Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 11

As soon as I got home, I quietly changed into some running clothes, put my arm in a sling to help support my shoulder, and headed back out, before Soma could catch me. The minute I was out the door I rushed down the stairs and hit the streets. The sun had already started to set, and it was cooling off, so I started at a quick pace, and within half an hour, I was soaking wet. I ran along the sidewalk, head down, and my right arm swinging beside me with the force of all the anger I was penning up inside. I knew I shouldn't be this upset with David over a simple disagreement, but the fact that he thought I would lie to him, was the reason I was so angry. Grunting, I picked my my speed, feeling a jolt in my shoulder, but ignoring it, as I took a half turn, back towards my apartment. My legs were burning now, and my lungs could barely keep up with them, but I only slowed down slightly.
I was still angry.
But the tiredness that was creeping over me, and the energy I was spending, made it easier to calm down, until eventually, I slowed down to a jog. Darkness fell, and it started to rain, but it felt good on my sweaty skin, so instead of seeking shelter, I kept running. When I turned into the parking lot of the apartments, I dropped down to a walk, and focused on restoring air to my lungs. By the time I reached the doors, I was breathing well enough to go inside, and instead of waiting for the elevator, I took the stairs again. Grabbing my extra key from on top of the doorway, I unlocked the room and let myself inside. Closing the door, I turned around to come face to face with David's flashing brown eyes.
"Where have you been?" He asked me, standing up and crossing his arms, as he closed the small distance between us.
"I'm am adult, I don't have to give you my life schedule." I answered, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, you do." He answered, his voice deathly calm. Suddenly, the entire energy that I had just burned off returned to me, and I dropped the spare key onto the counter, pushing past David, and moving into my room. "Oana, come back here!" David's voice was deeper, and more commanding, which was what happened when he got angry, but I ignored him.
Truthfully, I wasn't angry at him, or I didn't want to be anyways. I was angry that he didn't trust me, and that he didn't know me well enough to know that if I had something to tell him, I would have.
I stalked into my room, feeling like a kid, and shut my door, locking it before David could come in. Within seconds he was knocking on the door, demanding that I open it. "You don't have any reason to be mad at me Oana, I'm the one that's offended!" He accused through the door, and I scoffed.
"If that were true, I would be apologizing."
He fell silent at that and I assumed he had gone away, so I changed and showered, climbing in bed, after I rewrapped my shoulder. As I was shifting over onto my side to sleep, the sound of my door being unlocked, and the light clicking on made me growl and glare over at David as he came in. I immediately caught sight of Soma retreating from the doorway, the spare bedroom key in her hand, as David walked into my room.
"Get out." I snapped, but he ignored me and shut the door behind him. "I said. Get. Out." I repeated, turning over on to my side, as he came over to me.
"Soma has just informed me that you do not have a love interest." He started quietly.
I snorted. "But you believe her and not me."
"It's not that I thought you wanted to lie to me- I mean I just thought that maybe you thought I would scare the guy off..." David said, his tone was much gentler now, but my veins were still pumping with adrenaline.
"You should know me well enough to know that I would never lie to you. And that I wouldn't dream of being with a guy- not in that way at least- before I was married to him." I sat up, clenching my jaw and pursing my lips.
"And I knew that... I guess it was just the heat of the moment, and you telling me about how your boss had been hitting on you and all- I don't know, I'm sorry Oana..." David lowered his head, looking me in the eyes and I could tell that he really was. He must've jumped to conclusions, which would have been easy considering the situation. My anger melted at the sight of his torn expression, and I dropped my arms, meeting his gaze.
"I'm not upset with you, it's just that I thought you trusted me more than that." I shrugged, wincing at the pain that shot through my shoulder.
"I do, I just let my temper get the best of me, and I was worried-" he stopped, letting out a breath. "Will you forgive me?"
"You owe me an ice cream." I smiled a little, and his eyes lit up.
"Tomorrow?"
"After work." I nodded, and he bobbed his head. "Now get out. I'm going to sleep."
*
David drove me to work the next morning, promising me ice cream afterwards, and telling me to text him when I got off. I assured him that I would, and bid him goodbye, before heading into the building. Rachel was at the front desk, as usual, and when I walked in, she glanced up only to frown.
What is it with her?
*
Sitting at my desk, I began organizing the stack of papers that had been placed on the corner of my desk, and noted that the letter I had left on the edge of my desk yesterday, was gone. I wondered if Mr. Lawson would mention it to me, or if he would notice that I had opened it...
I was eager to start work today, because the sooner I started, the sooner I finished. Glancing at Mr. Lawson's schedule, I let out a breath of relief, when I saw that he only had one meeting today, and it was with a staff member, so I wouldn't have to attend. Standing up, I reached for my stapler, and in the process I knocked off the picture of my brother and I.
"Dang it." I muttered.
"My brother doesn't allow cursing in his building." Someone said in front of me, as I came to pick up my picture.
Jumping in surprise, I glanced up to see Damon smirking down at me. "That's not cursing," I shook my head slightly at his smug expression, and picked up the picture.
"It's close enough." He continued smirking, and I refrained from rolling my eyes. I liked my job, and I had a feeling that if I disrespected Mr. Lawson's brother, he wouldn't take it too well. "Everyone does it every once in a while." Damon winked, but I ignored him and placed my picture back in place.
"May I help you with something Mr. Lawson?" I asked him, doing my best to sound professional, and he glanced down to the picture.
"Boyfriend?" He asked, and I frowned.
"Brother."
They're more similar than I gave them credit for.
I thought in amusement.
Damon chuckled. "To answer your question, yes. I'm supposed to tell you that Greyson isn't coming in today, and to cancel his meetings." He said, a bit of a devilish glint coming into his green eyes.
"Then why are you here?" I raised my eyebrows, and he smirked.
"To keep you in line." Before I could answer, he closed the door behind him, heading into his brother's office.