A Part of Me

A familiar face

As he promised I was my own boss, every day it still amazed me to see my name engraved on the glass door to my office. It had been a week since I left Willows and to my surprised Tom was perfectly okay with the move. He told me I deserved it and if he could afford to make such a major move in Willows he would have done so a long time ago to keep James from stealing me away. I mean it wasn't such a big lost seeing as how we had a contract with Willows so from time to time I still got to visit my old job. This was such a major move for me, financially and career wise. I couldn't have been more happy.

" Ms. Price you have a meeting with someone from Willows at 2:30pm she should be here shortly. "

" Thank you Laura " the two companies were going out of town to visit the site where we would be building our joint business, I had everything ready I just had to go over some final detail with Willows travel department. I finished looking over my paper work when I heard a light knock at the door, I looked up and it was Laura.

" Your 2:30 is here Ms. Price "

" Send her in please "

I finished singing some of the final pages and grabbed a note pad to jot some necessary information down.

" Please come in " I said without taking my eyes away from my desk " Have a seat please and excuse the light mess. "

" Not a problem "

I paused what I was doing , that voice sounded all too familiar. " Oh god please no " I nervously said to myself , I should have known. I was so busy wrapped up in this new position I didn't pay attention to the fact that the one person who handles all the business trips herself was Kerry ann White. I swallowed hard and began to gather myself together. " Be professional Justine , be professional " I repeated to myself before closing the draw to my desk and adjusting myself in my chair.

" Good afternoon Mrs. White "

" Good afternoon Ms. Price "

Our eyes connected and I felt this heat come over my body, I tense up and fought to keep my composure. It was an awkward silence between us, I don't remember the last time I seen Kerry. I didn't know what I would do if I was ever face to face with her after everything,but I had to remember I was in a better space now In my life and I couldn't afford to let anything or anyone intervene.

I quickly grabbed the paper work and slid it over to her side of the desk. " There are a few thing I would like for you to look over before you sign the paper work. Just to finalize everything before I send these out to our financial department. " I remained the professional business woman I was.

" Sure no problem "

" Take your time "

I carefully watched her as she read over the paper work. I watched as her hazel brown eyes scanned the sheets of paper in front of her, I watch how she would raise her eyebrow if she read something that intrigued her. I watched her adjust herself in her seat because a part of her was just as uncomfortable as I was.

" Everything looks fine to me" she said placing the papers back down on the desk. " Where do you need me to sign ? "
I flipped through the sheets.

" Everywhere I placed an X " I handed her the pen and as she took it out my hand her fingers lightly brushed against mines. I became flushed , it was like a bolt of electricity shot through my body. I quickly snatched my hand back causing the pen to drop on the desk.

" Uh sorry about that " she nervously stated.

" Not a problem ... uh would you excuse me " I quickly got out of my seat and dashed towards the restroom. My heart was practically scratching to get out of my chest , I could feel a panic attack coming on and I need to calm myself down and quick. I began to pace back and fourth in the bathroom. " Breath Justine , Breath ! " it was just a finger , she barely touched me but somehow I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body. It's like I felt my blood moving through my veins like a snake in the grass quietly moving in on its next prey. I turned the faucet on to splash some cold water on my face. Thank god I barely wore make up. I began to count to ten as I slid down against the cold metal door. " One ..... two ..... three.... "

Knock Knock ! " Are you okay Justine ? "

" Shit ! " Kerry was now knocking at the door. " Pull your shit together Jus ! " I took a deep breath before I responded. " Uh ... yeah ... Just uh ... uh give me a min "

" Are you sure ? Do you need anything ? Do you want me to get Laura ? "

I could hear the concern in her voice , the worry , the panic. She still cared for me but how ? I placed my hand on my chest because the pace started to slow down now I was rushed with a feeling of sadness. I need her to leave. " Could you please go " I struggled to get the words out as the tears began to rush down my cheeks. " Pl...please ... leave " at this point it was no more holding back. I began to silently sob.

" Justine ... " I could tell she was pressed up against the opposite side of the door " Please Justine , are you okay ? "

Oh how badly I wanted my dad right now, I had left my cell phone on my desk so I couldn't call him even if I wanted to.

" Is everything okay in here ? " a puzzled Laura asked

" Uh yeah could you just give us a minute Laura . "

" Sure Mrs. White , buzz me if you need anything " with that she left out and I heard the door close.

" Justine " Kerry tapped on the door " I know I'm the last person in the world that you want to be here right now. I didn't know that you were the head of communications here , I thought you still worked at Willows. I would have never came her to your place of business unannounced like this. Please believe me when I say this. "

I continue to sob as she spoke , why now ? Why here ?

" Justine I am so sorry to have gotten you so upset like this . I will leave as soon as I know that you are okay to come back out here. I won't even be in the room when you come out but please just confirm that you're okay ? " she silently waited for me to respond, but I said nothing. I couldn't find the words to say , I couldn't figure out a way to even respond. My mind was so jumbled up that I couldn't even think straight. A part of me wanted to swing the door open and fall into her arms and cry on her chest and another part of me wanted to swing thing door open and practically ring her neck. I was so torn between emotions I couldn't even move.

After siting on the cold bathroom floor for what seemed to be practically a hour , I head Laura again.

" Ms. Price , I'm done for the day if there is anything else you need me to do please call me on my cell immediately. I'll lock up behind myself . Goodnight Mrs. White. "

" Thank you Laura but I'll be leaving out with you. " I heard her press against the door again " Justine I'm so sorry , I really am " were her last words before I heard my office door close once again. I waited 20 minutes before pulling myself up off the floor and exiting the bathroom.

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