DAWN
As soon as I enter my office working space, a message dings on my phone's notification centre in my pocket as the device vibrates against my thigh. Shoving my fingers into my pants pocket, I fish my phone out, excited to see if Kyle has already texted me.But when I pull my phone out and stare at the phone's glowing screen, I see that my best friend, Leslie, has texted me. Running a hand through my hair, I remember I have forgotten to message her back and update her on how my date went the other night. And the crazy thing that I ended up doing because it felt exciting and just right.The sudden marriage.The man I slept with on the first date.These are some of the things that she would never expect me to engage in in a million years.But it happened.I did all of them, Leslie.Guess I should prepare never to stop hearing the end of it.Leslie is not the person to let this go with ease.Shaking my head, I unlock the screen to reDAWN"Can you pass the hot sauce, Jules?" Julie looks up from her food and moves the few sachets of her untouched hot sauce toward me. "You sure you don't want it?" I check in with her again. "Because I'm going to use all of it. I can leave some for you, though."Julie shakes her head, taking a sip of her green juice."There's no need for that. You can use it all." She smiles at me after she puts her cup down. "Geez, this tastes funky.""Why do you even buy all that green shit? It tastes like dirt, to be honest."She chuckles softly at my choice of words. Then she gestures to the cup."Mine tastes like feet, but, you know, I got to get my vitamins in. I rarely eat any veggies these days, so I'm trying to compensate here." Rubbing her chin, she shoots me a look. "Just let me do that in peace."I wave her words off."Fine-e-e. Drink that earthy dirt smoothie shit for all I care."Julie laughs."Thanks for your support in all of my life
KYLESitting on the dining room couch, I check the time on my wrist.It's so late.Where is she?She should have been here by now.I pull out the phone from the pocket of my pyjamas and open the online text messenger app on it to send her a series of text messages.Dawn, are you still at work?Or are you caught up somewhere?Do you need me to come to pick you up?If that's it, then let me know.I can come by myself or send Neil to pick you up.Then I put the phone back on the glass table, hoping she would text me back soon. I don't understand these feelings of anxiety and dread surfacing from the depth of my subconscious. All these weird cyclical thoughts of something happening to her remain pervasive in my mind, but I push those thoughts into the back of my head and take a deep breath to focus on the present.After waiting another few minutes, a reply arrives on my home screen. The phone screen glows with the incoming mess
DAWNWhen I stand at the threshold of the mansion, ready to press the doorbell, Kyle pulls the door open for me to enter. The sudden motion of the door opening wide open catches me unawares."It took you a bit of time to get home today, didn't it?" Kyle's eyes are hooked on my face as soon as I look up to match his gaze. "I was waiting for you to come home."I watch him step to the side of the door to let me in as my eyes dance and sparkle to see him again, happy to meet him in a relaxing environment minus the work setting. I step lightly into the house, my hands tightly clasping my purse. My heart is grateful since I can notice Kyle's anticipation in his eyes to see me.When I step into the hallway, Kyle hugs me from behind, almost making me heady with his sandalwood scent wafting into the air from his nightshirt and the sudden warm affection. I let him hug me, patting his arm softly."Who made you work overtime?" He asks me the question point-blank. There's no hint
DAWN"Are you done with work?" I hear Kyle stepping into the room as I twist and turn under the duvet, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "It took you long enough. What time is it?"When my eyes fall on the wall clock, I see that it's eleven thirty p.m. Sighing, I turn my body again to sleep on my side so I can face him."Are you going to shower?"He raises a curious eyebrow, nodding his head."Would you like to join?" He winks at me. "And yeah, I took my time to come to you." Then he runs a hand through his hair. "There were a bunch of things I had to go through, so I hope you would realise that I had to take my time with all the files."Offering him a small smile, I prop myself on my elbows."It makes sense. If I were you, I would focus on my work too." Then I suck in a deep breath before speaking my mind. "It must be lonely to deal with so many expectations from several people and still do good work and show up every day. I feel for you."He s
KYLE"Can you ask Ms Jenkins to report to me in the next fifteen minutes?" I clear my throat and the office manager, Sophia Burton, nods a couple of times in agreement. "You know I don't like to wait, do you?""Yeah, I'll convey that to Fiona." She starts to back away from my desk. "I'll go get Fiona now.""Very well," I say as Sophia exits my office. Then I talk to myself more than anyone else. "The time has come for the righteous to receive their dues, and I have to be reasonable in my wrath."Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I unlock the screen to go to my contacts. Then I select Dawn's number and quickly type out a series of text messages to her.Thank you for making me breakfast today.I really appreciated it!It made my day.Should I add an emoji to make myself more approachable?Thanks again. :)Then I sit straighter in my ergonomic chair and hear a couple of loud knocks on my office door. Exhaling a harsh breath, I raise my voice."Come on
DAWNJulie looks at me apologetically when we take our first break between our work sessions."I'm sorry I abandoned you yesterday. There were some things I had to take care of at home. I hope you didn't mind me leaving after Fiona asked you to work overtime."I shake my head."Well, it was obvious that you wanted to go home." Smiling at her, I wave her concerns off. "You don't have to apologise. I'm sure you had things to do. I mean, everyone does. If I should be mad at anyone, it should be Fiona since she's a stuck-up asshole. Not you, who have always been on my side and been a good teammate.""Quite happy to see that you think of me this way.""Don't think much about it.""Can I be of any use to you?" She looks around the pile of files on my desk. "If you need me to tinker with anything set on a close deadline, I'm here."I nod, offering Julie a bright smile."I'll let you know if I need your help. But thanks for suggesting that."
KYLEThe second I cut Neil's call and get off my phone, Ms Burton makes a series of soft knocks against the hard surface of my door. I clear my throat before I gesture to her with my hands to come in. My lips are set in a thin line because I know better than anyone that there's no way she would have finished the tasks I had handed her, so all I can do is enjoy the show.She slowly paces to the opposite side of my desk and wrings her fingers, shuffling on her feet."Mr Waugh?" She looks at me from behind her long lashes, biting her lower lip. "I tried my best, but I still have three days' worth of the meeting minutes that I need to type out for you. For some reason, no matter how hard I have tried to finish my work on time today, I couldn't get around to it." She slightly bows her head in shame. "I tried. But still, I failed at accomplishing the task." Then she exhales softly. "And the rest of the five days' worth of meeting minutes that I'm still working on," she scra
DAWNWhen I see Kyle walk through the entrance with my very eyes, my jaw hits the floor. For a second, I think I'm conjuring things when I watch him talk to Julie near the entryway, so I busy myself on my phone. Blinking my eyes a few times, I finally realise that he is indeed standing in the flesh. Rubbing my hand on my chin, I wonder what made him show up to our team lunch.Why is he here, though?Didn't he say we were going to keep our relationship a secret?But wasn't showing up to a team lunch he wasn't invited to, contrary to that emotion?How am I going to adjust to this arbitrary change of events?Kyle gives me a curt nod, gesturing to me with his eyes to stay seated where I am and act normal, and I give him a look.What are you thinking, Kyle?Coming here without so much as sending me a text message is not a good idea."What are you doing here, Mr Waugh?" Fiona asks him. Hopefully, Kyle won't give the game away. I shake my head a