by Lym Cruz
“Amen to that,” Stacie agreed.
“If they don’t want to talk to each other no one should force them.” Sienna shrugged. “It’s their prerogative.”
We exchanged glances but neither one of us acknowledged what they said and, eventually, they moved on to another subject.
Christina finished the chicken Vinnie put on her plate and ate a few more pieces. Women were strange. If she was hungry why didn’t she eat from the get-go? There was no shame in being hungry and Vinnie was right: she was thin, significantly slimmer from when I met her.
Right after taking her last bite, Christina excused herself saying she needed to make a phone call. She snatched her bag and hurried out.
Frank watched her leave and when the door closed, he said, “Go talk to her, man.”
“Why?” I had nothing to say to her. She, on the other hand, owed me several apologies. Plus, when we talked it never ended well. “Things are great the way they are.”
“Cool. From now on, don't ask me to give her messages or shi—” he cleared his throat, knowing Vinnie disapproved of crude language.
Stacie laughed. “Be the bigger person and end this childish silent treatment. You guys are like an old married couple.”
Not even close.
“Ezra, son.” Vinnie sighed. “Women are complicated creatures. Even when they know they’re wrong they like to be right. If you ever want to have a long-lasting relationship, of any type, with any woman learn to apologize. It’s a small price to pay for peace.”
Being a woman was no excuse for her behavior. Yet I had to agree with them, we were being childish.
Growling, I stood to pursue Miss Garza. She wasn’t in the corridor nor the breakroom, I took it as a sign to let it be. Needing to use the bathroom myself, I went to the far end of the hall. As I passed by the door of the ladies’, I heard retches. I suspected it was Christina since the bathrooms only held one person at a time. I hoped the food didn’t make her sick. Maybe she shouldn’t have eaten as much.
By the end of the day, I became unnerved. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her and decided that if there was something work-related, I’d address her. We had nothing else in common to talk about.
I shut down my computer and packed my belongings when her pink nails crept from the opposite side of the partition and stuck a note on my wall.
Ezra,
I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted and the things I’ve said to you. I meant none of them. I was upset but mostly embarrassed that you saw me in that deplorable state at the club. Being hostile and offensive is my way of showing that I was in control and didn’t need your help—that I had my shit together. I am grateful for what you did. I’m sorry and thank you!
—Christina
My mind washed blank with confusion and shock. For a second my jaw hung open, taking in the information. Every muscle in my body froze before a grin crept onto my face. Soon the smile stretched wide, showing every single tooth I had in my mouth.
Christina,
I will keep your note pinned on my wall as a reminder that YOU apologized.
Apology accepted.
I stuck the note to her wall. She replied shortly after.
Ezra,
Do that because I don’t apologize often.
Ps - We’re supposed to be talking.
I chuckled and wrote a response.
We are talking.
In our preferred method of communication.
Frank stood and stuck a note on Christina’s wall, rounded the cubicles and stuck another on my forehead. I peeled the paper off my head and read its content. Mine had one word.
Verbalization!
“Goodnight y’all,” Frank said. “See ya in the morning.” Pleased with himself, he and Stacie left.
I wrote another note and stuck it on Christina’s partition.
Do you need a ride home?
She replied in the same manner, except it was Frank’s handwriting.
Verbalization!
Then she stuck another.
I do need a ride.
We walked out of the building with a reasonable distance between us. She strode with her head down and I fidgeted with my keys.
“My car’s parked out front,” I explained and Christina pulled her lips upwards. We rode the elevators down and exited the building in silence. The air had a slight chill to it but nothing intolerable.
“That’s me.” I pointed to my car. “The silver Audi.”
Christina nodded, keeping her gaze in front and stopped short by the passenger side. I rushed to open the door for her, she climbed in and secured her seatbelt.
Rounding the car, I dashed to settle behind the wheel. The moment I gave life to the engine, the stereo awakened loudly, startling Christina. I dialed down the volume.
“Sorry about that,” I murmured. “Where to?”
“Not far, actually. Fifteenth street. I usually walk but my feet are really tired. These shoes are brutal, they hurt as amazingly as they look.”
I looked down at her feet and her heels were interesting. Purple and a little pointy at the front. I pulled into the busy traffic heading towards Sixth avenue, in spite of the rush hour traffic, the drive would be a very short one.
“Is that why you are always early?”
“Yes. It’s definitely an advantage, but in general, I’m not a tardy person.” She wanted to add something else but decided against it and fell silent, resting her head on the seat.
“I am sorry, Ezra,” she said, looking out the window. Her tone low. “I’m grateful for the job.”
My lips pulled to a knowing smirk. Christina wasn’t all that bad. I guessed that whatever she was going through she got over. A little over five minutes later, I stopped in front of her apartment building. It was a fancy one.
