Did you cry?

Chapter 9: Did you cry?

Ivy’s pov

Ivy woke up to the pains she felt all over her body from the way she slept. She groaned as she stretched and felt sore all over. Her phone beeped continuously, she hissed as she reached for it.

It was messages and missed calls from Charlotte.

“Hey, love.” 7 AM

“Good morning.” 7:10

“Why aren't you responding to my messages?” 7:20

“Okay, I'm gonna get mad now” 7:21

Two missed calls

“Ivyyyyyyy” 7:25

“That's it, find yourself another best friend.” 7:30

“Bitch reply me” 7:35

“Don't tell me you've gotten a new best friend at work? 7:40

The last message slowly faded the smile on Ivy’s face. “Work,” she repeated. She looked at the time, and it was 7:45 am

“Shit, I'm going to be late for work” she screamed.

She jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. “How could she have overslept?” She asked herself as she stared into the mirror, trying to tame her hair. 

Her eyes were swollen, evidence of the tears still visible.

“Great, not only am I going to be late to work on my second day, but I get to go looking like a starved zombie, I'm so gonna get fired,” she lamented.

She quickly got dressed in brown pants and a black shirt. Not bothering to apply anything on her face, she rushed down to the living room. Luckily for her, her stepmother and her son were nowhere in sight. She sighed in relief. She really couldn't deal with any of them today.

Ivy rushed out of the house and headed to the bus station.

************

By the time Ivy got to work, it was already 8:40.

She took a deep breath as she walked into the company wearily. 

“Good morning, Miss Smith.” The receptionist greeted her with a smile. 

“Good morning,” she replied with a forced smile as she headed for the elevator.

With every floor the elevator passes, her heartbeat increases as she wonders what awaits her on the top floor.

“Maybe if I just sneak in quietly, no one would notice I'm late,” she thought 

Smiling at the idea, she began to tiptoe carefully to her office after exiting the elevator. As soon as she got to the hallway, she looked at the two ends to check if there was anyone.

Seeing no one, she dashed to her office, with her hands clutching her chest, she shut the door.

“Wow! I made it, I can't believe I got away with it,” Ivy beamed as she weirdly moved her hips with her eyes closed.

“You must be excited that no one saw you,” Liam said with a face full of amusement as he watched her do her little dance.

“Holy hell! Ivy screamed, her heart almost jumping out of her chest as she saw Liam sitting on her desk with his arms folded as he watched her. “Shit! Since when has he been standing there? And how come I didn't see him when I walked in?”  she muttered under her breath.

A wave of embarrassment washed over her. Deciding to act like she wasn't fazed by his presence, she greeted 

“Good morning, sir, I’m sorry I didn't notice you were here.”

“Why are you just coming to work, Miss Smith?” he asked, still amused 

“I had a family emergency at home that had to be taken care of, sir,” she lied.

Ivy decided to lie because there was no way she was saying she overslept, because she cried herself to bed the previous night.

“You should know that it's professional to be able to separate your work life from your private life,” Liam said 

“I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen again,”  Ivy replied with her head bowed.

Ivy shivered as she felt Liam’s hands on her face.

“Why are your eyes swollen? Did you cry?” he asked, frowning as he lifted her chin so he could see her face.

“When did he move from there?” Ivy asked herself internally

Ivy quickly moved back as if his hands burned her.

“It's nothing, it's probably because I watched movies all through the night and didn't get enough sleep. She said, avoiding his eyes. 

Silence

“Okay,” Liam said after a long silence and walked out of her office.

She let out a breath of relief as he left. She made her way to her desk and tossed her bag on the table.

“That was a close call. What was he even doing here?” she asked no one.

Her phone beeped. She picked it up, it was a bunch of angry emojis from Charlotte.

“Shit! I forgot about Char, she's gonna kill me,” Ivy cried out

Ivy dialed her best friend’s number, she picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, Char, before you yell, I can explain,” Ivy said, trying to calm her best friend down

“You have 30 seconds,” Charlotte replied 

“30 seconds? Come on, Char, show mercy.” Ivy pleaded 

“29 seconds now, Ivy, my patience is running thin here,” Charlotte replied.

“Okay, okay fine!” Ivy said as she narrated everything that had happened to her in the past 12 hours. She wondered if Charlotte got any of it because she was sure she just rapped everything out.

“Those sons of bitches, how dare they say that to you?!” Charlotte let out

“Char, it's F—” Ivy started to say, but was interrupted 

“No, Ivy, it's not fine, don't you stop me from cursing at those evil, conniving waste of human life.”

Ivy smiled. This was why Charlotte was her best friend. 

“So you are not mad at me anymore?” Ivy asked

“Of course not, Ivy, when have I ever stayed mad at you? You know you are my ride or die.” Charlotte said.

The smile on Ivy's face became wider. “I love you, Char.”

“You know I love you more, more, Ivy,” Char replied.

They chatted for a while before deciding to end the call. Talking to Charlotte made her heart feel lighter, which had always been the effect Char’s voice had on her.

Her thought was disrupted when the telephone rang; she picked it up, “Hartwell’s office, how can I help you?” she asked 

“Come to my office,” the person ordered

It was her boss. Ivy wondered what he wanted now as she made her way to his office.