Just one night(2)

Chapter 2. 

The next morning..Erica was woken up by the light rays of sun through the curtains, the strong smell of whiskey and cologne that filled the room, and the noisy interactions of people on the street. 

Where am I? Erica thought to herself as she opened her eyes slowly. For a moment she’d forgotten where she was. Finally she opened her eyes and thoughts of last night came rushing in. 

She looked around…Henry wasn’t there..he was gone. Different thoughts flooded Erica’s mind..was I used…was it a dream…or was I just too drunk and hallucinated everything. 

Erica then realized…it’s Monday. She’s supposed to start her new job today. She couldn’t afford to lose such an opportunity..especially after she told her mum that this is the job that “changes everything for the better..”…

6:30am!!…it was 6:30am and her new job was starting by 9:00am. She hurriedly grabbed her dress from the floor where Henry had tossed it last night…and put it on..she washed her face and wore her heels. 

Just as Erica was about to leave she remembered…her purse…it was on the bed side table…she turned back to take it and to her surprise…next to it laid a very expensive looking ring…the same one she had seen on Henry’s finger while he sipped his whiskey last night. 

Erica didn’t think much of it…she just grabbed the ring and left…at least she had something to remember the wonderful night she had before. 

On getting home, Erica met Nadia on her sofa…sitting like she owned the place..

“Where have you been?” asked Nadia

“Out”…Erica replied quickly…trying to avoid eye contact 

“OMG…did you finally get knocked up by someone?”…Nadia asked curiously

“No”…Erica replied as her eyes wandered about the ceiling of the room…saying the total opposite 

Nadia squealed and hugged Erica,..she was happy…her best friend finally had a fun night.

“I have to go out soon my new job starts today”…said Erica as she released herself from Nadia’s hug and ran upstairs to change. 

Thirty minutes hadn’t even passed when Erica got downstairs…she was ready to go. 

Monday morning came too fast…Erica thought as she dragged herself to her new job…it was a fresh start for her, a real office gig, the kind of thing she told her mom would “get her life together.”

She tried to forget about him. The ring was stuffed in her purse. She’d convince herself it was a fluke. Maybe he’d come find her. Maybe he wouldn’t.

She walked into the sleek glass building, gave her name to the security guard, adjusted her blouse in the elevator mirror. You got this, she told her reflection.

When she stepped into the conference room for her first team meeting, her stomach dropped.

Standing at the head of the table…wearing a black suit, perfect haircut, that same expensive watch dazzling under the light…could it be….

Henry…it was him..

His eyes flicked up and met hers. For a split second, there it was again… that same look, that same heat. But his face gave nothing away. No emotion whatsoever…

“Good morning, everyone,” he said, voice deep, calm, dangerous. “I’m Henry McPherson… head of this project. I believe we’re going to do great things together.”

He didn’t look at her again. Not once during the entire meeting. But every nerve in Erica’s body was on fire. 

How could he just stand there and act like nothing happened? Like he hadn’t kissed her like that? Like he didn’t hold her all night?

It didn’t make sense. Erica felt stupid for even thinking it would. Maybe it was just nothing to him. Maybe it was normal for him. But to her, it wasn’t. It wasn’t supposed to happen at all.

She tried to focus on her work. She really did. She typed random things on her laptop and stared at them until her eyes watered. She was supposed to be working. She needed this job. But her mind kept replaying every single second of that night. The way he touched her, the way he looked at her like she was special. Was she hallucinating?

Should I just ask him? Maybe if she knew what it meant to him, she could stop thinking about it and just be normal again. She didn’t do stuff like this. This was Nadia’s thing… not hers. Erica was always the “I’m too busy for boys” girl. And now look at her… stuck with thoughts she couldn’t shake off.

She stood up before she could change her mind. She grabbed his ring from her purse and walked straight to his office. Her palms were sweating so bad that she had to wipe them on her skirt.

His secretary…Anna or was it Annie, whatever her name was..was there at her desk, typing fast like she was in some kind of movie. She looked up, fake smile and all. 

“Can I help you?” Anna said, voice too sweet.

“I need to see Mr. McPherson,” Erica said, trying to sound confident. “It’s kind of urgent.”

“He’s busy. You can come back later,” Anna said, her fake smile still on.

Erica didn’t care. She pulled out the ring and put it on Anna’s desk. It felt heavy and cold in her hand.

“Tell him he left this behind,” she said…already pissed. 

Anna raised an eyebrow and stretched her hand out like Erica was just going to give it to her.

“I’ll hand it over,” Anna said, like Erica was bothering her.

Before Erica could say something smart back, she heard him…that deep voice she recognized so well now.

“Let her in.”

She turned around so fast her heart almost stopped. There he was, standing at the door like he owned the world. His eyes were on hers and he didn’t even blink.

“I said… let her in,” he repeated…but his eyes never left hers.

He held the door open and Erica didn’t even think. She just walked past Anna and into his office before she could lose her nerve. Her shoulder brushed his arm as she went in…and her skin felt like it was on fire again.

The door shut behind her with a soft click. Now it was just them. No fake smiles. No pretending. Just him and her…and a thousand things she needed to know.