“As long as you promise me the crazy girl, I met at the bookstore won’t ever resurrect.” I chuckled.
She grimaced. “If you had kept your mouth shut and just handed me the bag then you wouldn’t have met the crazy girl.”
“I was concerned about you. That’s why I said what I said.”
“Well, I didn’t care for how you went about it.” She raised her voice. “You should have kept your opinion to yourself.”
“I thought we were friends … or something. I felt obligated to—”
Her eyes practically popped out of her head. “We’re not friends.”
“I’m sorry for thinking otherwise,” I murmured. “And we’re back to crazy.”
“I’m not crazy, Ezra.” Her lips took the form of a stern line that pinched at my heart.
“Christina, that’s not what I meant.” I kept my voice low and even. “It was—”
“Spare me. It’s exactly what you meant.” She rolled her eyes. “I hate how people nonchalantly throw the word crazy around. As if every person with a problem is sucked up into this homogeneous group that shares the same ideas and traits which most rational people would agree isn’t true.” Her chest heaved. “Ezra, I take back my apology. You’re a fucking dick.”
She fought to pull on the door handle while I tried to reason with her. “It was a bad choice of words. I’m sorry.”
“How the hell do I get out of here?” she bawled, struggling with the door.
I decided that I was done trying to apologize. She finally got the door open, got out and slammed it shut. The car seemed to have shaken with the force of her exit. I watched her march into the building completely baffled. And to make matters worse, Rowan needed me right away.
Christina
Attempting a friendship with Ezra was impossible. It would never work. I hated him so much my entire body was boiling over with rage. My ears burned as I paced around my apartment, hands folded over my chest. I lost my temper yet again, but to be fair he called me crazy. People should be more careful with that word. Having an issue does not automatically translate to crazy.
To think this morning, I went into the office believing we could work things out. I pur
posely blocked his path to force him to be the one to talk to me first. But then he got so close and it was as if my brain short-circuited. We were never that close.
I had sucked in a breath to avoid taking in the smell of his cologne. When I let go of the breath, my heart picked up its pace and my stomach did a flip. That was a sign that we couldn’t be friendly. His presence caused too much of a reaction within me. I wished I could turn back time and take my apology back.
My hands quivered with fury. I needed to calm myself down. I craved comfort, even if just for a while, and I knew exactly where I could get it from. I snatched my purse and stormed out of my apartment.
Chapter Eight
Christina
Ezra’s phone vibrated yet again. The buzz as the phone danced on his desk was getting to me. It was like this all day. Every day. His phone never stopped. Occasionally, he’d go out and take a few calls. Sometimes he’d be gone for hours. He always returned with his shoulders hunched forward as though there was a weight pulling them down and a sorrowful look on his face. I wondered where he went and what he did when he disappeared that left him so discouraged—not that I cared—I was curious.
The vibration started up again and I couldn’t take it anymore. I wrote him a note.
If you’re not going to answer it then switch the goddamn phone OFF.
His response came fast.
No one else is complaining.
Infuriated, I ripped his note up in tiny shreds.
“Life is so unfair,” Sienna complained, throwing her phone on her desk. “My sister lost a job position to a guy even though she’s more qualified. She really wanted the job. Do you ever think the world will be fair and equal for everyone?”
Before I could stop myself, the words poured out of my mouth in a rush. “Yeah, right around the time Ezra grows a beard.” Sarcasm was evident in my tone as I mocked Ezra’s clean-shaven jawline.
Frank laughed. “Damn man, that one hurt.”
Ezra scoffed. “Thankfully masculinity and maturity aren’t determined by a beard. What about height or even accomplishments?”
“You lack those too,” I said.
Ezra snorted but said nothing further. Sienna gave me a harsh look as if ordering me to apologize. I rolled my eyes and got back to work.
“You should be nicer to him,” Sienna whispered. “He’s a cool guy.”
“Really?” I answered and turned back to my computer.
Close to lunchtime, Frank said, “Who wants to go out and get some pizza. I know this dope place not far from here.”
Pizza. The thought alone had my mouth watering. I hadn’t eaten all day and I was starving. Stacie and Sienna eagerly agreed while both Ezra and I remained silent.
“What of the two of you?” Frank asked.
“I have somewhere to be,” Ezra said.
“And I have some stuff to catch up on.” I had nothing to do. I would probably sit around watching dog videos on YouTube. It was better than being tempted to go with them.
They tried to convince us both to go until they exhausted all their arguments. Frank placed his hand over Stacie’s shoulder and the two left with Sienna right behind them. I envied that couple, not in a bad way. They were what I wished to have one day. Frank loved Stacie and vice versa. The ease of their relationship made it special. They were that type of couple who everyone hates because they were so perfect for one another.
