Going Back

Chapter Three - Heart Of Gold

There was a cafe in the courtyard outside the building, I'd seen it earlier. Knowing my luck this morning however, it probably wasn't the place Greta usually got the coffees from. I walked inside and ordered what Greta had asked for, paying out of my own pocket. Considering the mess I had made, it was the least I could do.

Once they were made I stared across at the building and seriously considered not going back in. I could notch all of this up to an idea gone wrong and live my life somewhere else.

I closed my eyes and my birth Mother Ambers words filled me with inspiration.

"We've all been disillusioned in our lives Alice." Amber murmured. "Questioned our worth, our reason. We took our journeys and we found our way. Now it's your turn."

This was just a hurdle, one I could choose to jump over, or falter at. The next step was up to me. I opened my eyes and walked out of the cafe and across the courtyard. I could learn from my mistakes, and running away served no real purpose.

The trip up the elevator seemed to pass by much quicker without Evan in there, despite my decision to stay and work through my mistake, I wanted to revel in all the alone time I could before my stupidity was paraded in front of me once more. Unfortunately the doors opened and I had no choice but to walk out of the elevator.

I made my way back to Evan's office, switching both cups to one hand I opened the door and walked inside. Greta was at her desk, with all of the files beside her. She looked up and sighed.

"Thank you." She murmured. "Mr Jackson is free if you want to take his through."

I nodded as I placed the soy mocha latte in front of her. She picked it up and sipped.

"Well at least you can get a coffee order right." She smiled as she looked back at her computer screen.

I frowned and turned to face the closed doors of Evan's main office. I pressed the intercom button.

"Sir, I have your coffee." I released the button.

"Come in." He replied his voice low.

I opened the door and walked inside, Evan was sitting at his desk staring down at a piece of paper. His brow was furrowed so deep that his frown lines were tinged with white from the tension. He looked up at me as I placed the coffee down.

"Mr Jackson, I'm sorry I messed up." I murmured. "It won't happen again."

Evan's green eyes glazed over he shrugged and then looked back down. "See that it doesn't." He paused and picked up the coffee. He took a sip and placed it down. "You can leave now."

I sensed that there was something else on his mind now, something I hadn't done, something that troubled him more than accidentally charging some old clients. I stayed, glued to the spot but I was unsure why.

"Ace." He exclaimed, his eyes flickered. "Get back to work."

I nodded and turned toward the door. "Sorry. Of course."

I left the office and closed the door, sighing as it clicked behind me. I glanced over at Greta who stared at me with confusion in her eyes.

"Still with us then?" She mused. "Well, in that case you can put these files back in the cabinet. I'm almost done rectifying your mistake."

"Of course." I walked to her desk and picked up the files. "I should have checked where you wanted me to transfer the data to, I assumed wrong."

I began to walk across the floor holding the heavy stack.