Ruthless Devotion

Eva

When Xavier returns, I offer him a wave. Bec is sitting across from me at the dining table and turns in time to catch his eye. Suddenly she snaps back forward tucking a stand of blonde hair behind her ear. I take solace in the fact that I'm not the only one who goes beat red at the sight of the man.

He returns the wave and I notice the anxiety that's plastered across his features.

'Is everything okay?' Slowly standing Xavier brushes past me, the air cool between us.

'Somethings come up; I have to pop out of the state, but I'll be back within the week.' As he speaks his words burrow deep inside me. I try my best to shake off the intense disappointment at his departure. There is a flurry of activity and before too long Xavier is kissing the top of my head as he practically sprints out of the apartment.

Dumbfounded I slide down in my chair. I can't understand why I'm so upset. It's not like Xavier was a huge part of my life before. So why now? Because we fucked a couple times? Shaking my annoyance, I glance back at my laptop.

'That was weird,' Bec helpfully offers. Rolling my eyes, I push my laptop towards her desperate to change the subject.

'I wanted to tell him about this,' I click the track pad switching documents to a chart identifying all the interconnected relationships I identified at Core Dynamics.

Bec whistles, 'wow that is a lot going on here, that's a lot of money changing hands.' Nodding rapidly, I chew on my bottom lip. 'There's still a lot of work to do but, I think we have our key players at the very least.'

Sinking into my chair more I try to appear upbeat, in all reality I should be. We made incredible strides and had broken down some walls we were unable to do last week but all I can think about is Xavier and the fact that he practically ran out of the apartment.

Checking my phone, I swipe away the range of new emails from my insurance company. My apartment is still being processed as a crime scene and there was no end in sight.

Having lost all enthusiasm, the afternoon crawls until Bec is saying her goodbyes. I walk her to the door ensuring it's closed behind her and flick the secure latch that was recently installed. Suddenly the loneliness settled around me. This apartment was obnoxious large and surprisingly sterile. It was chic and modern, but it lacked any character or warmth. It felt more like an upscale hotel room.

Aimlessly wandering around the apartment, I run my finger along a bookshelf noting the lack of dust. A door to my right catches my eye and I realise that it's Xaviers office. I only hesitate for a second before I'm snooping through his desk drawers. I had no idea what I was looking for but there had been something that didn't sit well with me.

When we deconstructed Core Dynamics to its bare skeleton, we started to expand into the other ventures Xavier had invested in. Most of which all appeared above board but there was a startling number of discrepancies. Some of which did not surprise me all that much. It wasn't that uncommon for legitimate business to be hiding something that was less than above board, in reality it's how people really made money.

I plop myself in his office chair. It feels just as luxurious as it feels the high leather back caressing me. I make a note to swap the dining room chair out for it to give me a rest. Xavier had what I would consider an over-the-top opulent desk. It looked as if it weighed a ton. The dark polished, ancient wood was a start contrast against the bright whites of the office. Quite frankly it stuck out like a sore thumb, it simply did not belong in this office which was another reason it piqued my interest.

Sliding a draw open I grumble at its contents. Nothing but stationary. The next draw contained piles of paper, none of which appeared to be important. The last draw looked as if it should have been quite deep yet something about it felt off.