The Man Everyone Listened To
1533 Words
Ralisa
If avoiding Darius had been my plan…
It was officially failing.
Not because he kept chasing me.
Ironically, he didn’t.
That was the frustrating part.
He never appeared out of nowhere like the heroes in those romance novels my friends loved reading.
He never waited outside my office pretending it was a coincidence.
He never texted me because… well, he didn’t even have my number.
He never asked me to have coffee with him.
Never invited me to lunch.
Never made excuses to keep me talking longer than necessary.
He simply existed.
And somehow, despite an office building filled with hundreds of employees and dozens of companies, our paths kept crossing.
It was almost insulting.
I had spent days convincing myself that I was overthinking everything, only for the universe to throw him back into my path every chance it got.
At one point, I actually considered using a different elevator.
Then I realized how ridiculous that sounded.
Congratulations, Ralisa. You’re changing elevators because of a man.
Absolutely not.
I refused to become that woman.
So instead, I pretended nothing was happening.
Even though my heart seemed determined to notice him before my eyes did.
Monday began exactly the way Mondays usually did.
With complete chaos.
The biggest client our company had been negotiating with for nearly two months had suddenly requested revisions to a proposal that was supposed to be finalized before noon.
Nobody was happy.
The office looked like a battlefield.
Phones rang without stopping.
Printers decided that Monday morning was the perfect time to develop personalities.
Someone from marketing accidentally spilled coffee over a pile of signed contracts.
The finance department was arguing with procurement over numbers.
Two interns looked like they were seconds away from crying.
Everyone was rushing somewhere.
Including me.
I barely had time to put my bag down before my inbox began filling with emails marked URGENT.
I laughed to myself.
Apparently everything in corporate life was urgent.
Except people’s salaries.
Linah marched past my desk carrying three overloaded folders against her chest.
“If one more person says the word urgent, I’m resigning.”
I looked up from my laptop and smiled.
“You say that every Monday.”
She didn’t even slow down.
“And one day I’ll actually mean it.”
“You won’t.”
“I might.”
“You love this place too much.”
She snorted.
“I tolerate this place because you’re here.”
“That’s sweeter than I expected.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
Then she disappeared around the corner, still muttering complaints about deadlines.
I smiled and returned to my computer.
For all her dramatic speeches, Linah loved her work.
Almost as much as she loved pretending she didn’t.
Just before lunch, she reappeared at my desk looking slightly more stressed than before.
She placed a thick blue file in front of me.
“I need these documents delivered to the legal department.”
I glanced at the label.
“The legal department?”
She nodded.
“I’d go myself, but I’m trapped in another meeting.”
I looked toward the conference room where three managers were already waiting.
“You’re sending me into enemy territory.”
She laughed.
“They don’t bite.”
“You sound unsure.”
“They only bite each other.”
I laughed as I picked up the file.
“I’ll survive.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
The legal department occupied one of the highest floors in the building.
A floor I rarely visited.
Our office had no reason to go there unless paperwork required multiple approvals.
As the elevator climbed higher and higher, I watched the floor numbers light up one after another.
Every time I came up here, I felt like I had entered another world.
When the doors finally opened, silence greeted me.
Not ordinary silence.
Expensive silence.
The kind that belonged in places where people signed contracts worth more money than I would probably earn in several lifetimes.
The carpets were thicker.
The walls looked newer.
Fresh flowers decorated the reception desk.
Even the air smelled different.
It smelled expensive too.
I adjusted the file under my arm before walking toward reception.
“Good afternoon.”
The receptionist smiled warmly.
“Good afternoon. How can I help you?”
“I’ve brought these documents for legal.”
She accepted the file and looked through the paperwork.
“I’ll have someone sign for them.”
While she disappeared briefly into another office, I wandered toward the large windows overlooking the city.
The view was breathtaking.
From this height, everything looked smaller.
Cars became tiny moving dots.
People looked like colorful specks crossing busy streets.
Sometimes I forgot just how enormous this building really was.
“You can go in.”
I turned around, confused.
“I’m sorry?”
“The director is waiting.”
I blinked.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
She looked puzzled.
“I’m only delivering documents.”
She glanced at the paperwork again before laughing softly.
“Oh… wrong office.”
Relief spread across her face.
“My mistake.”
I laughed too.
“No worries.”
Mistakes happened.
Especially on Mondays.
I turned toward the elevator, ready to leave.
Then voices drifted from the conference room down the corridor.
The large wooden doors opened.
Several men and women walked out together.
Every single one of them wore tailored suits.
Some carried tablets.
Others held thick folders.
Their conversation was quiet, serious, and clearly important.
And then…
Darius stepped out behind them.
I stopped walking.
Not because he was there.
Because of what happened next.
He wasn’t speaking loudly.
He wasn’t standing in front.
He wasn’t behaving like someone desperate to be noticed.
Yet somehow…
Everyone naturally looked at him.
One man asked him a question.
Another waited patiently before speaking.
A woman quickly wrote something down after he answered.
No one interrupted him.
No one talked over him.
No one ignored him.
It wasn’t obvious enough to attract attention from someone who wasn’t paying close attention.
But I was.
And it fascinated me.
People listened when he spoke.
Not because he demanded their attention.
Because they willingly gave it to him.
There was a quiet authority about him.
The kind that didn’t need to announce itself.
I frowned.
Who exactly is this man?
Almost as if he had felt me watching him, Darius looked up.
Our eyes met across the corridor.
For just a second, surprise flashed across his face.
Then that familiar smile appeared.
The same calm smile that somehow managed to annoy me and comfort me at exactly the same time.
He excused himself from the group and walked toward me.
“What are you doing all the way up here?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I work here.”
I folded my arms.
“So do I.”
He chuckled softly.
“Fair enough.”
I glanced toward the conference room behind him.
“The meeting looked important.”
“It was.”
I studied him for a moment.
“Are you some kind of manager?”
His expression didn’t change.
“Something like that.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Something like that?
That wasn’t an answer.
Before I could question him further, one of the suited men approached.
“Sir, they’re waiting.”
Sir?
My eyes shifted from the man back to Darius.
He nodded politely.
“I’ll be there in a moment.”
“Of course, sir.”
The man apologized for interrupting us before walking away.
I looked back at Darius.
“‘Sir?’”
He looked almost amused.
“It’s a habit.”
“A habit?”
He shrugged.
“Some people prefer being formal.”
That sounded…
Reasonable.
I guessed he must be part of senior management.
Maybe a department head.
Maybe a legal director.
That would explain why people respected him.
Still…
There was something about the way that man had spoken.
Not just respectful.
Careful.
As though he genuinely didn’t want to inconvenience Darius.
The feeling lingered in my mind.
“Well,” I said, adjusting my bag on my shoulder, “I’ll let you get back to your very important meeting.”
He smiled.
“And I’ll let you get back to pretending you aren’t avoiding me.”
Heat crept into my cheeks.
“I’ve gotten better.”
“You have.”
He paused just long enough to make me curious.
“But not by much.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“Goodbye, Darius.”
“Goodbye, Ralisa.”
As the elevator doors closed, I leaned lightly against the wall.
For the rest of the ride down, I found myself thinking about him again.
Not because of the meeting.
Not because someone had called him “sir.”
Not even because he had caught me avoiding him.
It was because no matter where I saw him…
He never seemed interested in proving who he was.
He never acted important.
Never bragged.
Never introduced himself with titles.
He simply treated everyone the same.
And somehow…
That made me even more curious than before.
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