LOVING YOU BENEATH THE SURFACE

DISCOMFORT

CHRIS POV

I never pressured Kate about dates or her time because I was one of the people that advised her to take on the role Jean offered her. Given how she was the head of a company she never knew anything about, she had so many things to learn and adjust to.

Kate was someone who would never open her mouth to ask for help until it got extreme, so I tried to read the mood and help out with whatever I could anytime I came over to her side. She would be the one to call and fix dates but canceled out on several occasions, which was not a big deal to me, since I could just drive to her house whenever I missed her too much.

That very day, I was almost done at work when her call came in and, for the first time in a while, we talked at length. She opened up about how exhausted she had been and how she would love to blow off some steam in order to get her head cooled down. One thing I never did was suggest the date’s time or place, so as usual, I told her to pick a date and time, get back to me and I would adjust my schedule.

She wanted me to come over that very day, but I couldn’t since I had to stop by at our warehouse in order to clear some orders that just came in before they were moved into the hotel. I had always made sure only top-notch quality items were allowed given our standard and the taste of our customers' standards, so I had to supervise anything brought in.

The standard must be kept.

About eleven in the night, her text came in, and she sent a movie ticket that was to be aired the following Friday.

“Let’s go see this movie together. I have been waiting for it” she texted, and I could feel her excitement as I read through the lines in her voice.

I didn’t think twice before I sent a “Sure! I will meet you at the cinema” immediately, and she sent back a love emoji.

A sigh dropped from my lips as I scrolled through our previous messages and the emptiness was glaring. We used to be in each other’s face but now we had to try our best to stay connected. It was harder on my part, since my workload was always the same, I was much freer but she was not available to be with me in my free time. I had to adjust myself to other things in order to train my mind for her emptiness.

The week went fast and the weekend came. I made sure to finish work early and change the clothes I brought to work. I didn’t want to look like an office man on the date since it was a casual something. I was waiting for her to text me when Charlotte came over to me with a file stating her report for the assignment I gave her.

“Are you going on a date? You look so dashing” she complimented, and I nodded.

Talking about being accurate most of the time, she was like a witch no matter how I think about it, but I didn’t let that get to me.

“Can you please look through this, sir? I rushed to put them together but I didn’t know if it would match your taste”, she said, and I shook my head.

“I clocked out already. You can drop it on my table and I will go through it on Monday”. I declined respectfully

A pout appeared on her mouth as she dragged the file to her chest.

“But my leave starts on Monday though and you want this to be ready as soon as possible” she whined.

She was right. I wanted the report right away because I needed it to put some things in place since the Chairman would be visiting the company the following week. If she doesn’t finish the work that day, I will never be able to finish up the report on my own.

“That’s true. Let me see it then”. I surrendered and her face lit up with a smile that I didn’t bother to look at

I was almost done with the report when a text popped up on my phone and it was from Kate.

“Hey babe, what do we do? Some guests from Ireland just came in and they are one of our biggest investors. I cannot leave them hanging, so I have to attend to them. Could you go on without me? I will finish things up here quickly and join you soon.”

I was pained!

I could feel blood rush through all my veins in anger no matter how much I tried to control it. My system couldn’t contain it as my grip tightened on the pen I was holding. A part of me expected it but I was put at ease when she didn’t text to cancel up till that moment. My heart shattered into a million pieces but I tried my best to keep my cool till the end.

“Alright. You should do you” texted back in anger and dropped my phone on the table with a loud noise.

“Did she cancel out on you? That’s bad! You must have been looking forward to it” she suddenly commented.

“She has her reasons”. I shut her off and she chuckled slightly.

“I am sure she has her reasons, but it surely will still be painful on your part. Do you want me to watch it with you? That will make you less angry”, she proposed.

I didn’t waste any time before I called on Johnson, who rushed to my table with immediate effect.

“You talked about how you couldn’t get a ticket to this movie. Here is one for a weekend treat”. I informed him and mailed him the ticket.

His face lit up in happiness as he appreciated the gesture and ran off happily while a soft scoff came from Charlotte, who was still standing there.

“Miss Charlotte, let’s not cross the line. Please!” I gritted to caution my angry tone and returned the report to her

“Edit the few typos I circled and give the last page some bullet points. I trust I will be seeing the polished version of the report on my table on Monday morning. Do enjoy your leave”, I added, and left the office.

Just when I thought it would get better, nothing was improving about our communication. Although I was patient with her, it just hurt to get disappointed every time. I used to be anxious, excited and happy about our dates, but as the situations grew worse, I didn’t have any expectation anymore. It just felt like something had been removed from me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.

I thought I could cope with all that was happening, but I discovered it was taking a toll on me every time. I just tried hard to ignore it.

***

Two weeks later, I flew out of Las Vegas to Malta for a hotel owners’ conference which took place for three days. I walked into the huge hall and stumbled upon Richard who was the current CEO of RPL hotel, my former hotel. He was so happy to see me and told me that he never expected to see me at the conference since I was not the owner of the hotel I was managing.

“The Chairman sent me here. He has other things to attend to”, I told him.

“Hey Man! Do you not have any desire to come back home? It’s hard to manage the hotel without you” he chuckled, and I laughed,

“What do you mean without me? You have always done a good job without me, so keep it up. I am not coming back”, I affirmed.

“Your father laments about how you rarely pick up his call or reply to his texts. Please go easy on him, he has realized his mistakes enough”, he pleaded, and I just smiled softly.

“We don’t have much to talk about, anyway, so it’s better this way” I told him and he just sighed helplessly.

“I don’t understand how Kate managed to win your heart. You are too rigid” he remarked and shook his head while I just patted his back.

“I will see you around. I have to market my hotel”, I informed him and he scoffed.

“Come back and market your own hotel. How can you get attached to another person’s property? You silly man”, he scolded me and I just waved it off and walked away.

***

The conference lasted for five days and on the fifth day, an after party was held for all the attendees. I was not interested that much, but since it was compulsory, I had no choice but to attend. I was sipping from the champagne glass in my hand when someone came into the hall and my hand paused on its way to my mouth.

It was my ex-wife..