Even with the news, Veil found it difficult to sleep. Excitement coursed through her bones, keeping her awake through the remaining hours of the night. She passed through different stages of emotions all in a couple of hours and even her mother burst out laughing.Veil cried, danced, laughed, jumped, and fell to the couch in exhaustion and hunger. Orleans offered to go get something to eat on his way back from his house since he had to freshen up. He asked Veil to follow him, but she wanted to be around when her father opened his eyes.She was sending in a formal leave of absence for the day when Mr. Hart was wheeled in on his bed. He was still asleep but the nurse assured them that he had a smooth night and would be awake in no time. After sending out the mail, Veil joined her mother at the side of the bed, watching him like he would suddenly disappear into thin air. Orleans returned with breakfast an hour later and Veil didn't know how hungry she had been until the scent of the foo
The lobby was a little too quiet, as only the nurses at the desk were in the space, and even they seemed to be restricted from making themselves seen or heard. Veil thought Anders probably had something to do with it. She could imagine him telling the hospital authorities that he needed as much peace as he could get on this floor. The father of his fake girlfriend was in recovery.Or was Veil overimagining things?Anders didn't stop until he reached one of the spots for seating that had been prepared for the families of patients while waiting. But he didn't sit. Instead, Anders paced the contained space, trying to get his thoughts in order before he said anything.These days, he was trying his best not to put Veil off, but it was hard when she kept on doing things like these."Why did Orleans spend the night?" he finally asked, bringing his foot to a halt in front of Veil. He couldn't figure out why a person who wasn't her boyfriend had willingly decided to stay with her while she wai
“I thought I might find you here,” she said in a sultry voice as she approached, ignoring the nurses who had tried to say hello to her. “I stopped by your office to ask for Veil, and I was told you took a leave of absence today.”“Yeah…” Veil stammered. “But I didn’t include my reason for the leave.”“You didn’t have to,” Sophia replied, taking Veil into her arms. Veil felt like she was drowning in the middle of so many luxurious scents, all paired beautifully well on her. “I made a few calls that led me here. And a strong part of me believed Anders would be here as well.”Anders said nothing, watching intently as Sophia pulled out of the embrace slowly yet replaced her arms on Veil’s shoulder. On the other hand, Veil looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. It was all shades of awkwardness for her, being plastered that way in the middle of Anders and Sophia, who had almost joined together by their families.“It’s funny how Anders had never been one to care for his employe
Anders walked quietly beside Sophia, oblivious to the intensity of her gaze boring a hole in his back. He nodded to the nurse at the front desk and moved to the exit, stepping out of the way to allow Sophia through.She stopped too, daring Anders to break the silence that had lodged itself so strongly between them since they left the room. He wasn't going to take the bait; didn't want to. Sophia caused too much drama and Anders still wanted to give his father what he had demanded, at least, to the best of his abilities.Sophia stood as still as stone, waiting for something. Anything. She meant it when she said it was unusual for Anders to pay visits to his employee's relatives or even bother about them at all. And she had known Anders all her life, regardless of the fact that they had to grow apart from each other at some point.Anders didn't make spontaneous decisions. When a change showed in him, it stemmed from proper calculations or a deeply rooted feeling. Sophia knew that Anders
Veil returned to work the next day with a bright smile on her face and a spring in her steps. She said hello to the doorman who beamed at her in response. He wondered why she was at work that early. It was barely 6 am and Anders hadn't gotten to work yet. Attributing her reasons to the cause of her excitement, he wished her a beautiful day and went on about his business.Everything sparked to Veil, even the usual grumpy receptionist at the front desk. She waved as she sauntered into the elevator, hitting the button for the 16th floor, and leaning on the wall. The doors opened in a minute and she strolled up the hallway to her office.It was a plain space and although Veil had thought about decorating a few times, Anders’ demeanor made her chicken out of it each time. The space was exactly the way she had left it, folders properly organized on one side of the table and a computer on the other. But there was a card right beside the computer, looking out of place. Veil knew that the las
It took an hour to walk from the sixteenth floor down to the first, even though the clock had barely traveled five minutes. A silence, screaming to be heard, kept springing up, on Anders’ shoulders as he leaned on the elevator walls, waiting for that familiar ding, on his shoes, as they padded softly through the floors, not making a squeak.Veil might have tried to do something, say something. Perhaps, an awkward chuckle that would have him sending a ludicrous look her way, a loud yawn that might spur him to question her willingness to work that day. He might have alluded it to taking care of her father all night and then grumbled about how that wasn't an excuse.Anything at all.Her arm felt weird swinging by her side, so she put it up on her purse along with her second arm. It was an awkward way to walk, her feet getting slowed down and her brain questioning the intelligence of her actions. Yet, it was better than the silence. The first floor was quiet. Most people had gone out for
The silence has returned, but this time, it was way more awkward. Veil couldn't stop thinking about the implication of what Grandma said, how her eyes had regarded her, nudging across something that Veil thought she should have figured out already. But she was clueless. It felt like a gaping hole in her mind that needed to be filled soon.Anders, on the other hand, had put aside what plagued him earlier that day. The short ride with Veil had done something he couldn't place his hands on. Although he wanted to attribute it to Grandma and her worrying, Anders knew he started to feel better before they had even arrived at the restaurant.Now, as he picked up a fork full of lasagne, he regarded Veil from underneath his lashes. She looked deep in thought, a crease on her forehead and a faraway look in her eyes. She drew circles with her fork on the empty side of the plate, but Anders was just grateful that she had at least gotten over the dread of eating with him.Or maybe she didn't make
“Reports, please,” Anders requested, still watching Veil. She had turned her frame away from him, content with looking at the plain white walls and the finely polished doors. She grabbed her pen and scribbled something on the sheet. Audrey, a tall fine man with a head full of dirty blonde hair, cleared his throat noisily and wheeled his chair subtly to face Anders. He read the report of the marketing team from his laptop and the rest of the departmental heads followed him through the projected view on the screen.The figures were good. Business was booming. However, they thought the Pharmaceuticals was going to be a big risk from the market survey. Hospitals had a trusted brand, and it was hard to sway them away from their regular purchases.“So what do you think we should do?” Anders questioned, finally pulling his eyes away from Veil. She unnerved him. Every part of her. Anders had never found concentration a hard thing to do. He never missed details because he was always attentive