by Wynn, Ann
“No need to worry about that. I was running late too. Were you in a hurry to meet me, Miss? I'm sorry, but I think we were not properly introduced yet. You are?” He asked her politely.
“Juliana. Juliana Austin.”
She extended her hand to shake his. He had a warm hand and a firm handshake. Although he asked her two questions, she decided to just answer one because the first question sounded more like he was jesting or even flirting with her and she did not want that.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Austin and I look forward to working with you.” Gabriel said with a smile as he continued to look at her. Frank smiled at her as he nodded as if giving his approval of his son's choice of words.
He looked at her straight in her eyes, making Lisa even more suspicious. Oh boy! Looks like I'll be interrogated later. He gave her hand one more squeeze before letting it go. After that long uncomfortable handshake, she left the conference room with Lisa, her suspicious gaze boring through her back. She turned around only to see her squinting her eyes at her.
“You knew each other?! You backstabbing liar! I thought we were friends...” Lisa sounded hurt.
“You got this all wrong, Lisa. I did not know him before the meeting. He just helped me get here on time by not letting the elevator doors close for me. It's no big deal. I promise.” Juliana explained.
But Lisa looked like she was on to something. Juliana knew that she would continue being like this until she found more evidence to support what she had said earlier. Unfortunately, it looked like it would take a lot to convince her this time.
“I think he was flirting with you back there and don't tell me you did not notice!” Lisa said.
“What? Are you being paranoid again, Lisa? Stop it! In case you forgot, I'm in a relationship.”
“In a relationship with who? The computer? Your cellphone? Juliana, you deserve better than that. I have not seen your so-called boyfriend in ages. He better not be cheating on you or he'll hear a lot from me. Better yet, I'll make him feel my wrath.” She said protectively. Juliana knew she meant well.
“No, Lisa. He isn't. He's just been busy lately. He just got promoted, you see. We went out last Friday night to celebrate his promotion.” She defended him. Her cheeks suddenly started to turn red as she replayed the events that happened to her last Friday. It was a night she would never forget.
“Yeah, right, whatever, Jules! Whatever makes you sleep at night. He just had a special date with you last Friday and now, you think everything is okay again? Michael needs to be more present in your relationship and like it or not, he's almost never there for you. I think you need to think this through, Jules, before it’s too late.”
Lisa and Juliana parted ways. As Lisa strolled away from her while she walked silently to her cubicle, Juliana’s thoughts became more confused than ever. Deep inside, she knew that her friend was right. Michael had been missing in action for months before he got promoted and they celebrated. Even if he constantly kept communicating with her via calls, text messaging, emails and online messages, that still did not change the fact that he was willing to sacrifice time with her for his career.
His career always came first. That realization hit her hard, which made her wonder if Lisa was right. When the time came, would she ever ask him to choose? And if she did, she wondered if he would ever choose her first. She felt scared and uncertain.
Chapter 3
Present Day
Juliana looked at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. She looked different. She had traded her eyeglasses for a pair of contact lenses. She had put on more make up than usual and let her long dark hair down. She looked younger, especially with the black dress that she wore especially for Michael tonight. She felt like this had happened before.
She recalled that Friday night two years ago when she thought he was going to propose as they celebrated his promotion. Two years had passed since then and she still had not seen a ring or heard a proposal from him. Somehow she felt upset, but she understood him well and knew that in the right time, they would take that step together somehow. But when? Would he pop the question to her tonight?
She walked out to the lobby and sat on one of the soft couches while she waited. They were supposed to meet each other at 8 PM tonight at the lobby of her office building, but he still hadn't called yet. She looked at the time. It was 8:15 PM. He was fifteen minutes late, but she knew he had a reason for being tardy. Another fifteen minutes passed when she suddenly saw Gabriel walking to the lobby to call it a night. He stopped midway as he saw her sitting in the lobby alone and smiled.
“If I knew a beautiful lady was waiting for me in the lobby then I would have gotten out sooner.” He said teasing her.
She forced herself to smile at him, but deep inside, she was hurting and she was worried. Why is Michael late? What happened to him? Is he still coming? If he isn’t, why? Am I no longer important to him? Did he forget our anniversary? Juliana tried her best to calm down and not to let a tear spill. After all, she had done her best to look beautiful and different tonight, as she had wanted to surprise him.
“Good evening Sir! Actually, I'm waiting for someone. He's just running late, that's all.” She lied.
“He's one lucky guy, but I think it is very ungentlemanly of him to keep you waiting...” Gabriel said.
“He's probably stuck in traffic on the way here. He'll be here soon. I know it.” She lied again.
“Alright. If you say so. How about I keep you company while you wait?” He inquired.
“Oh...okay. You don't have to though.” She looked away as she replied.
