Love Beyond Every Word

Chapter 6:Over Time And Take Out

It was 8:47 PM and the 42nd floor was empty.

The lights were on half-power. The cleaning crew was on floor 40. And Calista was still at her desk with 3 empty tea cups and a headache.

Version 11 of the Boston deck was open.

Logo bigger. Menu on top. Checkout flow left alone because Rowan wrote “This makes money. Don’t touch.” in red.

Her stomach growled. Last food was a granola bar at 2pm.

The glass doors opened.

Rowan.

Jacket off. Tie in his hand. Hair a little messy like he’d been running his hands through it all day.

He stopped when he saw her.

“You’re still here.”

Calista didn’t look up from her screen. “You said ‘by 4’. Then ‘by EOD’. Then ‘by 7am’. I’m trying to cover all bases.”

Rowan walked in and set a paper bag on her desk. Smelled like garlic and chili.

“Eat,” he said.

Calista looked at it. “What is this?”

“Dumplings. From Jin’s downstairs. They’re decent.” He pulled the chair across from her and sat. “Walk me through it.”

Calista hesitated, then turned her laptop.

She went slide by slide. Fast. No rambling. What changed, why, what she refused to change.

Rowan listened. Asked 2 questions. Crossed out one line with his pen.

“Fine,” he said when she finished. “Send it tonight. I’ll review at 6.”

Calista opened the takeout. Pork dumplings, scallion pancake, chili oil. Still warm.

They ate without talking for a minute. The whole city behind him, dark and lit up.

“You didn’t have to come back,” Calista said. “Or bring food.”

“I didn’t,” Rowan said. “I had calls. And you looked like you were going to faint on my carpet. HR paperwork is a nightmare.”

Calista laughed before she could stop herself. “Right. HR.”

Rowan glanced at her. “You did okay today. With Hale.”

Calista froze mid-bite. “That’s the first non-insult you’ve given me.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Rowan said. “You still missed the font size on slide 4.”

“Noted, boss.”

At 9:40 she hit send. Deck attached. CC’d Tessa and Marissa, because she learned.

Rowan stood up. “Go home. Don’t sleep here.”

“Worried about me?”

“Worried about liability,” Rowan said. At the door he paused. “And Calista?”

“Yeah?”

“Good work.”

Then he left.

Calista sat there for a second with cold tea and warm dumplings.

No praise. No speech. Just good work and dumplings.

On the subway home her phone buzzed.

Unknown: 3 comments in deck. Fix in morning. - R

She saved the number as The Problem.

She was exhausted. She was behind on rent.

But for the first time since Monday, she didn’t feel like she was drowning.

She still didn’t like him.

But maybe she could work with him.

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