Chapter 20: Return to the Office

AVA

The next few days passed by as if they were a movie I was watching. I found myself detached, on the outside looking in.

My parents indeed flew in the next day, and they brought Maisy, which I appreciated much more than I let on.

At first, she was slightly offended that I hadn’t told her what happened, but as we lay in bed one night and I finally told her the whole story—all of it—she was the one comforting me, the way we’d done for each other since we’d met.

My parents and Maisy helped me around the house, and as my wounds healed more and more and my therapies—both physical and mental—progressed, I found myself increasingly ready to go back to work.

The timing couldn’t have been better, really. New Year’s had fallen in my time off, which meant lots of colleagues had been out of office anyway, and the workload wasn’t as heavy, since most clients had had time off too.

I sent Cyrus an email, notifying him that I’d be returning to the office that day. He didn’t reply.

I looked at myself in the mirror. When clothed, the attack had left no visible traces on me.

The wound on my arm had healed nicely. A thin pink scar was the only evidence that something had happened, and this time of year it would be covered by sleeves anyway.

The wound on my thigh was also getting less and less visible, but since it was much larger and deeper, it was taking a little longer to heal completely.

It was also right where the hems of my skirts hit my thigh, so depending on the position I was in, you might have been able to see it.

My mind flashed back to the time at the Christmas party when Cyrus had seen a little more of me than I’d anticipated.

I opted to wear a cute pair of dress pants, so as not to have to deal with the possible flashing of my scar.

I drove to the office and hesitatingly made my way up to the upper deck of the parking garage.

When I passed the spot where the attack had taken place, I felt a tightness in my chest, but I pushed past it, knowing that avoiding that place would only make it harder to return in the future.

When I got out of my car, I saw an unexpected little army of men waiting for me. Miles, Marcus, Dominic, and Cyrus were all standing just a few feet from where I parked my car.

Dominic approached me first, putting his strong, heavy arm around my shoulders, making me tear up a little. I looked up at him, and he gave me a little wink.

“Good to have you back,” he said.

It was strange. Out of all four men, I knew him the least, but it felt like I’d known him forever.

Marcus and Miles both sent me encouraging looks as I passed by, and I thanked them both with my hand over my heart.

Then I reached Cyrus. I stood in front of him, unsure what to do. He and Dominic exchanged a look, and Dominic let go of my shoulders and stepped back, taking my confidence with him.

Cyrus towered over me, and we just stood there for a second.

“Ava,” he finally said.

“Mr. Brentstone.”

“Welcome back. Let me know if you need to take a break. Any time at all. I know this is probably a lot for you to take in.”

“I mostly just want to pick up where I left off and try to forget about the whole thing.”

I was talking about more than just the attack.

Cyrus gestured toward the elevators. “After you.”

My entire entourage followed me inside, though only Cyrus and I boarded the elevator. Everyone else had other regions of the building to go to.

We rode up in silence. When the doors finally opened on the twelfth floor, I saw in my peripheral vision Cyrus turn toward me.

I kept looking straight ahead, however, and got off the elevator as fast as my healing leg would carry me.

When I got to my office, I was touched to find that it had been decorated. Ella, August, and Tobias were all waiting for me inside.

“Welcome back!” Ella shouted and wrapped me in a warm embrace.

They’d all texted me many times in the first few days after the attack, but I’d told them I needed some space to process the events by myself.

It was a half-truth. I’d mainly been trying to avoid dealing with my confusion about the Cyrus-Tobias situation. Looking him in the eye now confirmed what I had thought before.

I wanted to like Tobias ~so badly~. Hell, I ~did~ like him. I might have been able to really give it a shot, had it not been for the epitome of sex appeal that walked around the office as well.

I just knew it wouldn’t be fair to date Tobias if I wasn’t all-in.

I hugged August and Tobias, and the latter kissed me gently on my forehead during the embrace. August shot me a look. “What?” I mouthed, and he quickly averted his eyes.

“We’re so glad you’re back!” Ella said, bouncing around. “It’s been so quiet and boring while you were gone. Please never quit!”

I smiled at her. “I missed you guys too. And the office, even. I’m excited to get back to work.”

Ella told me about the new projects, and August and Tobias just hung out in my office for a while. Then Tobias’s phone buzzed five times in a row.

August leered over his shoulder. “Wow, who needs you that badly?”

Tobias waved it off. “Just my mom.”

August looked at me and held my gaze as he spoke again. “I thought your mom’s name was Tabitha? Looks like it says Deborah on your phone.”

I stopped talking to Ella and started listening to August, finally picking up on what he was trying to tell me.

Tobias didn’t even flinch. “Yeah, Deborah’s her middle name. It’s a running joke in our family. We all call her by her middle name.”

“Interesting,” August said. “I thought the girl you were seeing a while ago was also named Deborah. When did things end with her, by the way?”

Tobias’s face finally seemed to contort a little. “What are you getting at, man?”

My eyes darted from August to Tobias and back again. “Are you seeing someone?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. That would actually be pretty convenient.

Tobias looked at me cagily.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I was gone for a while. I get it. Life didn’t stop when I was out.”

I was only out for two weeks. But whatever, I guess.

Tobias opened his mouth to speak, but August cut him short.

“Yeah, I mean, that would be the case if you had stopped seeing her while dating Ava. Did you though?”

My eyes widened in surprise. ~Damn. Dick move, Tobias.~ I might have felt a little hurt if I wasn’t so relieved. Tobias’s eyes shot daggers at August, who didn’t seem affected at all.

Ella, who had been sitting on my desk watching the whole thing unfold, turned to me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. We literally went out two times, in two days. Let’s get to work.”

Tobias’s mouth opened and closed a few times, clearly trying to figure out what to say. He ended up not saying anything, though, and left my office promptly.

I turned to August. “Thanks, I suppose. Looks like I dodged a bullet.”

August nodded. “I would have told you before, but I wasn’t completely sure. I didn’t want to start stuff for no reason.”

I bit my lip. “Well, I’m glad things didn’t get a chance to take off.”

I started working, and halfway through, Tobias came by. “I feel like I need to explain myself,” he said.

“Really, don’t worry about it. Once again, it was just two dates, back to back. We never talked about dating other people.”

“Yeah, but I was just going to say, if things would’ve taken off, I would obviously have broken up with her. I still feel like you and I could work.”

I tilted my head to the side, narrowing my eyes. “Broken up?”

Tobias’s eyes flicked around the room. “I mean, things were never super serious between me and her. I was thinking about maybe ending things anyway.”

I looked at him, perplexed, for a few seconds and then focused my attention back on my painting. “Yeah, you keep digging that hole, Tobe. Probably best if you stop talking now.”

Tobias shifted on his feet nervously. “I like you way more than I like her, though.”

“All right, I’m going to stop you right there. Take a walk, Tobias.”

Tobias sighed and left me alone. I rolled my eyes at Ella, who had been watching through the wall.

The offices were pretty much completely soundproof, so she couldn’t have heard, but I’m sure she caught the gist of it.

My computer chimed, notifying me of a new message. It was Tobias.

Tobias

That came out all wrong. I’m sorry for being a dick. I get it if you don’t want to have anything to do with me anymore, but I’d love to try and be friends if you’ll still have me.

Ava

Sounds good to me.