“I insist.” He smiled.
Juliana felt uncomfortable talking to him so casually like this. She did not want people to gossip about them. She wanted to keep their relationship professional, not romantic. She did not want Lisa to think that her suspicion two years ago was right. There was nothing going on between them and yet, she felt like fate was bringing them closer now somehow.
Gabriel was tired and stressed out. Who knew his job could be so taxing? All he wanted to do now was to go home, take a shower and get some sleep. But as soon as he walked into that lobby, he saw Juliana sitting in the lobby alone. He knew he had to ask her why she was there alone. He walked closer to her, uncaring if anyone saw. He looked at her and admired her from afar.
She looked different today. She wore a black halter dress that hugged her figure and accentuated her curves. Her long hair cascaded just above her waist. Her lips were painted red. Her eyeglasses were gone and in their place were contact lenses. She looked breathtaking. As he closed the distance between them, he couldn't help but take a mental picture of her looking this way. She truly was a sight to behold!
If only she were friendlier to him like the other women in the company. But then again, it was only because they wanted him and maybe she did not. Juliana was different, which made her interesting. Only one thing stopped Gabriel from getting more interested. She was in a relationship. Although he had never seen her boyfriend in the office, he knew he existed. He kept on hearing her defending a so-called Michael from her friend,
Lisa, who was obviously not a huge fan of the guy. After two years of working with her, he had come to realize that she was a smart, talented young woman who loved her job and most of all, her boyfriend. But his absence continued to make him wonder if his love for her was the same as her love for him. Keeping her company tonight while she waited for this mystery man to arrive would help him find that out.
He sat next to her, making sure that there was still some space between them. He did not want her to think that he was flirting with her, even though deep inside he wanted to, especially with how beautiful she looked right now. She continued to fidget with her dress as she kept on checking her cellphone for the time and for any calls or messages from Michael. They sat there in silence as he continued to observe her. She looked pale and somehow he felt bad for not being able to help her, but he did not know how. It was 9 PM and there was still no
sign of Michael. If they were going to eat dinner together then it was really getting late to enjoy one. He cleared his throat and decided it was time to talk to her.
“What time were you supposed to meet him here?” He asked.
“8 PM. But maybe he’s already on his way here. He couldn’t have forgotten today...” She pouted. Her voice sounded hurt but she kept a brave face in front of him. He knew something was wrong.
“Have you tried calling him or sending him text messages?” He inquired.
“Yes, I did. Several times. He said he was on his way.” She said weakly.
She was lying and Gabriel knew it. He could see right through her. Juliana was never a good liar to begin with, but he did not need to tell her that. Before he could say anything more, her phone rang. She turned away from him as she hurriedly received the call.
“Jules?” Michael asked.
“Hello Baby.” She answered breathlessly.
“Love, I'm sorry. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it tonight. Something came up at work.” He started to explain.
“Oh no! Is everything alright?” She asked with a concerned look on her face.
“The deadline of one of the biggest deals that we have right now has been moved to an earlier date due to the client's request, and since all of us are involved in this project and I am partially leading the team, I am somewhat responsible for it. As much as I would like to leave it to the others here, I just thought they would be able to finish it more on time if I helped them out.” Michael finished while Juliana sighed. She was the least of his priorities yet again, but until when would she let him treat her this way?
“Ok. I understand. I hope you will be able to finish everything to meet your client's demand.” She tried to sound cheerful but somehow her voice sounded slightly sadder. Although Michael noticed, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Thanks for understanding, Love. I promise to make it up to you next time.” Another promise that she knew he would break. She was no longer expecting much from him lately because of this.
“I love you.” He said. As she was about to say the same, she heard him hang up on her, which made her heart ache. Damn him and his rudeness!
Even if Gabriel could not hear what Michael was saying on the other line, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be making it tonight. Looking at Juliana, he started to feel bad for her dressing up and preparing for tonight. He knew he had to make things right. She smiled as if Michael could see her. She told him it was alright even though he could see the pain in her eyes. Was this what neglect was like? He straightened and looked away when he saw Juliana turn around to face him.
“Thank you for patiently waiting with me, Sir, but it looks like the plan's been canceled, so I'll be heading home instead...” Now, she was telling him the truth.
Juliana stood up and walked away from him without even waiting for him to respond. He hurriedly stood up to reach her. Gabriel reached for her arm to stop her from walking away. She stood there with her back in front of him. He knew it was now or never.
“Actually, I'm hungry and I know you are too. How about we go grab something to eat before going home? My treat.” He said, his voice sounding hopeful.
He tried to sound calm and friendly. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea and shy away from him. He meant well. She turned around, looked at him and smiled before saying yes. He knew she was not happy but he did not need to be a psychic to know that. Her boyfriend, Michael, stood her up on what seemed like an important date. He knew he would be upset if that happened to him.
