Chapter 117 - The Diversion (1/2)
The desperation, the intensity in Miguel's voice gives Claire the screaming mimies. There's something about it that she couldn't put a finger on, but it's odd.
She holds up the phone and dials another number.
”Gab, Miguel called me up!”
”Hey,” Gabriel's voice on the other end suggests she probably just woke him up. ”And good morning to you, too.”
”Sorry. But I am freaking out.”
”What's the matter?”
”It's your brother,” she says, weighing her words. ”He wants to meet with me and talk to me about something gravely important.”
”Hmmm. I've been trying to call him. He doesn't answer. He's still pissed about last night.”
”I think it's more than that.” She sighs. ”You know that he's somehow into me, right?”
”Yeah.”
”And now he's acting a bit…different.”
Gabriel sighs. ”Alright, don't worry about him. Let me worry about him. I've been trying to reach him but you know what they say about people who don't want to be reached out to? Maybe I'll pay him a visit.”
”Can you go to him now?”
He groans. ”Oh, I'm not sure if now is a good time. I'm still in an online conference with my people. A lot of problems seem to be coming out of the woodwork.”
”Okay,” she says, not really okay, thinking about how to deflect Miguel's neediness.
”Just tell him you can't go to the meet-up, okay? I know my brother. He'll accept it like a man.”
But he doesn't, she wants to say to him. Instead, all that comes out of her mouth is, ”Sure.”
”Have to get online now, Claire. I'll see you tonight?”
She tries her best to put a smile in her voice. ”I'll be there.”
On any given day, she would be thrilled, inspired to get through the day because at the end of it, she will spend time with Gab. But there's a lot of awkwardness that gets in the way between now and tonight, and at the center of it is Miguel. What happened to him? He seems to have been spiraling down, hard. Where's the suave, cool, confident man she first met a few weeks ago? Where's the savior of damsels in distress?
Try as she might, she couldn't focus on work. Today is the first day she's supposed to craft a business strategy for one of Gabriel's companies, a task she asked for and given quietly. She's no longer just the executive ȧssistant, as that role is merely play-acting. She's getting her hands in the core strategies of his business. And finally, she's no longer a fish out of the water—she's well comfortable in this real role. What's more, the unspoken disposition is, of course, Gabriel's relationship with her is for the long term, and if that's the case, then she must be well-versed in the business, too.
But this thing with Miguel, it has been getting more and more awkward. For him to ask her out, even in the pretense of some ”talking over,” borders on subversion—he very well knows she's already with Gabriel, and no matter what happens, she won't break his trust.
”Are you watching something shocking?”
It's Mary, who has been by her desk for a few minutes and she didn't even notice her.
”Oh, sorry,” she says, as if waking up from reverie. ”I'm just…”
”You've been staring at your computer screen like you're watching a train wreck happen in action.” Mary grins. She has no idea how uncannily accurate she is about the train wreck metaphor.
”I'm…” Claire sighs. She looks around to check if Michelle or her possible minions are within hearing distance. ”I'm in a sort of dilemma.”
”Oh,” Mary titters. ”That must be juicy. Is it an office romance? Did Jake Magno try to contact you again? Did someone break up with you? Spill it out!”
Claire gazes at her, trying to decide if this is good, confessing to her office colleague something as sėnsɨtɨvė as this. But her heart wants to burst out of her ċhėst from all these feelings that she's dying to have someone listen to her. ”Mary, it's about Mi—I mean, there's a man who wants to meet up with me tonight. This is a decent man, a good catch, but I don't want him. He keeps insisting on showing up here, so we can go somewhere else to talk. Only to talk. But I've kept telling him there's no future for us, that he should focus his attention to someone else. And yet…”
”And yet he insists?” Mary gazes at her thoughtfully. ”I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask because I've never had that kind of problem before.” She laughs. ”My usual dilemma is the exact opposite of that. Nobody wants to date me. So…”
Claire holds her head in frustration, like it's about to fall. ”I don't know what to do. Even if I say no, I'm afraid he would keep on insisting. And I'm afraid I might be too weak-willed to stand my ground and say no. I might be persuaded, maybe out of pity or compassion. But I know that's wrong. But still. What do I do?”
”But why not just give this guy a chance? Who knows if you end up eventually liking him? As you said, he's a good catch.”
Claire gazes at her. ”But I'm already committed to someone else, Mary. I can't do something like that.”