Dalton
I let out a yawn as I was going over the notes from this morning’s meeting. I’d barely slept the weekend after Amelia left. I felt like a complete fool. I’d kissed her, I’d let my guard down, something I’d promised myself would never happen. Then I’d tossed and turned all night, worrying that she was going to report me to human resources today, and if not today, I was sure it would only be a matter of time.
I let out a sigh and closed my notebook, glancing at the clock. It was almost one, and I’d still not seen Amelia today. She hadn’t called in sick either, which was unlike her. I left my office and made my way down the hall toward the front desk, where I found Charlotte on the phone. I went into the copy room only to find it empty and then returned to the front desk.
“If you are looking for Amelia, they called and asked if she could come to the emergency room. Apparently, they were slammed, and we weren’t, so I told her to go. You were in your meeting.”
I nodded. Normally, she would have cleared it with me first, but she hadn’t, which normally would have made me angry.
Charlotte looked up at me, waiting for my reaction. Only I had nothing to give. After the other night, I knew I was skating on thin ice.
“I’m going to head down for lunch. Want anything?”
Charlotte looked at me weirdly. What was the matter with me? This wasn’t the cold exterior I normally had. I’d never offered to get my employees anything.
“No, I’m good, thanks,” she said hesitantly, looking up at me with concern.
“Okay, be back soon,” I said, heading toward the door.
Making my way into the cafeteria, I grabbed my lunch and was about to sit down at a quiet table off to the left side when I spotted Amelia sitting alone. I wanted to apologize again, so I approached her slowly. She had her headphones in and didn’t notice me until I was almost beside her.
“, hi,” she said, removing one of her earbuds. From what I could tell, she was annoyed with me.
“Mind if I join you?” I questioned, fully prepared for her to tell me to take a hike, only she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and nodded to the chair beside her.
“Please, sit down.”
A funny feeling came over me as I sat down and opened my soda. “Amelia, I wanted to apologize again about Friday night. I was way out of line.”
She placed her hand on mine and softly smiled. “, relax. It’s okay, given everything that went on that night and what you were dealing with. It’s understandable. We both know it was nothing more than a simple mistake.”
I couldn’t have her thinking that. It wasn’t a mistake. It was something I’d wanted from the first time I laid eyes on her, and from the gentleness of her kiss back, the way her fingers ran through my hair at the back of my head, I guessed she’d wanted it as well.
“No.”
She looked up at me with questions in her eyes.
“I knew what I was doing. It wasn’t a mistake. I’m…I’m very attracted to you and have been for a long time,” I said, closing my eyes, feeling a bit of relief rise off my chest.
“What?” Amelia questioned, her eyes meeting mine.
I was quiet for a while, not sure I was ready to tell her exactly how I was feeling. I knew I had to, but it was hard to get the words out.
“Amelia, I have feelings for you, and I have for a while.”
Shock immediately flooded her face at my admission. Her cheeks went red, and I realized that the cafeteria probably wasn’t the best place to admit this to her.
“, I—”
“I’m sorry, but if I’m not honest about this, then…”
She swallowed hard, and her eyes watered as she waited for me to continue, only I couldn’t. The familiar feeling of choking, like all the air was being sucked from this room, hit me as I sat there waiting for the only thing that I figured was coming my way. Rejection.
“, please, we will talk about this later, in private,” she said, throwing her half-eaten muffin down on her tray before standing up and grabbing her things, leaving me there alone.