The Minister’s Obsession

Chapter 7

Marissa

The last hour of work passed by so slowly that when it was finally over, Marissa sighed in relief.

So much had happened in just one day. She could hardly believe it herself.

She had been going through the contents of the flash drive. And one thing was certain. The task was going to be harder than she'd initially thought.

At some point, she'd wondered why she had accepted it. She could have objected to it. She already had a lot on her plate. But in the moment, it hadn't even occurred to her. Maybe because she felt like she owed it to him to make up for her mistake on the sidewalk.

She should have known that he wouldn't have let things slip by so easily. She should have been smarter.

Instead, she had fallen right into it.

By the time the office began to empty, Marissa already felt wrung out. She shut down her computer and gathered her things.

“Hey.”

She looked up to find Yosef walking to her desk. He had his jacket on, his work bag in one hand, and his car keys in hand. He smiled. He always smiled, and his easygoing attitude rubbed off on Marissa whenever she was around him.

On a good day, she would have returned his smile. Tried in her own way to match his cheerfulness. But Marissa didn't exactly have a good day, and frankly, she didn't have the energy to pretend otherwise, so she responded a bit dryly. "Hey, you,"

“Want a ride?” he asked. “I’m heading your way.”

She hesitated for a second, picking up her bag and sliding her laptop in.

“Sure,” she said.

They walked in silence to the parking lot. Normally, Yosef would have initiated some conversation or banter, but he had picked up on the edge in Marissa's mood and was being quiet, giving her space to talk about what was obviously weighing her down.

His car had a distinct smell, a mix of cologne and leather. Marissa inhaled as she leaned backwards in the passenger's seat, closing her eyes. She could feel Yosef watching her, rather, sneaking glances at her as he couldn't keep his eyes off the road for too long.

They reached a traffic stop, and for a minute neither of them spoke. Until eventually...

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” he blurted out, glancing at her again. “Bad day?”

Marissa turned to face him. "Long day."

The traffic light turned green, and Yosef continued driving. "Well, tell me about it; something obviously isn't right."

Marissa sighed. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe it." Replaying the events of the day, she hardly believed it herself.

Yosef huffed a quiet laugh, keeping his eyes on the road as he made a turn, "Try me. How bad could it possibly be?"

"Okay, if you say so." Marissa started, thinking of the best way to tell the tale. "Do you remember the guy from lunch? The one who made me spill my coffee..."

"Uh-huh." He said, nodding his head. "The sidewalk menace."

"We met again at work..."

"Wait, he works at our building?" He interrupted, slowing down at a crosswalk.

"That's the problem. He doesn't just work there,” she paused. “He's the new CEO. Adam Minister."

Yosef let out a chuckle. "No way," he said, facing the road ahead.

Marissa gave him a serious stare. At the same time, Yosef turned to look at her, and it was evident from his expression that he was completely shocked to see she wasn't joking.

The silence that followed was unsettling. Even the radio seemed too loud. Yosef reached out and turned it off.

“You’re serious,” he said.

“Yes,” Marissa said, keeping a straight face.

"How did you find out?" He asked, this time sounding genuinely curious.

"There was a meeting today for analytics. He was there, introduced as the new CEO. He even gave a speech and all."

"And did he notice you?"

"I didn't think so, until..."

"Until? There's more?"

"He gave me a task. Some work to do. And I have a week to complete it."

"Jesus Christ, Marissa..." Marissa could see his jaw tighten. He swept a hand over his curls and placed it back on the steering wheel, then he let out a slow breath. “That’s not okay.”

“I know.”

He glanced at her again. “Then why are you so calm about it?”

"What would you have me do?“

Yosef shook his head. “You could talk to Karen? Or HR.”

“No way.”

“Why not?”

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “And neither did he. Not officially. He's my boss, our boss. How do you think it would look filing a complaint against the CEO? And for what reason? For bad conduct on a sidewalk?”

They stopped at another red light. Yosef tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. His frustration was becoming obvious.

“So what,” he said, “you’re just going to go along with it?”

“I’m going to do my job, and I'm going to treat it like what it is,” Marissa responded. “A coincidence.“

"Mar—" Yosef started, but Marissa knew what he was going to say.

“No, I mean it. I don’t want this blown out of proportion,” she interrupted him. “I don’t want the whispers or the meetings or anything that makes this seem like something bigger than it is.”

She looked at him then, not sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. “I can handle it.”

They pulled up outside her apartment building. Yosef put the car in park. Marissa hadn't even noticed her building coming into view.

“Just… be careful,” he said, breaking the silence. “Okay?”

She nodded. “I will.”

She got out of the car and thanked him for the ride. Yosef waited until she was inside the building before driving away.

Marissa was glad to be back in the familiar quiet of her apartment. She set her bag down, took off her shoes, and stood still for a moment, listening to nothing. Then she began her end-of-the-day routine.

After a while, she had showered and eaten decent food. Now the flash drive sat on the table in front of her, untouched, along with her laptop. She ignored them. She couldn't work with the throbbing pain she felt in her temples.

Instead, she got up, took a pill for headaches and poured herself a glass of water, hoping it would go away. She went back to the couch and made herself comfortable.

Her phone buzzed on the armrest. Yosef’s name lit up the screen.

She watched it ring until the call went to voicemail.

She picked up the phone, intending to send him a text. But she changed her mind, setting it face down. Her gaze landed on the flash drive.

She couldn't do any more work this evening. She had to rest. The headache still lingered.

Tomorrow, she told herself.

She got up, turned off all the lights, and went to bed, leaving the rest of the apartment dark and quiet.