Against the Odds

Chapter 13

Marice has messaged me every two hours today asking me how I'm feeling. Truth be told, every time I forget that Hunter is coming to pick me up and I finally relax and dive into my work, I get a ping from Slack and the anxiety starts up again. I think she's trying to be supportive but I'm really tempted to block her right now.

Ms. Harris stopped by the office today two times, the most she's ever come by. Maybe Marice was right about her, and she could sense my panic.

We finished our SEO reports today and debriefed with Ms. Harris most of the afternoon. She was actually very pleased with our report. Rachel designed a very sleek and aesthetic report theme which Ms. Harris loved, even going as far as saying she didn't have any edits. So at least she's in a relatively good mood.

Hunter sent me a text message around 4 p.m. saying he might be a little bit early, depending when his meeting lets out. It's currently ten to five, and my palms are glistening with a sheen of sweat.

"Lilah!" Rachel shouts as she throws a rolled up piece of paper at my head. The white ball ricochets off my temple and lands on my desk.

"What?" I snarl. Rachel reminds me of a mean older brother, not that I would know being an only child but she fits the bill.

"Wanna come to the bar with us tonight?" Sure, that's how you invite someone out for the first time, throw an inanimate object at their head.

"What a kind invitation Rach, but I actually have plans tonight."

Rachel throws me a sarcastic scowl. "Sitting at home reading Wuthering Heights on a Friday isn't 'plans'." She is such a gem.

"I have plans with a person," I elaborate.

"Oooo, with who?" Karl chimes in. Is everyone in this office this nosy?

I roll my eyes. "Just someone."

"Is someone hot?" Rachel perks up and raises her eyebrows. I pick up the paper ball off my desk and toss it at Rachel's head. "Ouch, territorial much?"

"He's definitely not bad looking," I brag. Sanjay, Karl and Rachel all 'ooo' in unison.

"Not bad looking, huh?" I dart my eyes to Hunter who's lurking just outside our office. He flashes a mischievous grin as he leans on the door frame.

"Hunter!" I squeak. "You're here! Perfect, let's go." I hastily grab my jacket and purse and speed walk to the door.

"Wait, you look familiar," Sanjay muses. I turn my head and flash Sanjay my most menacing death glare. It must have seeped into his core because he quickly looks down and mutters, "Nevermind."

"Shall we?" I ask Hunter as I try to push him through the door. What is he made out of? Stone?

Rachel clears her throat loudly. "Sterling, aren't you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?" The colour from my face drains, and I swear I just felt a tear roll down my cheek. Although, it could have been sweat. I can't believe she just called him my boyfriend. I haven't even called him that.

I look up at Hunter who's grinning cheek-to-cheek and I know he's enjoying this. I clench my teeth and turn to face my eager colleagues. A soft chuckle escapes from the back of Hunter's throat as he puts his hand on my waist.

"Hunter?"

"Yes, babe?" Oh, he just called me babe. No. Focus. The sooner this is over the sooner we can leave.

"I'd like to introduce you to my incredibly intrusive and shameless colleagues. This is Rachel Brown, that's Sanjay Singh and over there is Karl Miller." All three of them nod and mutter their hello's.