5 —17

DYANNE

“Good morning,” I greet my team as cheerfully as I can when I walk into the office the next morning. Everyone returns my greetings, Fiona, a little too enthusiastically.

David narrows his eyes at me as I turn to face him when I take my seat.

“What?“ I ask quietly as I push the chair closer to the desk and turn on my computer.

I already know exactly what it is, but I hope I'm wrong. Having David prod me about my growing 'rain trauma' issue is not what I'm most looking forward to this morning.

“You look…cheerful.”

I force a smile and tilt my head slightly to meet his gaze. “Not a good thing?“

He shrugs, and then his gaze turns serious. “Did you get home before the rain? You never answered your texts last night.”

I keep the smile on and let the lie slip out. So easy and firm, like always. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

…

I'm currently trailing behind the rest of the team as we head towards the meeting room. My very first with Alex, and also the first time I'd be seeing him since all that drama last night.

My steps gradually slow as my thoughts weigh down on me. What will Alex say when he sees me? Will he be curious? Or will he treat me as nonexistent? The thought of that makes me uneasy, and it scares me because I know deep down, it would hurt.

No.

I straighten up at once.

'I have to avoid him first. But shouldn't I thank him?'

'No, right? Thanking him will only complicate things.'

'I must be crazy, because he made it clear we are strangers, so there's no reason he'd be curious about last night.'

I exhale and force a smile on my face.

“Everything will be fine, Dyanne,” I mutter to myself.

I'm the last to walk into the room, and just as I settle on the chair close to David, the door opens and Mrs. Adams and Alex walk into the room.

My whole focus is on Alex; I can't help myself.

Who can?

The way he walks into the room—any room—like he owns it. His presence is commanding, and all eyes must turn to him. Unlike others who'd cower under all the attention, it doesn't faze Alexander. And that to me is crazy.

For a brief moment I see 17-year-old Alex in his place, the 17-year-old who hated any kind of attention. It's insane how different he has become now. How different both our lives have become.

Dark, cold grey eyes meet mine. His stare makes my heart race, but I don't look away. I try to read his eyes, but there's nothing.

His eyes pin me down for a few seconds, and his lips part slightly as though he has something to say but decides against it. He takes his gaze off me and walks towards his seat.

I draw in air as I look down at my tightened palm, all trying to calm my racing heart.

I shouldn't be hurting myself this much when it's quite obvious the reality of things.

“Is everything okay?“ David asks quietly as he hands me one of the documents that's passed around.

I nod. “Absolutely,“, and I turn away before he can see through my lie.

“Let's begin,” Alex says, and the meeting rolls out immediately.

I brief Alex on the work I've done so far since the transfer and what I did in my previous office. I can't tell if I've impressed him or not, considering the fact he has a frown stuck on his face, and everyone else seems positive except him.

“…and team one, analyze our competitors strengths and weaknesses in preparation for our next meeting on Friday.”

And then his gaze turns to David and me; I hold my breath waiting for his next words.

“No slacking off.“

With that, he stands and walks out of the room.

I exhale as I begin to pack up my things.

No matter what, I need to keep my distance from Alexander. He shouldn't be making me nervous or curious or sad. There should be absolutely no reason for us to see except for meetings. I just need to—

“Ms. Collins? Can I have a word?“ A voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I look up to see Mrs. Adams standing in front of me.

“Oh yes, of course,” I give one of my many fake smiles.

“Though we are quite aware of your hard work in our branch company in Canada, we still need to make sure you're competent enough to work here.”

“Especially since it's a different work environment, and there's more pressure to do well here.“

“Consider your first three months as your intern phase, and afterwards Mr. Morgan will judge based on your work and report and decide if you're fit to stay here.”

Erh?

I try to not show my surprise, but I must have been a second late because she smiles lightly and then adds.

“I know it's going to be easy because it's you, of course.”

I can't decide if I like the way she thinks so highly of me or not.

“Just make sure to be on Mr. Morgan's good side since he's the major factor in deciding. And as you can tell from today, he is pretty hard to impress.”

What have I gotten into?

Alex's good side? I'm definitely on the other side. In the depths of it, in fact.

“But of course I believe your hard work and leadership will charm him,” she adds again.

I scoff quietly.

If anything, it'd irritate him. I've been away from him for ten years, and I barely know anything about him, but if there's one thing I know, it's that he absolutely despises me.

I just hope he's not the one to mix business with pleasure. But he does seem like one.

Goodness. There goes my plan of avoiding him in the literal trash.

I hate my life.

“Thank you for your trust in me. I'll make sure to keep it in mind,” I tell her calmly.

She smiles and turns around, walking out of the room.

I sigh as I fall back on my chair, throwing my head back.

Isn't life just so wonderful?

I sit there for the next two minutes before picking up my stuff and walking out. I'm walking towards the elevator when the door slides open and two women step out. I'm quick to recognize the first woman. Regina Morgan, Alex's mom. She hadn't changed. Not one bit.

Her poise is still firm as always, except she isn't frowning like I always see her do. Her lips are curved in a satisfied smile as she speaks to the younger woman, who also looks painfully familiar.

I watch the way her lips move, and it suddenly feels like the last time I spoke to her in person. My heart clenches with guilt as our conversation replays in my head.

Just as I'm wondering if I should turn away before they see me, she raises her head, and our gaze meets.

Surprise spirals across her face at once, but like usual, she's quick to cover it up.

I start to wonder if she still hates me. For a moment, I'm nervous about what she's going to do, but nothing pleasantly prepares me for the moment she swiftly takes her gaze off me and walks past me.