I've Loved You Ever Since

Part 4

Two days later, after ignoring every single one of Lindsey's attempts to contact her, Stevie entered the office with her head held high. She smiled at the receptionist, passing the younger woman by to get to the elevator. Stevie took a deep breath, once she got to her floor and stepped out, said, hello, to a couple employees as she marched down to the end of the hall in her high heels. The door to Lindsey's office was open, but she didn't turn to look, she didn't even glance from the corner of her eye. 

Five minutes didn't pass, when Lindsey was coming to see her. Stevie tried to appear nonchalant as she busied herself with moving things around on her desk, waiting for her laptop to turn on. She didn't look up, he cleared his throat loudly to catch her attention.

"What do you want?" Stevie asked still not making eye contact as she typed in her password. 

"Can we finally talk?" Initially Lindsey felt terrible about how their Friday night ended, however, the silent treatment the past two days seriously frustrated him and it was evident in the tone of his voice.

"The only thing I want to discuss right now is the missing coffee on my desk." Stevie replied.

"Well, you would have found it if you hadn't turned up 40 minutes late. Jane took it away, since it'd gotten cold, knowing that otherwise, she would have had to hear you complain about it for the rest of the day." Lindsey turned around and walked to the door, thinking about closing it, so they could have a private conversation.

"Leave it open." Stevie stopped him, her eyes narrowed and now at him. "We're not talking about anything."

"You didn't let me explain!" Lindsey yelled out, regretting it immediately.

"Keep your fucking voice down." Stevie hissed. "This is not the place or the time. I'm not about to air any failures of my personal life in the office."

"Well, how else am I supposed to tell you why I didn't-" Lindsey paused, his fists clenched. "Stevie, please. I know, I must have made you feel absolutely horrible after, but-"

"I was so embarrassed." Stevie cut in. "You had every opportunity to open your goddamn mouth and say something then."

"But it's not what you think." Lindsey emphasized as he approached her again, forgetting that he'd left the door slightly ajar. "It's not because I didn't want to, it's because I..." He trailed off.

Stevie stared at him, waiting for him to continue, but yet again he remained silent at the most important part. "Leave me the hell alone, Lindsey."

"But... but..." He tried again, then sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

She watched him walk away, the façade of strength slowly slipping away. "Now you can close the door on your way out." She said and he did with more force than required.

~

AN: I promise I'll be back with another update tomorrow ♥