IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?

WORTH 8

"I do believe you have somewhere to be."

Louise sighed and continued scribbling her signature on a project proposal. "I know I gave you access to my office, but that doesn't mean I want you to actually take advantage of it."

Rachel sauntered into the room and dropped down in the chair in front of Lou's desk. "It's already 7, Louise."

She knew. She shoved her papers away and pulled her laptop closer. Her email was full already, and she started sorting through the spam, the annoying and the official stuff she actually needed to respond to. "I know. My father went on another trip out of the country. He left his workload to me."

Rachel hummed softly. She didn't say anything more, and Louise really hoped that she would give up and leave. So what if she didn't show up? It wasn't the end of the world. "We can reschedule or something," she suggested.

They remained in uncomfortable silence while Lou typed out a long rejection email to the son of one of her father's friends. She did not hire based on lineage. He had his matric, but he was as stupid as a bat otherwise. Rachel just sat there, though, staring at her as calmly as ever. Wasn't she upset? Annoyed?

When she finished the email, she viciously stabbed the enter key and then sat back, glaring. "Stop staring at me like that," she growled.

"Does it make you feel uncomfortable?" Rachel asked her.

Louise pressed her lips together. "Of course it does! You're just... just sitting there, staring!"

Rachel stood and sat down on the corner of the table. "And why do you think it bothers you? Because you know you're choosing your work over your wife?"

Her chest tightened. Rachel wasn't being angry, or spiteful. She simply sounded curious. How the f**k did she manage to get to the root of the problem so quickly? It felt like her claws had just dug deep into Lou's chest.

"I'm not-"

"Niki is already waiting for you, alone," Rachel interrupted. "Yes you are."

Louise imagined Niki sitting in the restaurant alone, getting angrier by the second, going home and grabbing those divorce papers. She really needed to do her work, but she also didn't want a divorce. Guilt rushed up inside of her.

"Fine," she finally exclaimed, slamming her laptop shut. "But I can't stay too long. I need to come back to work right after."

Rachel gave her a brilliant smile. "That's all we need. Here." She held out a dress hanging on a coat hanger. "Change in your office. I'll be down in the parking lot, ready to drive you."

"I can drive myself."

Rachel handed the dress over. "Then I'll just wait to drive behind you."

She felt like a child needing to be watched, but she slipped the dress on-glad that she already had heels on-and ran her fingers through her hair. She wasn't wearing any makeup or jewellery, so Niki would just have to deal with it. She was sacrificing a night of sleep for this.

Once she was done getting dressed, she left her office and closed the door behind her. She noticed that Kiara was still at her desk, staring intently at her screen.

"Why aren't you home yet?" she asked her.

Kiara didn't even glance up. "You have extra work to do, which means I have to work harder to help you out. You have somewhere to be, right?" She finally looked up and smiled at her. "I'll sort out the last of your work. Head home when you're done with dinner."

Louise opened her mouth to protest, but Kiara went back to work and there was nothing she could say. Kiara was definitely her second in command when her father wasn't there, and it touched her deeply that Kiara was willing to stay all night to do work that wasn't even her own. Instead of arguing, Louise thanked her and then headed for the parking lot.

Rachel whistled when she saw her. "You look beautiful."

For the first time in a long time, Louise blushed. "Thanks." She climbed into her car and eyed Rachel's behind her. She sighed. "Right, let's do this."

***

Niki was very, very, very ready to go straight home and go to sleep. She had been waiting for a full hour now, and the restaurant wouldn't let her inside without her date. They said that was the requirement. What the f**k was that? Why the f**k couldn't she just go inside and wait for her damn wife, even if she was alone? At least she could order something to eat and not stand around feeling like there was a hole in her stomach.

Where the f**k is she?

Rachel had promised that Louise would show up. Had even said she would personally oversee it, but Niki hadn't received any calls or messages and there was no sign of either Rachel or Louise. She felt like a right tit, standing around there for what was most likely nothing. Louise was probably planning on spending the night at work, and when she realized it was time to actually meet up, it would be too late. Niki's stomach churned and she clenched her hands into fists. She walked over to the nearby railing and glanced down at the calm lake water.

The Grand Park was a lakeside restaurant that catered to the richest of the rich. Niki felt like the area was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't really pinpoint how. But it was calming to stare down at the water, hear the soft swish of the wind in the trees. It wasn't that dark, since the area was lit by bright street lights. It was getting a little nippy, though. Niki glanced at her watch again.

20:09.

She rubbed a hand over her face, exhausted.

"I'm sorry that I'm late."

Niki turned. Louise stood there, framed by a halo of pale light. She looked tired and irritated, but she was definitely beautiful in that dress. Niki inhaled sharply at the memory that suddenly assaulted her, and she realized exactly why she knew this place.

***

Lisa could hardly believe that she had been brave enough to ask Louise Aguirre out. Louise, the daughter of the richest man in their town. Why the Aguirre family had moved here was a mystery, but Mr. Aguirre seemed pretty interested in starting a business here, and Niki had heard her parents arguing about the merits of a Aguirre owning any of the land.

She stared down at the lake water and exhaled through her nose. She was shaking. Her fingers were almost knocking together and her knees were jiggling. She couldn't remember when last someone had made her feel like this. There were one or two growing up, but Niki had never been interested in people enough to date. That was until Louise walked into her life, and Niki was damn smitten from the first moment.

"I'm sorry that I'm late."

Niki whirled around, heart climbing into her throat. Louise was smiling shyly at her. Her eyes were so beautiful underneath the sunlight, and her hair glowed like soft gold. Niki suddenly wanted to write poetry, so she swallowed hard and flashed what she hoped was a cool smile.

