Love Has a Color

Rough Weekend

"Are you sure I can't sit in the office with you two? I seriously hate Sarah. She just sits there silent all day and shoots me dirty looks when I try to talk to her. Just tell Mr. Hot stuff that you need me with you!" Violet is currently begging me to let her sit with Asher and I while we work. We go to his office on Mondays and mine on Thursdays. Today is Monday, which is why Vi is trying to snake her way out of working by Sarah.

I laugh at her fifth attempt for the day as we make our way to the elevator. "Sorry, Vi. Not my office, not my choice. Valiant effort though."

Asher isn't fond of sharing his work space. Precisely the reason why Sarah always spends the day in her own office. If he needs something he pages her and that's about their only form of contact. Violet has her own office as well, but she's generally with me and I don't mind.

As we step out onto our floor we head down the hallway, stopping where we need to go our separate ways. She pouts at me and I shoot her a smile. "Have fun with your new best friend!" I obviously get nothing but an eye roll, and she just walks into Sarah's office.

I open the door to Asher's office and settle into the desk he put in the corner for me. He originally wanted me to sit in the other room with Violet and Sarah and when I told him no, he offered me a seat on the couch. One, we can't work in separate offices when we need to consult each other on just about everything. Two, how am I supposed to work using my legs as a table? So, I countered by telling him that I got him his own desk and that I should get one too. Eventually he agreed which meant that I got my own desk. Unfortunately it also meant that I had to quickly get someone to put one in my office as well, before he could see that I definitely did not already get him a desk.

I notice that the room is unusually quiet, so I glance over to Asher's desk. When I see that it's empty I decide to take a stroll on over to Sarah's office to ask where he went. I go in and sit down across from Violet while the two are getting situated. "Shouldn't you be in your little meeting, Missy?" She asks.

"I should, yes, but Mr. Black seems to be missing. I came to ask Sarah if she's seen him." I turn to his assistant and raise an eyebrow. She just looks up at me and shrugs, shaking her head. "Then where the hell is he?" I hop out of my seat and take a walk to Merry at reception. Of course, she hasn't seen him either. I look around a little longer, and when I realize that he just isn't here I head on back to his office to get started with my day.

After about fifteen minutes of going through files alone, he enters the room. "Wow, thank you for finally deciding to grace me with your presence," I tease without looking up at him. He just huffs and continues over to his desk. I look over at him and raise my eyebrows at his appearance. He looks like he quite literally just rolled out of bed and threw something on. His blonde locks are disheveled, a few buttons on his are shirt undone, and there are very noticeable bags under his eyes. "Rough night?" I ask.

"Rough weekend," he responds. "Now, please go tell those two what they need to be working on. The expense reports need to be done and filed by the end of the day, no exceptions." Wow, right to it.

"Have you ever done an expense report in your life? There's no way they'll be able to finish them today. I agree that they absolutely need to be done by the end of the week, but today is pushing it. There's too many," I explain.

He clenches his jaw and flips his eyes to me. "I said today, Miss Indigo. Now go."

I'm not particularly in the mood to argue today, so I just stomp out of the room. I slam the door behind me and walk straight into Sarah's office, where I slam that door too. Violet looks up at me in shock, but I say nothing and just sit across from her again.

Considering the fact that Sarah hardly speaks to us, I basically ignore her presence. "So apparently that big idiot thinks that you two can finish and file all of the expense reports by the end of the day. He also thinks that I'm his personal message girl and not his business partner, so I was sent to tell you. I was really not in the mood for this today, and I thought that after this weekend we made some progress. But, I guess I was wrong," I say.

"Wait, what happened this weekend? I know he asked you on that date, but you didn't give me any other details. Tell me everything!" Violet is practically jumping out of her chair with excitement. Sarah, too, at the sound of the word 'date' seems to be slightly interested.

"It wasn't a date, Vi. He just wanted us to be seen together so that everyone thinks we get along well. And if it were a date, it would have been the worst one I have ever been on."

"Did he seriously say that to you?" I nod to answer her question. "What else happened?"

I tell her everything from the moment we got in the car to when I got out. "I really thought we had a good time together, you know, considering. He even acted like he had feelings, like he cared about me. I don't know how someone can go from zero to a hundred like that."

"He's just not used to liking someone." Violet and I both whip our heads over to see who just spoke. Sarah looks up from her computer to see our astounded expressions. "He has not stopped talking about you since the day you spilled pop on him in that cafe. Seriously, you're all I hear about. He just has a rough past and a rigid exterior. I get that sounds a little cliche, the hot CEO with a dicey past and apprehension for love, but it's true. He really does care for you, though, Miss Indigo. You'll just have to make him see it."

Violet and I just stare at her, jaws dropped. "Are you kidding me? Over a month now I've been trying to talk to you and you've been silent, but she walks in and boom! A monologue in less than five minutes. What the hell, man!" Violet tugs her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears and huffs in frustration. I just laugh at her and turn to Sarah.

"Okay, back to the matter at hand. I could have sworn I just heard you say that Asher Black likes me. Now, did you mean like as in 'hey you're cool pal!' Or  like as in 'I want to take you out to dinner and take you back bed for dessert' like?"

She gives me a confused expression for a moment, opening her mouth to speak and closing it again with a shake of her head. "I think I meant more of the second one?" She questions.

Just as I'm about to question her even more, the door bursts open. "Seriously? I asked you to do one thing, Indigo, one thing! All you had to do was come in here and give them simple instructions. You've been gone for nearly twenty minutes! I hope none of you had any plans tonight, because you're all three staying late to finish anything you didn't get done while you were having this little pow wow." We all stare at a very angry Asher, wide eyed. I gulp a little when he turns to point directly at me. "You're supposed to be the boss. The one who sets the example. Now, can you all just get back to work?" With that he turns around and walks right back to his office.

I offer the girls a small smile before getting up to leave. Before I exit, I turn back to them. "Split the reports in half. Violet do some and Sarah do some. Whatever you don't have finished at 5:30 when you're supposed to leave, just email to me and I'll finish them." I don't give them a chance to argue and just walk back to my little corner desk.

The tension in the room is so thick you can grab it. My heart is pounding in my throat and my body feels hot and tingly. I feel like a child who's just been scolded for bad grades and am being forced to await my punishment. But, it never comes. Asher just sits in silence the rest of the day. I do as much work as possible as quickly as possible, and apparently Sarah and Violet are doing the same. The expense reports are completed and emailed to me by 4:45.

I forward everything to Asher and continue moving through the things I need to get done for tomorrow just so I don't have to talk to him. Out of the corner of my eye I see him shut down his computer and grab his coat. He walks over to the door, stopping beside my desk. "You can go home now. I'm telling the girls they can leave as well." He then turns and grabs the door handle right as I check the time on my laptop.

"Wait, it's only five," I tell him.

He doesn't turn around to look at me, just opens the door. "I know what time it is, Indigo." And with that he's gone. It's been a weird day.