«Wish I could turn you back into a stranger 'cause if I was never in your life, you wouldn't have to change it.»
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Charles tilted his head, attentively staring at her, he wouldn't admit it out loud but he wasn't as careful or discrete as he wanted to believe he was when it came to Aurora. She was far too consumed with writing and scrolling through the tablet in her hands to even notice him looking at her, and he wasn't quite sure if anyone else in the room had noticed the way he was so distracted by her sole presence.
Every time Silvia said something that involved his name, Charles just resorted to a quick nod and turned his attention to her for as long as it was needed. It seemed to be convincing enough because he wasn't getting scolded for not paying enough attention or getting distracted as he had been during past meetings.
On the other hand, Charles had noticed the huge effort Aurora put into pretending he wasn't in the same room as hers, especially when Silvia was present. The media planning reunions were a bit funny if he wanted to be honest, he liked to tease her from under the table, always making sure to sit as close to her as possible, or right in front of her. Sometimes Carlos stole his spot, and Aurora seemed more than relieved by that. All Charles could do on those occasions was tease her when they met each other after work.
"We'll just keep working on growing in social media, I think we've been doing a great job so far in all our channels. Maybe let's get Charles and Carlos to record some more videos, casual stuff." Silvia gave her orders, glancing at Aurora and the other people who generally were in charge of managing that. "And let's control our social media usage, you know what I mean. Check the tweets you like, don't get too cocky guys." She looked at Carlos and Charles. "Alright, any questions?"
He could've shut up, just let go, and not said anything. But Charles was Charles, and if Aurora would kill him, then he would die a sweet death.
He raised his hand, acting like a child in school about to ask the professor something. Silvia nodded and gestured with her hand for him to go on. "It's not really a PR-related question, but I just wanted to know if you could help me," All eyes were on him, including Aurora's. He tried hard not to look back at her. "Is there some Ferrari policy about relationships between coworkers?"
The words were out, and he tried to sound as casual as he could. Though the reaction from everyone at the table was, to say the least, a bit funny. Whilst Silvia made sure to frown deeply, some decided to raise their eyebrows in surprise, others seemed like they wanted to leave the room, and Carlos made sure to let the loudest snort Charles had heard from him. Although he was only interested in Aurora's reaction, the girl gripped her pen tightly and looked like she would murder Charles the moment she could.
He was up to a long talk that day.
"What?" Silvia couldn't frown deeper because it was impossible.
Charles cleared his throat. "If two people, let's say, I don't know, a mechanic and someone from this team, wanted to get into a romantic relationship...is there a policy that forbids that? I'm just curious." He shrugged.
Silvia still seemed taken aback. "Are you asking for yourself?"
"God no," Charles scoffed, shaking his head. He almost convinced himself that the idea sounded insane. If not for the reason that was sitting across from him, who looked like she wanted to die. "Maybe I'm asking for someone else, I have friends Silvia."
"Well, tell your friends to consult with HR, Charles." She sighed, her voice tired but not amused by his question. Silvia had worked long enough with Charles to expect anything from him.
