The Delivery Girl

23. Professionals

Callen

"Good morning," Hayley greets me as I step out of the elevator.

"Morning," I grunt tiredly.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing," I mutter. "Why would something be wrong?"

Hayley scoffs. "I know when something's off about you." She stands up and comes around her desk. She furrows her brows as she comes up to me and studies my face. "It's... regret, and not the usual kind. What did you do?" she asks, simultaneously concerned and annoyed.

"Nothing," I repeat. "Just a regular weekend."

I head down the hall towards my office. Jacob is already sitting outside.

"Good morning, Callen. Busy weekend? You seem tired," he greets me cheerfully.

I barely slept last night. All I could think about was Julie. "Something like that," I mutter and head inside.

What the hell is wrong with me? I'm absolutely screwed if someone here finds out. No one, including myself, would respect a boss who does something like that with their employee.

Despite that, I feel more drawn to her than ever – painfully so. Every detail of that night is ingrained in my mind. The way she looked up at me with those devastatingly soft, innocent eyes. How she fit so well in my arms.

Fuck.

I aggressively drop my bag onto my desk and sink into my chair. She's supposed to be here in two hours, but I wouldn't be surprised if she called in sick.

I have no idea what to say to her. How are we supposed to proceed from here? Simply pretend it never happened?

What if I don't want to?

–

"That would normally be eight thousand, but I'll give you a discount, Mark," I say and give him a charming grin through the screen. "Six thousand."

Mark chuckles. "You never disappoint, Callen. It's a deal, please send the contract to my assistant."

My office door opens and Julie slips in. I do my best not to look up from my monitor. I know I'm going to get thrown off if I look at her, and being professional in front of clients takes priority.

"Sounds great. I'll connect you with someone from my team this week," I say, ignoring my thoughts and trying to sound like my normal self. "Have a nice day."

"Perfect, talk to you soon."

I end the call and send a quick email to Hayley.

I clear my throat. "Good morning, Miss Leong," I say. "Or... is Julie still fine to use?"

She seems tired but gives me a weak smile. I'm sure I don't look much better. "Yes. Callen as well?"

"Of course."

We don't exchange any more words before returning to our work. The room is blanketed in tense, awkward silence for hours. Julie doesn't look up at me a single time, staying completely focused on her laptop.

As she eventually reaches the end of her shift, Julie stands and begins packing up her bag. "Have a nice day, Callen," she says softly.

"Thank you, Julie."

Just as she reaches for the door, she pauses.

"Um... about Saturday," she whispers, still facing away. "I'm really sorry, that was completely inappropriate of me."