"Nah, I was a bit early anyway."

Louise's smile grew. "So what do you have in mind?"

Niki shakily drew in a breath. "There's not much to do in this dump of a town," she said. "But I figured we could maybe take a walk and feed the ducks."

Louise regarded her for a moment, pure curiosity in her eyes, and then she beamed and reached out with one hand. Niki's heart fluttered when their skin touched. "That sounds really nice," Louise told her. "I've never done something like this on a date before."

Niki's cheeks burned, and she knew without a doubt that she would love Louise until her last breath.

***

Niki pushed the memory away and stepped away from the railing. She shoved her hands into her jean pockets. She was wearing a black button up, the top button left undone and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, but Louise didn't seem to notice.

"It's not like I expected you to be early," Niki shot back. Louise's lips turned downward, but before she could open her mouth and make Niki even angrier than she was, Niki headed for the door. "Let's just get this over with."

They were allowed in and escorted to a table reserved just for them, and they took a long time looking over the menu. Rachel had said she would pay for their dinner, so NIki didn't mind looking at the pricier dishes. Though Louise wouldn't have a problem either way. Eventually they placed their orders, and then they sat in awkward silence and looked everywhere but at each other.

Niki's phone buzzed with a message.

Rachel: Please talk to her. Say anything you think may open up a safe conversation. You both look constipated from here.

Niki frowned and looked around them, but didn't see Rachel close by. She put her phone away and sighed. "So..." she started, wracking her brain for anything to say. She didn't want to ask about work, because that was always the root of their problem, and so was asking about her parents. "How are the babies doing?"

Louise was tapping away at her phone. "They're okay. They miss you." She didn't look up from her phone.

"At least someone does," Niki spat bitterly.

"As soon as you're allowed you should take them for a bit," Louise added.

Niki's irritation increased. "Why, 'cause they're too much work for you?"

Louise finally looked up from her phone, frowning. "What?" She seemed to finally realize the state of Niki's mood, and in turn hers darkened. "Do you seriously think I would want to get rid of our dogs?"

Niki released a short laugh. "Of course I would. You wouldn't even hesitate." She leaned forward. "If you get rid of them, I'll never forgive you."

Louise's cheeks reddened with anger. "What is the point of me even being here if you're going to sit there and treat me like this?"

Niki threw her hands up. "I don't f*****g know! Are you really here, Louise?" She suddenly lashed out and grabbed the phone from Louise's hands. "You've been glued to this f*****g thing since we sat down."

"Hey! Give that back!" Louise tried to grab for it, but Niki's arms were way longer and she kept it out of her reach.

"I have half a f*****g mind to dump this in my water. Don't test me."

Louise sat back, huffing. "You're such a child."

"And you're a bitch."

Niki angrily dropped the phone down onto the table and then crossed her arms over her chest. She turned her body as much as she could so that she didn't have to even look at Louise's face. When their food arrived their waiter looked nervous, and Niki knew that everyone in the goddamn restaurant had witnessed their scene. She hated herself and Louise.

They ate angrily and silently, and Niki barely even tasted the food. She just chewed, swallowed and repeated the process. She wasn't even sure how much time had passed before their dessert arrived, and she realized that she hadn't even looked at Louise once. Reluctantly she lifted her eyes, and her heart sank.

Louise was half-heartedly poking at her cake, but her usually beautiful brown eyes were filled with sadness. They were the sort of shade of brown that told Niki that Louise was one more insult away from breaking down and crying. Despite her anger and her bitterness, she felt bad.

"Do you remember what this place used to be?" she asked softly.

Louise sniffled. "No."

"A park." She stabbed her cake and watched the warm chocolate ooze out onto the plate. "When this city was just a town. I took you here for our first date. We spent all morning walking along the trails and feeding the ducks."

Lou's brows drew together. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that." She smiled slightly. "You were chased by that mother duck halfway across the park."

Niki laughed suddenly. "s**t, yeah. I forgot about that! I still hate ducks. Those fuckers are always happy to f*****g chase me even when I've done nothing wrong."

The mood lifted slightly and Louise laughed softly as well. She ate a few mouthfuls of cake before speaking again. "Only you have the ability to piss of every duck you meet."

Niki snorted. "Pissing things off is a talent, I guess."

They grew silent again. The well of things to talk about completely dried up, but Niki at least felt less like a jackass. Louise didn't touch her phone again for a while as they ate their cake and finished off their drinks, and then when their plates were whisked away her phone rang and she didn't even hesitate to answer it. Her eyes widened and she shot Niki a look, but Niki just shrugged. There was no changing things.

"Louise," she answered. "Kiara?" She turned away and lowered her voice, and Niki couldn't hear what she was saying. She tried to eavesdrop, but only got a word or too and none of it made sense. She'd watched Louise on these calls long enough to decipher them from Louise’s body language, though, so she knew Louise had to head back to work before she even ended the call. Louise turned to her, face apologetic.

Niki stood before she could say anything. "We should probably go. It's late. I'll walk you out."

Louise nodded silently and followed her from the table. The weather outside had gotten slightly colder, and Niki wished she had thought to bring a jacket. Louise wrapped her arms around herself, and her hair whipped violently about her face. They walked up to their cars-where they had somehow parked next to each other-and then they faced each other awkwardly.

"Well..."

"Uh..."

Niki ran a hand through her hair. "See you around."

She turned and climbed into her car, and watched Louise drive away. She felt surprisingly empty inside, so she sighed to herself and then made the drive home in silence.