Mamello Cofieの小説

AMARA'S POV I woke up on Friday with a single, stubborn thought: I wanted to drive myself to work. It wasn't rebellion, exactly. It was something quieter. For weeks I'd been collected and delivered like a parcel, from a door to a car to another door, with nobody telling me where the edges of my own life were. I wanted forty minutes behind a wheel with the radio on and nobody watching. I texted Marcus before I'd even brushed my teeth. *I'd like to drive myself to work today. No cars. No escort.* His reply came in under a minute. *That's not advisable.* *It's a few minutes drive from Nora's to the office.* *It's a few minutes drive in a city where someone photographed you from across the street.* *I'm aware. I'd still like to do it.* There was a long pause. I brushed my teeth. I got dressed. I was halfway through my tea when the phone buzzed again. *Give me twenty minutes. I'll pull the street footage for your route. If it's clear, you can go.* *Thank you.* *Don

AMARA'S POVOn Tuesday morning, I waited until Lorry had finished his first cup of coffee before I said it."I think I need my office back"He looked up from his screen. "Your office""My old one. Since Sandra's gone""That's what you're thinking about at nine in the morning""I've been thinking about it for a few days""Why""Because it's easier""Easier than what""Than this" I said, gesturing at the two desks"We work well together here" Lorry said. "I don't see why we'd change that""We do work well together. That's not the problem""Then what is""Things get awkward""Awkward how""You know how" I said, and he did, because I could see it land.He leaned back in his chair and studied me for a moment."Is this about last Friday" he asked."Not really, i just think we need privacy and...""Okay" he said, quietly. "If you need privacy, you'll have it. Take your old office. I'll have the desk moved this afternoon""Thank you""Don't thank me. Just don't hide in there""I won't""You wi

AMARA'S POVNick found me at my desk on Monday morning, sat on the edge of it like he always did, and placed a small paper envelope in front of me."What's this" I asked."Open it"Inside was a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it and laughed before I'd even finished looking.It was a drawing of a horse. A very bad one. Four crooked legs, a body like a loaf of bread, and underneath, in tiny handwriting, *Dear Priya, I promise to practice.*"You remembered the name""I remember all their names" Nick said. "Can you give it to him this weekend when you go to the center""Why can't you""Because I won't be here"I looked up. "Where are you going""On holiday. Two weeks, starting Friday""Holiday""Mom thinks I've been working too hard. Honestly, I think she's right" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've been running since the Locate crisis, and the tender, and everything in between. I need to go somewhere with sand and nothing to do. Maybe I'll finally learn how to sit still""You'

AMARA'S POVOn Friday morning, I walked into the office at five to eight with a coffee in my hand and a plan to be efficient, quiet, and entirely unbothered.Our office was empty. Lorry's jacket wasn't on the chair. His laptop wasn't on the desk. I stood there for a second, frowning, then checked my phone. Nothing. No message, no note.I put my bag down and went to find him.I found him at the end of the corridor, in my old office, the one Sandra had taken. The door was wide open. Lorry sat in the visitor's chair with a stack of papers on his knee, and Sandra was perched on the edge of the desk beside him, close enough that her shoulder touched his, laughing at something he'd said.I stopped walking."Oh" Sandra said, spotting me. "Good morning, Amara. You're early"Lorry looked up. A flicker crossed his face, caught, as if I'd walked in on something he'd meant to explain. "Amara""What did i interrupt""Nothing we're revising the tender. We're finishing the last sections today""Her

LORRY'S POVBy Wednesday I had stopped pretending I wasn't counting.She'd been perfect for three days. On time, polished, efficient, every email answered before I could finish asking for it, every meeting minute filed within the hour. If I'd walked into the room as a stranger, I'd have called her the ideal assistant.But I wasn't a stranger, and she wasn't herself.She no longer teased me when I frowned at a report. She no longer threw something at my head when I said something arrogant. At lunch, she'd taken her sandwich and eaten at her desk, answering messages, not looking up, and when I'd said her name once, softly, she'd answered "yes, Mr Pablo" in a voice so even I felt it in my teeth.Mr Pablo. In my own office.I was staring at the same paragraph of the Hendrick contract for the fourth time when Nick leaned in the doorway, a mug in his hand and a frown on his face."Okay" he said. "What did you do""Good morning to you too brother""It's noon""Then good afternoon""What did

i called Lorry on Saturday night, long after the palace had gone quiet, sitting cross legged on my old bed with the lamp turned low.He picked up on the second ring."You said tomorrow" he said, instead of hello. "It's technically still today""I said I'd call you later. This is later""I'm choosing to accept that""Generous of you""I'm a generous man" he said, and I could hear him smiling, which made something in my chest pull tight. "How's the old friend of your parents""Old""That's all I get""They have a lot of stories""Do you like them""I do" I said, and it wasn't entirely a lie, because my mother had told me three stories at dinner, and I had laughed at every one. "How's the office""Quiet. Sandra tried to move into your desk""She did what""I stopped her. Sort of""Sort of""I told her it was reserved. She asked for whom. I said, a very difficult woman"I laughed, and the sound caught halfway because it felt too easy, like a door left open in a house I was supposed to be