Episode Eight
819 Words
Chapter 8
No One There to Catch Me
By the time work ended, the rain had become heavy.
The lobby was crowded with people waiting for rides. The covered entrance outside the company stretched wide, but not wide enough to keep the wind from blowing rain beneath it. Employees stood packed together under the roof, staring at their phones, refreshing ride apps, complaining softly about surge pricing.
I stood near one of the pillars with my bag held close.
Dakota was beside me, trying to balance her umbrella, laptop bag, and a paper bag from a bakery someone had given her earlier.
“You can go back inside and wait,” I said.
She shook her head.
“It’s fine. I already called a cab.”
The wind blew sharply. Rain scattered across the polished stone beneath our feet.
Dakota took a small step back.
Her heel caught on the edge of a drainage groove.
I reached out, but not quickly enough.
She stumbled.
A soft cry escaped her as she fell sideways against the pillar.
“Dakota.”
I held her arm.
Her face had gone pale.
“My ankle…”
Several employees turned to look.
“Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
She tried to put weight on her foot, then immediately gasped.
Before I could say anything, the black sedan pulled up at the kerb.
Charles’s car.
The driver got out quickly and opened the rear door.
Charles stepped out holding a black umbrella.
His gaze swept across the entrance.
It found Dakota almost at once.
“What happened?”
His voice was sharp.
The crowd quietened.
Dakota looked mortified.
“I’m sorry, Mr Yale. I slipped. It’s nothing.”
Charles walked towards her.
His shoes struck the wet stone with cold, precise sounds.
“Can you walk?”
Dakota tried to straighten.
“I can…”
She winced.
Charles’s expression darkened.
“Don’t move.”
Then, in front of everyone, he bent down and lifted her into his arms.
The entire entrance seemed to lose sound.
Dakota let out a startled gasp and instinctively clutched his shoulder.
“Mr Yale…”
Charles held her firmly.
“Hospital.”
The driver immediately opened the rear door wider.
I stood one step away, rain misting against my coat.
For a moment, Charles’s gaze flicked towards me.
Only for a moment.
“Cancel the meeting with Henderson,” he said.
I looked at him.
“That meeting took three days to secure.”
“Then secure it again.”
His voice was cold, final.
Dakota’s fingers tightened against his suit.
“I’m really fine. Please don’t delay your meeting because of me.”
Charles looked down at her.
His expression softened in a way the rain could not hide.
“Be quiet.”
It should have sounded harsh.
Somehow, it did not.
He carried her into the car.
The driver closed the door.
Then the sedan pulled away from the kerb, cutting through the rain and disappearing into traffic.
I remained under the roof.
Around me, the silence lasted only a few seconds before it broke into whispers.
“Did you see that?”
“He carried her.”
“He cancelled Henderson?”
“For Ms Lane?”
“I told you. She must be special.”
“Maybe they’re already together.”
“Poor Miss Bennet.”
That last voice was very soft.
Unfortunately, I still heard it.
I opened my phone and called Henderson’s assistant.
The rain struck the pavement in silver sheets. My shoes were damp. My fingers felt cold around the phone.
When the call connected, I smiled out of habit.
“Good evening. This is Mia Bennet from Yale Group. I’m very sorry, but Mr Yale has an urgent matter and needs to reschedule tonight’s meeting.”
The assistant sounded displeased.
I apologised calmly.
I negotiated.
I offered alternatives.
I listened to veiled irritation and swallowed it whole.
Behind me, the employees slowly left in their taxis and ride-share cars. One by one, the lobby emptied. The entrance grew quiet again.
By the time I ended the call, Henderson’s meeting had been moved to the next morning.
I sent the update to Charles.
He did not reply.
I put my phone away and looked at the rain.
The city lights had blurred completely.
For some reason, I thought of the breakfast table that morning. Charles sitting across from me, eating the eggs I had made. His one word written beside my note.
Good.
How easily I had been pleased.
How cheaply I had been kept.
My own cab arrived twenty minutes later.
No one carried an umbrella for me.
No one told me not to move.
No one delayed a meeting because I was cold, or tired, or hurting.
When I stepped into the rain, I did it carefully.
After all, there was no one there to catch me.
- Writer