He led her to where his car was parked, careful not to be too close to her or to even touch her. He opened the door of his Bentley to let her in. He walked over to the other side to start the engine. He frowned when he realized that most women who saw his car would even beg to let them ride in his car before he even let them do so, but Juliana was a different case. She did not look excited at all when she saw his Bentley. She did not even care what it looked like. In fact, he thought if he hadn't opened the door for her, she would have done so. He was both feeling puzzled and troubled at this point. Puzzled that she was different from the other women he dated and troubled that she could be so independent with herself that she did not feel the need to have doors opened for her, or perhaps even to be taken cared for.
As he inserted the key to the ignition, the engine roared to life. He looked at the beauty sitting beside him. She looked at him, smiled half-heartedly and looked out the window. Yup, she was definitely upset but still damn beautiful nonetheless. He reached out for his radio to turn it on when he suddenly heard “I wish I wasn't” by Heather Headley playing in the background. Great! Not another sad love song! He didn't want her to hear a sad love song as he did not want to upset her any further, but as he was about to choose a different station, she touched his hand to stop him.
Their eyes locked and he felt excitement course through his veins. She looked at him with her sad eyes as if telling him her story, but he was too distracted with her red lips beckoning him to taste her. He had never been this close to her before. He knew he had to snap out of it before he lost control of himself. The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils as they just looked at each other, her hand still touching his. She blushed as soon as she realized what she had done. She immediately pulled her hand away from his. He wanted to stop her but it was not right. He let the music continue playing and just concentrated on his driving instead. This was going to be a long night. He prayed that it would be a good one, for Juliana truly deserved it.
What the heck was she doing touching his hand like that? Perhaps all this pent up frustration and anger with Michael was making her this way. She was still sane, she knew that, but deep inside she knew she was just prolonging her agony. How long would he continue doing this to her? She did not know either. Juliana bit her bottom lip as she tried to relax with the music playing in the background. She was in the mood for sad love songs and no matter how uncomfortable it was going to make Gabriel, she felt uncaring.
She wanted to absorb every single lyric in to make herself numb but she knew in the end, she would never win. Sad love songs made her emotional. She knew at the end of the song she’d be in tears, but right now, she just didn't care.
“I wish I wasn't in love with you so you couldn't hurt me. It just ain't fair the way you treat me. No, you don't deserve me. Wasting my time thinking about you when you ain't never gonna change. I wish I wasn't in love with you so I wouldn't feel this way...”
Damn it! Why does my heart ache so much? She wiped out a tear before it trailed across her cheek as she continued to look outside the window. She did not want Gabriel to see her crying. This was going to be awkward, but she was thankful that Gabriel wasn't pushing her to answer any of his questions. It was a refreshing change from Lisa who often nagged her and interrogated her without considering how she felt. She knew that Lisa was just looking out for her and she was a good friend. It was just unbearable to be with her sometimes. She stole a glance at her boss who was sitting in the driver's seat and wondered what was going on in his head.
Juliana was well aware that he was still her boss and that she was still his employee but right now, she just didn't want anyone bossing her around. Thankfully, he was a different person when they were not in the office. He kept his gaze trained on the road, probably stuck in his own thoughts; thoughts that looked like he was not willing to share any time soon.
“Since it is already late, let's just eat somewhere near. I hope you don't mind if I take you to this place I enjoy going when I want to get away from hounding reporters and the paparazzi.” Gabriel said, breaking the silence between them.
Right. I forgot that I was with a god, a celebrity, every woman's dream. She just nodded in agreement to his plan. She had no other plans anyway. Since he offered and this was his treat, he should be in charge of picking the place. She need not have worried about how she looked, as she was dressed well tonight. If only her plans of having a romantic anniv
ersary with Michael hadn’t been ruined then she would probably be drinking the night away with him. Thoughts of their last romantic night together flooded her. Her cheeks turned red and she suddenly felt flushed. They were some pretty intense memories to begin with, and she hated to admit it, but she was ready to have the same experiences again this night, but was disappointed when suddenly Michael had the need to turn her down. She felt defeated, her expectations shattered by the reality that when it came to her boyfriend, she was only second to his first priority, which was his career. She had done her best to be understanding about this, however sometimes she really felt like she should demand more.
Gabriel turned to the parking lot of a commercial building and parked his Bentley in the corner. As soon as he turned the engine off, he rushed to her side of the car and opened the door for her. Juliana was so unused to all this attention, but somehow she found herself liking it and wishing that Michael would do the same for her on all of their dates. She shook her head as she tried to forget about Michael, which she knew was impossible, but maybe only for a couple of hours, she could, she would.