need for it. It took me some time and I'm sure we're getting close to the end of the day.

4:38 pm. I can do this, only twenty minutes left.

I reply to another email, organize the files on my desk and even start getting my purse ready.

4:57 pm. I stare at the clock, watching as the seconds go by.

4:58 pm. A minute passed by but it certainly felt like much more time.

4:59 pm. That's it, everything's going by the book. I have my stuff ready and I'm going to be gone just in half a minute.

The phone rings just a few seconds before the time goes 5 and I freeze. I could ignore it but if it's anyone annoying they could report it.

"Olivia Beck's office" I say answering the phone.

"Hello, Ms. Beck. Mr. Downey wishes to see you at his office" I mentally scream after hearing this sentence.

"I'll be right there" I reply calmly and hang up the phone.

I can't believe this. He definitely did that on purpose. I thought I avoided him all day but in reality he didn't even want to see me until everyone was gone.

So dramatic.

I get all my stuff and walk down the hall but everyone else is walking the other way since they're free to leave. I reach his office and his assistant lets me in. Downey is sitting on his chair and typing on his computer but when he sees us he stands up. His assistant leaves and closes the door behind her leaving us alone in here.

I've never been inside his office before. It's obviously the biggest one here and it has an amazing view. It's so delicately decorated with all these paintings and unique decorations. It's one of the most elegant offices I've ever been to.

"Ms. Beck, please have a seat" he says and points at a chair in front of his office.

I slowly sit down and he sits back down on his own. I leave my purse on the floor and cross my legs. I'm very nervous and I think anyone could notice it right now. He moves his laptop away and takes a piece of paper in front of him. None of us is talking, it's pure silence around.

"Is it Penelope?" he asks out of the blue, not even looking at me.

"Excuse me?" I ask confused, I have no idea what he's talking about.

"I see here your name is Olivia P. Beck. I was wondering about the P, is it Pamela?" he asks again.

"No" I reply shaking my head.

"Paige?"

"No. I'm sorry but could we skip the middle name please?" I ask nervously.

I don't know what he's trying to achieve but he's just making me nervous with this.

"Are you in a hurry, Ms. Beck?" he looks me in the eyes for the first time but all I can do is automatically look at my hands in embarrassment.

"No, sir" my hands are sweating.

"Okay, then. Let's talk about you" he lets the piece of paper down and relaxes back into his chair.

He places his arms on the armrests and looks at me. He seems so relaxed and comfortable. It's almost like he's enjoying this. I'm over here dying slowly and he just shows off his power.

"Do you stay here and work late frequently?" he asks.

"Only sometimes when I have much work to do" I answer as calm as I can be.

"I like it when I find out we have hardworking employees like you" he says and all I can manage to do is smile at him.

Oh God I'm so awkward.

"I believe this is yours" he then continues and pushes my flash drive all the way from his side of the desk to mine.

"Yes, it is. Thank you" I smile and take it in my hand.

I see him standing up from his chair and I start panicking even more. My inability to stay calm right now is so obvious. He stands against his desk from my side now. His arms crossed and the smell of his perfume intense. He's so close to me, I could touch him only if I barely moved my arm. I make an attempt to look at him and notice he's gazing at my crossed legs. He then looks back at me but I can't keep the eye contact so I look away again.

"About the incident on Friday" he addresses to the elephant in the room and I gulp. "You wouldn't do anything stupid about it, would you?"

"Of course not" I reply and bite my lip nervously.

"Good. After all, it's all over now. It's not worth it upsetting some people for something that belongs in the past" his voice is deeper now.

"I agree, sir"

"Can I do anything for you to make sure we stay on the same page?" I love the sound of his voice.

"It won't be necessary" I politely disagree.

"Are you sure? How about a little raise? You're working so hard, you deserve it"

"I'd rather earn that raise with my work" I smile at him.

"I like you more and more by the minute, Ms. Beck" he smiles back but once again I look away.

What a beautiful smile.

"Thank you" I reply and I'm pretty sure I just blushed.

"What would you say to a nice dinner? Company provides dinners to the employees all the time. We could talk about your work" he sounds so calm, how can he not be any awkward?

"I'm not done with my work yet, we wouldn't have much to talk about" I try to dodge this suggestion.

Imagine a dinner with the two of us. I can't even look at him, it would never work.

"I'm sure we'd find plenty of things to discuss. People tell me I'm great company, I'm sure you are too" he tries to convince me.

"But this would have to be a dinner based on work and as I said mine is not done yet so I don't think that's the best idea" I'm proud of myself for saying all these words without pausing.

"Okay, as you wish. But please accept the week off. I believe that would help you finish your work faster"

"Honestly, I don't think I can afford staying away from the office for so many days" I shake my head in embarrassment.

Getting paid less for being absent from work, or even not getting paid at all for these days sounds like a nightmare.

"There won't be any changes to your salary, Ms. Beck. Unless of course you decide to accept my first offer as well"

"No, that won't be happening"

"Then, I insist. You seem tired and you've been working hard. I'm authorizing your week off but I can't force you to stay away. That's your choice" sounds like he made his decision.

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Downey. Thank you so much" I say smiling.

"No need to thank me, Ms. Beck. See you next week, I hope" he finishes his sentence and moves back to his seat.

"Okay, see you then" I reply and take my stuff.

His eyes are locked on me when I stand up but then I turn around leaving his office. I look at him again when I open the door and notice he's still looking at me. A wave of satisfaction goes through my body. I close the door again and leave for my house feeling happy and excited.

Downey is on my mind the whole time but not like he was before. I can't stop picturing him standing against his office. I can't stop smelling his perfume. Seeing his smile. Soon I realize I've spent much time thinking about him so I shake my head and take a deep breath.

Focus, Olivia, he's a married man.