I waited for Ezra to leave but he wouldn’t go. I took an energy bar from my bag and ate while scrolling through YouTube when a note was stuck on my side of the partition.
Could you chew any louder?
I wasn’t a loud chewer. Outraged by his comment, I purposely chewed with my mouth open making as much noise as I could while he sighed profoundly annoyed. I wrote him a note.
Could you breathe any louder?
I thought you had somewhere to be!!!
His response came shortly after.
I thought you had work to catch up on?
My body heated over as I wrote.
I’m trying to do that but you’re ruining it.
- I hate you!
His answer was almost instant.
The feeling is mutual.
At least we agreed on that.
A loud knock on the door caught my attention. A well put together blond man in a black suit sauntered in. Ezra rose to his feet in haste, his chair fell backward hitting the floor with a crash that made me jump.
“I told you to never come here,” Ezra hissed, his shoulders tensing.
“See the problem is that you never take my calls,” the man said, stepping further into the room. “I always have to go to extreme measures to talk to you.”
“We’ll talk later. I got your text.”
“I want to talk now.”
With a head jerk in my direction, Ezra said, “I’m not alone.”
The man scanned the room until his eyes landed on me, peeping my head on the side of the partition. He smiled and I smiled back but not with the same brightness.
“Why don’t we talk outside?”
They both left and I couldn’t help myself. Once they were out, I tiptoed to the door and pressed my ear against it. I couldn’t make out a word they were saying but the tone they spoke in was harsh—mostly Ezra’s. The other man’s voice was kept modulated and even.
Ezra
Rowan should have never come here. He knew my office was off-limits.
“Are you crazy?” I muttered through gritted teeth, looking over my shoulder. “What the fuck? Do you want to get caught?”
“Caught doing what?” Rowan laughed lightly, as if, he couldn’t see the gravity of the situation. “I’m just checking in on a friend who doesn’t take my calls. I was worried.” He took a step closer and adjusted my collar. “Why do you insist on ignoring me?”
“Because I was busy.”
He shook his head but the smile never faded from his lips. “When I call, you should never be busy. You work for me.”
“I can’t drop everything when you call. People will get suspicious. Hell, my uncle is always asking where I disappear to all the time.”
“Not my problem.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I need you to come by tonight and work your magic on some money that needs to be rerouted. The people on the other side don’t like to be kept waiting, you know that.” Gently, he slapped the side of my face twice.
I stepped back, away from him. “Fine, I’ll be there.”
“Atta boy.” He pressed the elevator call button. “I like you, Ezra. Have I told you that before?”
I didn’t answer and the elevator doors opened. I held my breath when I saw Frank, Sienna and Stacie on the other side. I moved to the right, creating a greater gap between Rowan and me.
“Where are you headed?” Sienna asked as they stepped out of the lift.
“I, um, I—I was about to go down and get something to eat.”
Rowan slipped into the elevator nodding at my friends. “Should I hold the elevator?” Rowan offered with that smug look of his. “I heard you were going down.”
“That’s okay, sir, I’ll catch the next one. Thanks.”
They all turned back to me not making much of Rowan’s presence. As the doors slid shut, he blew me a kiss. The man was deranged.
“I told you he wasn’t going anywhere,” Stacie said, raising the box in her hand that until then went unnoticed by me. “They were trying to avoid each other.”
I gave them the first excuse that popped into my head and when they all went back to the office, I snuck to the breakroom to put my head in order.
Things were getting out of hand. I needed to put an end to this. My life no longer belonged to me. It was time that changed. I pulled out my phone and sent the message I’d been debating sending for a while. But it was time.
Seconds after I got a response, Frank came in eyeing me with suspicion or maybe just curiosity—I wasn’t sure.
“You’ve been off lately? And even more so since Christi
na started working here. Are you okay, man?” He bumped his shoulder to mine. His way of offering support.
If only he knew that Christina was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. But she was somewhere, buried at the back of it.
“I’m just a little worked up. Nothing for you to worry about.”
He nodded, propping up on the counter. “You know how Christina makes you feel all these things?”
I shot him a glare. “What on earth are you talking about? What thing?”
“I see the way you react to her presence. Your eyes do this funny squint thing. Your heart probably starts beating a little faster and your breathing too. Then you become all intensely aware of her.”
“Because I can’t stand her.”
“Really?” He pulled up a brow. “Cause that’s how I feel when I see Stacie.”
I ground my teeth bothered by his insinuation. “Shut the fuck up. You can’t possibly compare Christina and I, to what you and Stacie have.”
He chuckled with a shrug. “There’s a fine line between love and hate, and sometimes the line gets so blurry that you don’t even know where hate ends and lust begins.”
I furrowed my brows. “Where did you get your psych degree, man? Cause your prognosis is way off.”