18| A problem shared.
955 Words
Although Mrs. Henderson’s face held a neutral expression, her presence was intimidating.
Elizabeth turned back to look at Alexander, but was taken aback by the expression on his face. Just a few seconds ago, his expression was bright. But now, he appeared anxious. And that was not the type of expression she was expecting a son to wear when he saw his mother. But what does she know?
"Move!" Mrs. Henderson barked, cutting through her thoughts.
Elizabeth didn’t realize that she had stayed in the way for too long, wondering why Alexander’s expression was like that, until she yelled at her.
"Sorry Ma." She spoke quickly and moved out of the way. "Good morning ma." She greeted.
Mrs. Henderson’s gaze swept from her head to her feet before she trudged inside the office and shut the door behind her without bothering to respond to her greeting.
Pressing her lips together, she trudged to her desk and sat by it. She carried on with her work for that day—sorting the paperwork that was on her desk.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Henderson trudged out of the office; her heels made clanking sounds as they came into contact with the floor.
Elizabeth quickly leapt to her and slightly bowed. "Goodbye ma."
Mrs. Henderson didn’t bother to look at her as she walked past her and trudged to the door.
Elizabeth trailed her with her eyes, and the moment she was out of the office, she bustled to Alexander’s office, worried something might have happened.
She was right!
Something had indeed happened. His perturbation was palpable in the way he was pacing up and down the office, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration.
The second Elizabeth entered the office, he paused and clasped his hands behind his back as he turned to look at her.
Elizabeth jumped full steam on the worry train as she approached him. "Sir, is everything okay?" She asked with a concerned voice.
He cleared his throat. "Yes, everything is fine, Ms. Felix. You can go, please."
He tried to act tough, but Elizabeth could see through him that something was definitely not right. He probably had a fight with his mom, or she broke sad news to him. She couldn’t think of what really happened.
She knew he was lying but didn’t want to push him. Whatever it was, he evidently didn’t want her to know about it.
Nodding her head, she turned on her heels and strode out of his office.
She went back to her desk and continued with her work. When it was five minutes to the time for his meeting, she stood up and walked to his office door.
She knocked on the door. But this time around, she waited for him to invite her inside before she went inside.
"Come in." He said, and She quickly pushed the door open.
As she trudged towards his desk, she studied his face. The look on his face made her wonder what his mom must have said to him to make him look that way. She didn’t know what it was, but she felt really bad for him.
He raised his brow. "Do you need anything?"
"It’s time for your meeting, sir." She said, as she gazed at him pitifully.
"Oh. I totally forgot about it. Thank you." He said.
"Sir, if you are not feeling well, I could just tell them to reschedule it and—"
He cut her off. "No, it’s okay." He said, as he picked up his laptop and leapt to his feet.
"You don’t have to worry about me, Ms. Felix." He muttered as he walked around his desk and started strolling towards the door. "I am fine."
Nodding her head, she trailed behind him until they got to the conference room.
All through the meeting, he didn’t look settled, and he dazed into an empty space multiple times, which was unusual because Alexander was always very focused.
When Elizabeth realized that he was trailing off too many times, she stepped in for him and Carried the meeting.
After the meeting, the walk back to the office was very silent. Elizabeth had a lot of things to say but decided to wait until they got to the office before she started venting.
"Thank you for having my back." Alexander said as they strolled inside the office.
"What is wrong with you?" She outrightly asked, with her eyes fixed on him.
"Don’t worry about me." He said, as he continued walking towards his own chamber.
But Elizabeth wasn’t going to let him go this time around; they had to talk it out.
Increasing her pace, she stood in front of him, blocking his way with her body. "This would have gone badly if I hadn’t—"
He cut her off. "I know, and I appreciate your professionalism, Ms. Felix."
Moving to the right, he tried to walk away, but she wouldn’t allow him. She quickly moved to the right and blocked his way again. Shaking his head lightly, he moved to the left again and tried to continue walking, but she blocked his way again.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, he muttered. "Let me go, please. I need to clear my head."
"Allow me to help you, please. Share whatever is wrong with you." She clamored, her gaze fixed on him. "They said a problem shared is a problem half solved."
He opened his mouth to say something, but his words died on his lips as he stared at her succulent lips.
His mind was troubled, but in a way that he didn’t understand, his body reacted to her, and all he could think about was crashing his lips on hers.
- Writer
