Charity Night (english)

21

The shock at his statement was deep. It was already clear to me that this wasn't a basis for good cooperation, but the fact that Mr. Hyde would put so much pressure on us doesn't necessarily make the situation any better. Zachery has no reason to fear for his career. For me, however, it's something completely different. I've come so far in this company and I don't want to give it up so easily. I need to talk to Zac as quickly as possible.

The break is over quickly and when it continues I haven't even taken a deep breath. I hesitantly sit back down at my seat at the table and try to concentrate on the meeting. I keep trying to make eye contact with Zac, but he does his best to avoid even turning his head in my direction.

How can it be that he ignores me so skillfully? Doesn't he care about me anymore? He must also be aware that EVERYTHING is at stake for me and his father certainly had a serious word with him.

After I was only physically present in the meeting for the rest of the time, I didn't notice much and that could still blow up in my face, but now another thing is simply more important to me. That's why I set off straight away and hurry after Zac, who was one of the first to leave the room. "Zachery, wait!" I call after him as he turns the corner towards the elevators. And luckily this time he even turns around. "Do you think this is the right place to call me by my first name?" he asks, hissing. "Well, there could have been a mix-up with Mr. Hyde." I try to explain myself and sound like a little child.

When did it happen that our roles changed so much? Now I'm running after HIM and trying to convince him of me.

"Could you maybe give me a few minutes of your precious time?" I try to sound more conciliatory and look at him with wide eyes. "Is it about something business?" It's clear that he's not interested in talking about what's between us. "In a way, yes." That's why I say and just hope that he'll respond to it. "Okay, then let's go to one of the working spaces."

When we get there we sit down on one of the sofa landscapes and suddenly there is this almost unbearable tension. Not necessarily the sexual ones we always had, but you can't ignore these vibes either. How should I even begin? Is this also like a band-aid? - tear it down quickly?

"Your father took me aside earlier and asked me what happened between us." I get straight to the point. "Ohhhhh man. I told him that he shouldn't do it and that everything would be fine." Zac comes out annoyed and you can see that he would like to storm over to him straight away to put him in his place. "Don't hold it against me, but your dad doesn't seem stupid Being a man and I suspect that it wasn't just him who noticed it. Well... to make a long story short. He threatened me with dismissal if we didn't get our differences under control!" I blurt out and when I take my eyes off my hands, Zac's face is red and the anger is written all over his face. "What is he imagining... It's not his decision and it's certainly none of his business what happens in my private life or between us." He rumbles. He's about to launch into another tirade when he's interrupted by his father's deep voice. "It is very true that I feel compelled to intervene because both of your jobs are suffering when something comes between you that affects both your work and your communication to such an extent that two of my best employees are left on the back burner ." He says in a calm, matter-of-fact tone and looks down at us. Is this how you feel as a school child?

Zac now looks at his hands in embarrassment and we both know that he is right.

"Take your time off tomorrow and do something. Zachery, you can show Mr. Love around the city and then you can sort out your problem once and for all. You will only come back when this is no longer between you. "Have I made myself clear?" he insists and then simply turns around and leaves.

I look uncertainly at Zac, but he hasn't raised his gaze again yet. "What should we do now? I don't want to lose my job. He's all I have and I've worked so hard for it! Besides, I don't want to just throw away what's going on with us. I'm sorry for always pushing you away! "I start to cry quietly. The last few weeks have just been too much. Too much of everything, but above all too many emotions. I always tried to protect myself and my heart by simply not getting involved with anyone. Not physically and certainly not emotionally and then this man came around the corner who is now sitting across from me and still hasn't lost a single note.

Very slowly he raises his head and his eyes are tired. Only now do I see the dark circles under my eyes. Why haven't I noticed them before?

"I'm going home now. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Be ready!" with these words he stands up and leaves me like a heap of misery on this suddenly too big couch. No comment on my admission. Nothing! What is that supposed to mean? Is he just following his father's instructions, or does he want to do it on his own?

I have no idea how long I stayed there motionless, but at some point Sandra, the receptionist, comes up to me and lightly touches my shoulder. "Are you okay, miss? I think they could use a coffee. Come on..." I look at her confused, but let her pull me along.

In the office kitchen she pushes me to one of the chairs and a short time later holds a cup of the steaming drink in front of my nose.

"I saw the big boss talking to them earlier and he looked very upset. Are you okay?" Somehow she seems a lot friendlier to me now than she did this morning, but I'm probably making a bad impression right now. "Thank you!" I smile gratefully at her. "Let's put it this way... I've had better days, but I hope that I can sort out the existing problems tomorrow." I try to explain to her, without going into detail about the situation or exposing Zac and me.

"I make you a suggestion. You now go home or to your hotel and take a hot bath or steamy shower. Then order something tasty from room service and watch a movie. They drink a glass of wine and tomorrow the world will look a lot rosier. Should I call them a taxi?" It doesn't seem like this is the first time she's had such conversations and I can't help but wonder if one of the Hydes has found themselves in a situation like this before.

"To be honest, I don't even know where my hotel is, but Lloyd has probably already delivered my luggage there." I admit. "Well then, we'd better call Lloyd and have him drive her there." And then Sandra is on her way to her workplace, talking frantically into her phone. "He's already in front of the building. "Hurry up!" she calls to me and points to the large glass door that separates the large foyer from the busy streets of Manhattan.

I quickly get up and wave to Sandra again before I step outside. "Mrs. Love!" the man who dropped me off here calls me. "Come on." He holds the door to the car open for me and I collapse into the seat. Finally a few minutes of peace. It's only when he's already slammed the door behind me that I realize that I'm not all one sitting in the back seat.

"Zac, what are you doing here?" I ask confused. Hadn't he left the office complex ages ago? "I wanted to go home." Was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

I couldn't get anything more out of him the entire trip. He constantly stares into his smartphone and types furiously on it. And when we finally arrived at the Park Lane Hotel after what felt like a never-ending journey, he didn't look up once.