Syrtis

X.

May 2nd, 2018
Thursday, 11:32am

The keyboard sounds filled the otherwise quiet office as Jessica typed out a response to Andrea's email. It was the official invitation to the wedding, she insisted on sending it to everyone for 'record purposes.'

It had been a slow morning, there was nothing pressing that needed to be done right away so she had spent it reading on her laptop and munching away at some peanuts. Her phone laid untouched on the table, nobody called or texted which was a bit surprising but she welcomed the silence.

Almost as if the phone heard her thoughts, it began to ring. Amin's face on the widescreen didn't help her decision to answer the phone. After a few more rings, she answered and plugged in her earpiece.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Amin. How you feelin'?"

He laughed a little, and she smiled. It was a familiar sound that she missed. "I'm feeling like a terrible person, babe. I know you're mad and I'm really sorry."

"Oh, I'm not mad. Disappointed, but not mad. I have a lot to do, so no time to really sit and mope." She bit her lip at her white lie, knowing that his silence meant that the words accomplished what they were supposed to. "How's your mom?"

"She's okay. I... told her about you." She chose not to reply to that. "I miss you, Jess. I miss you a lot. I'm not sure what else to say...I know there's nothing I can say."

"I don't want to keep talking about this if I'm not going to be able to spend time with you. It gets tiring and I miss you even more. Being the bad guy is helping me cope with all this, Amin. Can you at least try to understand?"

"You have to admit that I've tried. Can I see you tonight? Please?"

"I don't know, can you?" She raised a brow, taunting him.

"Yes, I can. I'm picking you up."

"Oh wow. I really hope I don't get stood up."

"Jessica."

"Amin."

"Please give me a chance to make things right," his voice lowered and she sighed, caving.

"I'll be ready at six."

"Awesome. I have to go, will see you soon." He went off and she stared at her phone in longing. Her heart ached for him, it had been too long. She just sighed and set the phone down, then opened up a work file to distract her from her thoughts.

The articles for the next day laid before her for proofreading and a little editing. Mr. Martins had assigned the job to her after he came back, lessening his own workload. But she held her tongue, the promotion that he had promised her hadn't fallen through yet and until it did, she was determined to behave.

She had barely started the work when the door to her office opened and Mr. Martins walked in, closing the door swiftly behind him. "Jess Jess."

"Good morning, Fred. What's up?"

He took a seat opposite her and leaned forward, giving her a not so subtle look over. "You look beautiful this morning."

She stopped typing to look at him. "Why are you buttering me up? I'm not getting the promotion, am I?"

"It's just a compliment," he laughed.

"Nothing is just anything. But thanks. So what can I do for you?" She steered the conversation back to work as quickly as possible, encouraging him didn't seem like the best idea.

"I want you to cover the protest at Sajj House tomorrow. The whole thing, including the article for the paper."

"What protest? I haven't heard anything. What happened?"