Four: Upset

I went through the files on my table, trying to be as steady as possible. I was devastated. For the first time in a long time, working my ass off wasn't able to help me get rid of my bad mood. And, this was all that man's fault. 

Being a business woman, a couple of my business' offers had been rejected a lot of times. But, this one felt different. When Erin had decided to help me get qualified for the meeting, I hadn't been optimistic. But, when she had told me I was qualified for it, I had had so many expectations, only for the dude to threaten to send me out of his company. 

The door of my office made a slight sound, which caused me to flinch. Raising my head, I saw it was Erin. Of course, it was her. She didn't smile, which meant it was time to get scolded. As she walked towards my table, I moved my eyes to the laptop in front of me. 

She settled to sit on the leather chair by the other side of the table, dropped her handbag on the table, and said nothing. Due to her silence, I glanced at her. 

"What's up? Angry?" I inquired. 

She sighed, a stern look on her face. "Louella, I warned you to not do something crazy. You fully know how well we've been dying to work with that company. Couldn't you have sacrificed your craziness for one day?"

"I didn't know he was the janitor." I tried defending myself. 

She shook her head at me. "I'm so angry with you right now. Does this mean you've squandered all my efforts? Couldn't you have at least considered me?"

I sighed, and slammed my laptop shut. She was making me furious. To keep myself calm, I shut my eyes for a while. I didn't want to shout at her. In my world, the two people I respected so much, were Erin and mom. And, if Erin wasn't going to keep quiet, I could end up yelling at her. 

"See, it's gone. The offer's gone. A better offer will come. There's no need for you to worry," I said. 

Standing up, I took a mug from the bar, got myself a cappuccino. Turning back to her, I was surprised to see her on her feet, scowling so much. Oops. What was going on?

"And, that's what you can say?" She ambled to me, no sign of happiness on her face. "Girl, at least, apologize. This is crazy. I always ignore you when you behave this way, but I just can't do it today. I'm sick of your craziness. I mean, I've never worked so much as I did to get this offer. And, the moment you wasted my effort, all you can tell me is to forget it?"

I sighed. "Erin, enough of this now. You've been very supportive of me for years now, and I appreciate it a lot. But, the truth is, talking about my mistake will change nothing. Instead, let's think about how to make my company as good as his. No big deal, hun."

"No big deal?" She narrowed her eyes at me. She walked closer, and stood in front of me. "Do you realize how annoying you seem right now? You're not gonna apologize?"

I rolled my eyes. "What's going on with you? Are you this upset? I made just one mistake. It's gonna be fine."

"Alright." She inhaled. To my surprise, there were tears in her eyes. What the heck? Was she that hurt? "I won't say anything further. If you don't understand me, I'll understand you. You don't see anything wrong in what you've done, that's why you don't wanna apologize. But, it hurts. Dropping your ego by apologizing to me won't hurt, will it?"

I was sipping from my coffee. When she said that, I choked a bit. Was she seriously thinking I didn't want to apologize because of my ego? That wasn't it at all. I didn't think I had done anything wrong, so that was the reason I didn't want to apologize. 

"Erin, why are you taking this seriously? It's just—"

"I'm done here." She twirled around, took her bag, glimpsed at me before turning to the door. "Take care of yourself for now. I want to quit working with you for the meantime."

"But, it's not—"

Again, she cut me off by walking to the door, and slamming the door shut when she stepped out. Yeah, I was so, so shocked. What had just happened? What had gotten into her?

I would admit, for the first time in a long time, I felt bad. I hadn't done anything wrong, had I? Why had she reacted that way? Was it a crime to tell her to forget about the offer we had lost? What was her problem? 

A bit upset, I sighed hard, sauntered to my table. Dropping my mug on the table, I returned to working on my laptop. About to check out the file Rachel had sent to me, a message popped out on the laptop screen. The moment I saw who had sent it, my heart ached. 

This man? Again? Dad?

Those ugly tears formed in my eyes. I felt the need to burst out in tears, but that wasn't going to happen at this point in my life. Crying was never a solution. For the first time in two years, this man had texted me? He had returned?

My hands balled in a fist. Something tingled my ears, a huge sign these tears had to escape my eyes. A few months ago, I had vowed to never cry because of this pain, and right now, I was going to flow with the promise I had made. I wouldn't cry. 

Not wanting this pain to reflect further, I shut my laptop for a second time, and stood up immediately. Grabbing my purse, I headed out of the office. I just had to leave here now. On one hand, I was upset that I had lost that offer, and that Erin was so upset. On another, dad's message had to come in, ruining my mood completely. 

Stepping into the hallway, my men followed behind me. And, soon, I was out of the building. I had worked enough for one day. 

***

The moment Neo appeared in front of me, I blinked away the tears in my eyes, pretended like I was completely fine. 

"Is the place empty?" I asked him. 

He nodded. "Another person has rented the place for the night. But well, the person paid a half payment."

"Does that mean I can go in?" I asked further. 

"Yes, you don't have to worry about any crowd."

I gave him a curt nod, and walked into the restaurant. 

One thing about being a billionaire, and a bit of a celebrity was, I was hardly able to go into restaurants without being attacked by people's attention. I used to like it, but not anymore. I just wanted a private life. 

Opening the huge, glass door of one of the most highly ranked restaurants in this locality, I walked in like the proud woman I was, walked straight to the bar. It was so refreshing to know I wouldn't have a crowd around me for the night. 

Getting to the bar, I sat on one of the high stools by the counter. "One glass of orange drink mixed with strawberry drink," I said. 

It was weird that I had come to a restaurant's bar to drink something like that, but well, what could I do? I just wanted to stay out, so I would be able to get rid of my own thoughts. 

The bartender smiled at me. "Okay, ma'am."

As soon as he turned around to get my order, that bad memory swiped back into my head. I didn't like this at all. I didn't want to have a trauma in public. I frequently had trauma attacks when I was alone, and I really didn't want that to happen now. 

I swallowed my tears, trying to brush off the thought. When the bartender served my drink, I told him “thank you”, and sighed before taking a sip from it. 

"Hey, friend?" 

Hearing that voice, I squirmed my neck sideways. Seeing this woman who used to be my friend, my heart fell to my stomach. Was she the person Neo had said was inside the restaurant as well?

She sat on the stool beside me, smirked. Yes, she was pretty. Dark pencil gown that hugged her little curves, a bit of heavy makeup that was absolutely pretty, her hair tied in a tight ponytail. She was the one person I knew, who looked like she had done face surgery, although she hadn't. 

"How're you doing?" She crossed her legs over each other, propped her elbow on the counter, and faced me.

"Francisco, the dick," I spat out. I never liked to use cuss words, but this woman was one person I despised. She was inclusive in the reasons I had a trauma. Seeing her, ruined my already ruined mood.