“No way, no way!” Annie squeals as she grabs my phone from my hands. Her pale blue eyes sparkle with mischief. “Lily, he’s coming!”
“Shut up!” Lily shouts, reaching across me to take my phone next, pushing a piece of her short brown hair away from her face.
“This is absolutely crazy. I can’t even believe it! Five minutes? That’s so fast!” Annie cries, her arm catapulting back for the phone.
“Oh my God, I’m so excited, I can’t wait to see what he looks like!” Lily adds, jumping in her bar seat with excitement.
The two of them are growing louder by the second, and now I’m starting to get a headache and regret my message.
“Didn’t you just point out that he’s got two daughters? It’s a school night. He’s probably spending time with the kids,” Lily points out as Annie re-reads the texts for the tenth time.
“What do you think this means?” Annie asks, still staring at my phone.
“Maybe he’ll bring them along,” Lily gushes.
I’m too stunned to say anything. Did I really do this to myself? I can’t even believe it!
As if a magic wand is waved over my head, I feel the drunkenness clears up instantly, and now I’m sweating from every possible place I can think of.
“He…he must have thought I was contacting him for a work-related matter,” I find myself stammering to the girls. “He’s incredibly dedicated.”
Annie shakes her head. “Except this is outside of work hours, honey. Besides, he knows this is a pub, yet here he is, rushing over like your knight in shining armor!”
She and Lily scream again, their bodies jumping up and down in the bar seats as they shake their arms in the air.
Well, if the drunkenness has left, then bring on the hangover because I am far too sober for this.
I’m honestly speechless now. My friends must be overthinking things, surely. I mean, Anderson is just so professional in the office. He cares for his subordinates, and I know that.
Besides, I’ve never messaged him outside of the working hours in the past, so that must have made him inclined to believe it must be something serious.
Even if that’s not the case, I can’t help but continue panicking in my head over the fact Anderson will be here soon.
As the end of the five minutes approaches, Lily and Annie decide to step aside to let me handle this situation on my own. They sit at a table in the back of the bar, watching me like I’m their newest form of entertainment.
I better come up with a goddamn perfect lie. I’m starting to sweat and growing more nervous by the second for Anderson to show up. Maybe something about how work has been a struggle, or I’ve had a few difficult clients?
As the thoughts run through my head, they’re quickly sent away when Anderson walks into the bar in an elegant, perfectly tailored suit. His eyes search for me before landing on the bar, and he smiles gently.
Standing at what I can imagine to be over six feet tall, Derek Anderson is a white yet tanned man in his late thirties with dark brown hair on his head. He has his usual dark smudges under his eyes, which match his exhaustion. He’s also just about one of the most good-looking men I’ve ever seen.
I quickly scramble to my feet once he enters, realizing I have absolutely no idea what I must look like. A wreck, probably, considering I just got dumped by my own husband. Is my hair okay? What about my makeup?
Oh man, what about my breath?
Anderson approaches, keeping his smile spread out on his face. I take a deep breath, and tell myself to calm down.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Esme,” Anderson says once he’s closed the distance. He looks really good tonight.
“T-Thank you,” I stutter out, trying to keep my composure. “I’m looking forward to taking on the new responsibilities.”
We both sit at the bar together, still keeping one another in our line of sight.
I do put a lot of time into my job, and it is genuinely rewarding and fulfilling. I mean, the years I’ve put into it have given me such a rush of pride. But thinking of Ryan’s complaints scratches at the surface of my skin.
“I brought you a gift to celebrate,” Anderson states, holding out a small bag for me to take from him.
Surprised, I reached out for the bag. What could he have possibly grabbed for me in the five minutes it took for him to arrive?
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson, that’s very kind of you.”
He gestures to the bag. “Why don’t you open it?”
I look down at the bag, feeling awkward about opening his gift right here, but do as he asks.
I can’t contain my absolute shock when I pull the gift out of the bag. A jewelry box?
I slowly open the box, seeing a beautiful necklace inside. My jaw drops.
“W-w-what? How did you—?”
Anderson gives me a sheepish smile, nodding at the box. “I happened to notice your phone’s wallpaper recently, and…” He rubs the back of his neck. “I hope that it wasn’t too personal.”
I can’t hide my stunned expression. This is so thoughtful of Anderson, and I raise my eyes to his. How do I even thank him for this?
The necklace, a beautiful silver chain with a dark blue heart wrapped around it, was supposed to be a gift hint for Ryan to find. I picked it out because I knew how perfect it would match my own dark blue eyes.
I’ve been eyeing this for weeks and was so, so hopeful he would figure out my desire to own it.
I’m so confused because this is like my dream wedding anniversary! Though, in reality, it’s all a mess—yet here I stand with my own boss, my eyes wide and mouth agape as I hold onto the beautiful jewelry.
This is Anderson handing over this gift, though. Not my own husband.
“So, what’s the matter?”
“I’m getting a divorce!” I blurt out without a thought.
My boss’s expression morphs, and he gives off a strange expression. “Sorry?” He questions.
At this very moment, I notice something pink on the corner of Anderson’s suit. Is that…Peppa Pig? A sticker?
God, what the hell am I doing? This is my boss! He’s a mature man with children and professional conduct. A full-fledged, single father with no need for some random employee to take up his incredibly important time.
I take one deep breath, then another. Calm down a second. This day has been such a whirlwind that I must have gotten swept up in the kind gesture from Anderson.
My nerves are growing, and I feel inexplicably and desperately wanting to escape this incredibly awkward situation. My personal life doesn’t need to be brought up in front of Anderson, so what am I doing talking to him like we’re old friends catching up?
Out of professionalism, it’s imperative that my personal matters are handled privately and have nothing to do with him. What am I even doing calling him to the bar and divulging that I’m leaving Ryan behind?
Abruptly, I make my voice sound natural, though it doesn’t feel as such. “What I meant to say was,” I start, another breath to calm myself. “I’d like to request time off.”
Anderson raises his left eyebrow.
I nearly cough. “I need to handle the…related paperwork, if that’s okay, sir?”
It feels like a bowling ball has landed on my chest as I watch his expression go unchanging. God, of all the times, to sound like a complete bumbling mess, it has to be in front of my boss.
