between chess moves

chapter 3

A knock on the door snapped me back to reality.

I glanced out the window. It was already dark. Once again, I had worked past sunset without realizing it. I didn’t mind finishing late—being a workaholic, as you well know—but my assistant and chauffeur had to wait until I was done before they could clock out. I hated keeping them waiting.

"Come in," I called.

The door opened, and my assistant stepped inside. She moved slowly, her steps so soft that they barely made a sound. She stopped in front of my desk but didn’t speak. The hesitation in her eyes caught my attention. It was unusual—Stephanie always carried herself with confidence, a quality I admired. Now, she looked uncertain, as if she wanted to ask something personal but wasn’t sure how.

"What is it, Stephanie?" I prompted.

"Well…" she hesitated. "I was hoping I could clock out early today. It’s already dark, and I’ve prepared everything you need and emailed it to you."

"Why the rush? Did something happen?"

"No, it's just…" She paused, fidgeting with her fingers.

What was making her so anxious?

"Spill, Stephanie. I don’t have all day."

She took a breath before answering. "I have a date this evening." Her cheeks flushed slightly.

"Oh," I said aloud, not bothering to mask my surprise. Her blush deepened. That was the last thing I expected to hear. Stephanie on a date?

Of course, she likely had a romantic life—I had just never given it much thought. Not until now. Maybe it was because she seemed so rigid, so focused on work, that I assumed she didn’t make time for relationships. I had truly thought we were similar in that regard. It was one of the reasons I hired her—not the main deciding factor, of course, but still a point of connection. Had I misjudged her?

I doubted it. More likely, I had never concerned myself with her personal life. The fact that she had—or was now pursuing—a romantic relationship didn’t make her any less competent at work. But if she was truly as work-driven as she seemed… did this mean a breakthrough for me?

My thoughts drifted to a certain arrogant man I had run into earlier today. I resisted the urge to hiss. If he was the kind of person fate was throwing my way, then the universe was truly playing a cruel joke on me. Not that it mattered. I probably wouldn’t see him again.

"My—my parents arranged this dinner for me, and I—"

"I don’t need the details," I cut her off with a small smile. She probably thought my lack of response meant I disapproved of her leaving early and felt an explanation might help her case. Little did she know, I was lost in my own problems.

"You may leave," I added. "I’m done here anyway."

Her face relaxed. She muttered a hasty thank you and left. I watched the door close before returning to my work. I had a few more things to finish before I could leave.

Minutes later, I was done. I gathered my belongings and reached for my phone, only to notice the cracked screen.

Shit.

I had completely forgotten to return my family’s call. Now, I’d have to endure hours of unnecessary reprimand. I sighed deeply and tried turning on the phone, hoping to make the call before leaving the office. Home was my safe haven, and I didn’t want negative energy from family calls contaminating its atmosphere. But the screen remained black.

A beautiful turn of events.

Now, I had the perfect excuse for not reaching out. It was too late to buy a new phone, and although I had a work phone, I wasn’t about to give them that number. Now, I could rest without a trace of guilt.

I picked up my handbag and made my way to the elevator, heading straight to the ground level.

My car was easy to spot in the near-empty parking lot. My driver was already waiting by the door. This time, he opened it for me. I smiled in gratitude and stepped in.

The ride home was a long one, giving me time to reflect on the day. This was my usual routine—analyzing the day’s events for personal and professional growth. It hadn’t been a bad day, except for the unfortunate accident with my phone. But for some reason, Stephanie’s date unsettled me.

Maybe she had always gone on dates from time to time. Maybe she had even been in and out of relationships. I wouldn’t know. I had never paid much attention. That realization hit me harder than I expected.

She had mentioned that her parents set up the date. Did that mean she wasn’t the type to pursue relationships on her own? The question nagged at me.

"Do you think I’m an observant person?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Are you referring to me, ma’am?" John, my driver, asked.

I gestured that I obviously was.

"Well, that depends on the aspect you have in mind."

"In general."

He took a moment before answering. "From my point of view, you’re very observant when it comes to running your business—picking out small imperfections that could lead to problems. But when it comes to things outside of work? Not so much."

I stared at him in disbelief, denial maybe.

"Can you give me an example?" I asked, pushing for more insight.

"Umm… take me, for example. If I were sick and pretending to be fine just to come to work, I don’t think you’d notice. Same if I were struggling emotionally. You’d be completely unaware unless I spoke up."

I didn’t respond immediately, so he added, "Don’t get me wrong, ma’am. You treat your employees well—better than most. You don’t overwork us, and you respect us. But you do exactly what’s expected of a good employer. You don’t go beyond that—like noticing emotional changes or even trying to befriend us."

He meant it as reassurance, but it only confirmed my flaw. A blow to my person and a fault terrible for good working conditions.

There it was again. I was thinking about how this deficiency would affect my work nothing else.

A person just told me I didn’t pay attention to things that didn’t directly affect work, not even a second later, I proved him right. Truly pathetic, this was probably why I had no friends.

I needed to do better though i didn't particularly care to, still something I needed to. But how?

I considered asking John for advice but decided against it. This was something I had to figure out on my own.

Emotional attunement isn't something someone teaches you. It isn't something you read in the texts of a book. It is something you experience—you feel and live through it. That's the only way you truly learn to navigate it.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the compound. John got out to open the gate before driving inside. I had no live-in staff aside from him. My home was my peace, and I didn’t want people roaming the halls under the pretense of cleaning.

It wasn’t anything grand—just a space that suited my taste. A small luxury. Well, not exactly luxury—just aesthetically pleasing.

I stepped inside as John made his way to his quarters.

Taking off my coat, I let myself fall into the couch.

This was the part of the day i loved the most. Home and away from the drama of human interaction, but today was different.

The satisfaction of being home was prevalent but something else lingered, an emotion I couldn't fully discern.

If I was to put it in words, I'd say there was this feeling of emptiness, not the usual numbness that I was used to. A painful kind of emptiness.

I sighed, took a deep breath and tucked it away just like every other thing.

I stood up and made my way to my room where I took my bath and dove right back to work.

I had a lot to do, plenty of researches to make so I went right to it.

I alternated between scrolling through pages of text for my research to scrolling through social media checking for the latest fashion trends, stalking the page of competition for progress and generally analysing published sentiments. It was research of some sort I suppose.

I kept at this for hours untill I eventually fell asleep.