TOBY
1060 Words
ARTHUR
The slam of my office door jerked me upright, which was followed by the clicking of Samantha’s heels.
My brows were furrowed at her as she slammed her fist into the table and glared at me.
“You think I wouldn’t know that you’ve been asking the private investigator to get you information of her?”
I immediately knew exactly who she was talking about, and so with gritted teeth, I leaned back against my chair.
“And what does that have to do with you, Samantha?”I asked without second thought. The hurt that flashed in her eyes made me regret my question, but I didn’t take it back at the same time.
“What does that have to do with your wife?” She asked in a breathless, shaky tone. I sighed.
“I’m not doing anything, Samantha. And I hope you aren’t trying to blow this out of proportion somewhere. I’m only trying to figure out what changed. That woman took three billion dollars of my money and disappeared into thin air, returning back with an edge over my company. I need to know what she did. How and when she did it.”
“Leave it to me, then. You know I never fail you. I haven’t yet, right?” She pitched with a desperate tone. I knew this was simply to limit every form of conversation between Evelyn and me.
Thinking back to Evelyn, and the last moment we shared together in that meeting… I responded,
“Leave this one to me, Sam.”
I wasn’t prepared for the lone tear that rolled down her cheek. She wiped it off at once.
“I should’ve known. The spark in your eyes are back. It’s like you finally have a reason to open your eyes everyday.”
“Samantha.”
“If you’re still so obsessed with her, why would you get married to me?”
“Sam.”
“Oh yeah, I get it. She wasn’t woman enough then. Now, you think she is.”
I’m not obsessed with Evelyn, I think to myself with a clenched jaw. I’ve only thought about her delicate face and slender body every f*****g second of the day.
I found myself scouting her social media accounts like a little boy, waiting for her next posts and stalking the old ones.
Shit.
“She’ll never want you, Arthur. Not after what you did to her. What we did to her.”
I said nothing to that, and Santana just kept talking. Soon, her words faded into background noise. I watched her without a word until she slammed her fist into my table again. Then she retreated, slamming my door shut so hard on her way out, the door hinges actually rattled.
That afternoon, I finished work early and slipped into my convertible SUV, giving my driver specific directions.
As I walked into Lin and Associates, my chest tight with respect for her. This was an impressive building.
More than just impressive, in fact, by all standards. And she owned it. Everything. What a way to f*****g laugh me in the face.
“I’m here to see Evelyn.”
The receptionist at the desk frowned up at me. “Sorry sir, do you have an appointment?”
“Tell her it’s Mr Hayes.”
Her expression lightened with recognition. I nodded, happy this couldn’t take long. And then same expression dwindled with sadness.
“I’m sorry, but she specifically gave instructions to ban any Mr Hayes from stepping into this place. Can you leave, Sir?”
I frowned, taken aback by her statement. “I’m a business associate. How does she expect to discuss business, if she’s chasing me away from her workplace?”
“I don’t intend to discuss business with you at all.” The sound of her voice caused my head to snap up.
I straightened, taking her in. She stood in front of me with unmistakable elegance, and no hint of the fear or submission she always carried on her face back then. Her chin was tipped up and her eyes were hard as she stared at me.
She blatantly regarded me like I was a piece of s**t, but even with how cold the situation looked… the tension between us could be cut with a knife.
“This is not business like. We can discuss business without the drama.”
She scoffed, flashing me a mirthless smile. “You think I’m dramatic? Oh Arthur, you haven’t seen dramatic yet. I don’t want you here because before knowing it was your company I had business with, I already spoke with a representative. I would continue to speak with him until the deal is done. I recommend you find your way out of here before security drags you out.”
With that, she started to turn around.
Two men came to stand beside me. The humiliation was a hard pill to swallow.
“Evelyn. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can talk.”
“Don’t be stupid.” She fully faced me. “We have absolutely nothing to talk about.”
One nod at the man beside me and they clamped their hands around my arms.
“Take your filthy hands off me if you want them still attached to your body.” I announced with my gaze still on her. They slowly let me go.
“Get out.” She ground out. I nodded.
“Answer my texts. Please. Just one meeting.”
She didn’t answer.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The entire lobby seemed to have gone silent around us. Employees pretended to work while secretly watching. The receptionist stared at her computer screen with exaggerated concentration.
I looked at Evelyn and hated how unaffected she appeared.
Five years.
Five years, and she stood in front of me looking stronger than ever while I felt like a man trying to negotiate with a ghost.
“You really enjoy this, don’t you?” I asked quietly.
A small smile touched her lips.
“Enjoy what?”
“Watching me stand here like an idiot.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“No, Arthur. If I wanted to watch you suffer, I would’ve invited you in.”
And just then, a little child ran past.
“Toby, stop!” Someone screamed.
And Evelyn froze.
- Writer
