The universe had jokes.
It was the universe, right? Yeah, definitely the universe.
Because no other thing could make sense as to how her estranged boyfriend of two whole years, Jared, was actually standing in the doorway of her office -her office- at the moment..
The place smelled faintly of coffee and printer ink, sunlight cutting through the half-closed blinds and striping the walls in gold. The hum of the AC was the only sound until he spoke.
He stood there, looking so handsome it hurt, his stupid smile threatening to sweep her off her feet. Wait... weren't bad people supposed to have some kind of karma reward? How could he be so evil... yet so handsome? Even the devil was nothing compared to him.
He looked quite the same.. just a little thinner with a new haircut and a little bit of pale skin that no one could see unless they looked really close or knew him before.
That shirt... hadn't she seen it before? 'Girl, snap out of it. Geez, what's wrong with you?'
"Hi, Mina," he said, slowly, almost like a whisper... the same voice he'd used for only her, or so she had thought.
'Okay, back to earth, Mi.'
She finally blinked. Once... then twice.
Papers rustled on her glass desk; the low buzz of her desktop monitor filled the space. The modern gray tones around her made the tension feel sharper, colder.
She leaned back on the chair she sat signing some documents before the uninvited... no, unwanted, visitor walked in. "Huh. So they finally let you back on the straight side of town?"
His smile disappeared almost instantly. "Guess I deserved that."
"You guess?" She clicked her pen and went back to signing papers like he was part of the décor. "Unless you're here to fix the printer or confess, I'm busy."
"Actually," he said carefully, "I'm here for the SK partnership proposal."
She stopped writing, her head still down.
He continued. "I'm the new project manager for the client you've been negotiating with."
'Mina, calm down. Take a breath... 1,2,3...Good. You're getting it.'
Mina exhaled through her mouth, calmly. Raised her head, calmly.
"Of course you are." she said sweetly. "Because why wouldn't the universe send my ex to sabotage my best deal yet?"
He smiled... that same killer smile, unless this time it was a little wane. "You look good."
"I know."
He made a move, and she hoped it was to turn around and leave the office, having had enough of her sass. But alas, it was to sit down!
He didn't wait to be offered a seat...
Man, he lost weight and manners.
"Oh, wow. Comfortable, are we?"
"I figured we should talk," he said. "About the project."
"Mhm." She leaned back. "And not, you know, the part where you ghosted me for an identity crisis?"
He flinched... or did he? He definitely did... the lines on the sides of his eyes tightened like something hurt him. She smiled. She had the upper hand.
"I was... confused," he said. "It wasn't about you."
"Oh yeah? That sounds familiar... where did I hear that...?" She tapped her freshly manicured nails against the wooden desk in a rhythmic manner, pretending to think.
He sighed. "Mina, I made a mistake."
"One?" She shot back. How dare he say it like it was a mistake everyone made twice a day. "Sweetheart, you made a series. It was practically a triad."
"You haven't changed."
"Oh, I have all right." She said, dropping her pen gently on the papers on her desk and crossing her legs. "I really have. And I'm not done yet. You're talking to the CEO now. The one who doesn't fall for pretty eyes and smiles"
He squeezed his lap with his left hand. "I'm not here to mess things up... I just wanted to see you again. And work things out professionally."
She smirked. "Professionally? Like how you professionally disappeared mid-relationship?"
"Mina-"
"Save it." She stood, gathering her files. "Meeting tomorrow at noon with the full team. If you're still here then, good. If not, way, way better."
Her heels echoed against the polished marble floor, a rhythm that bounced off the glass partitions and the quiet whir of computers outside.
She walked past him without the slightest hesitation. The heavy silence in the office was only disturbed by the clicks of her heels as she made her way to the door.
She had just opened the door when he said, softly. "I never stopped thinking about you."
She stood. Smiled slightly without turning.
"Well," she said, her voice impassive and expressionless, "you should've thought faster."
Jared paused.
No, he wasn't moving or saying anything out loud before that.
But the moment she walked out, the world seemed to come to a stand still-with him in it. It felt empty, even.
His mind, which was spiraling with thoughts, unarranged explanations he planned to give, calmed down.
The air felt... thinner.
He was finding it hard to breathe.
Same office, same space... but it felt like she walked out with all the oxygen in the office.
He couldn't remember the last time he felt this way, heck, he couldn't remember anything at all.
He needed to be able to control himself -his breath first- before taking the next step.
He steadied himself and breathed in, slowly at first... then with a normal pace.
Lord, how could she have so much control over him without even touching him?
He blinked twice, trying to remember how she walked past him and out the door, her perfume lingering in the air.
"She still uses 'Destiny'." He muttered, smiling a little. The perfume he fell in love with because of her. It smelled so divine.
Surprisingly, he hadn't perceived that scent in the two years of no contact. Woah, he just realized that. That was special. She was...
Her figure had also accentuated. He smiled, remembering how she used to sulk about not having a curved figure like her mom did. She sure did now. He wondered if she knew.
Suddenly, he jerked, sitting up straight, scratching that spot behind his left ear, like he just remembered something very important.. because he did.
Combing his now short hair with his hand, he squeezed the innocent hair and winced.
"Nice, Jared." He muttered. "First meeting in two years and the best opening line you could come up with was Hi, Mina. Great!"
He looked around the office, then the door, still hearing the echo of her heels down the quiet hallway. That rhythm used to mean she was coming home. Now it seemed like a hammer being used to nail a coffin shut forever-with him in it.
He looked at his phone, the dark screen showing him the man he had been scared to look at since the surgery.
Yes, the surgery. He sighed, closing his eyes. It had changed things... but not the memories, the guilt.
He remembered the night everything went berserk.
A bar, Mark, a dare. A one-night stand that was supposed to make him completely certain of his sexuality. Instead, it shattered him in ways he never thought possible.
The therapy. The confusion. The short term drinking. The way he avoided mirrors because he couldn't stand the man he saw in them.
And Mina, Jesus, Mina- the little, naive but intelligent girl who loved him completely without trying to fix him- only she wasn't so little anymore.
He fumbled.
Ruined her life. No explanation. No excuses. He face-palmed himself. Who in the world ever ended a relationship with a note!! He was a coward, he was sure of that now.
She trusted him with her life - he remembered the couple game they played to mark their second monthiversary, "shoot an apple off your partner's head".
She had been so scared to shoot the fruit off his head even though he(and the other couples) tried to calm her down, telling her she only had to steady herself and focus on the target, not her lover. She ended up chickening out.
"My scaredy cat." He mused, a half smile playing around his full, sensuous lips.
But when it was his turn to shoot, the fear that was so obvious totally disappeared. She stood straight, whispered "you got this, babe" and closed her eyes, hands on her hips. Her face was calm, like she was a pro at the game.
He smiled again, sadly this time.
All those memories..
And now, he was sitting in her office, about to work under her company, pretending it was just business.
He chuckled quietly. "She still hates me." He whispered.
"As she should." A voice in his head whispered back.
His phone chimed. A message from the client flashed on the screen: "Project kickoff tomorrow. Make sure your team lead is ready. Don't waste any time"
His heart plummeted.
Her team lead.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stood up, ready to leave.
"Looks like I'll see you again, Mina."