A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

Absolutely the last person she was expecting to see at this hour as she thought she wouldn’t be back from work so early. He was dressed in his inevitable dark suit, but there was a slightly more relaxed stance to him. He held a brown paper bag in one hand and he didn’t look in his usual rush-his usually perfectly knotted tie was loosened, the top button of his shirt undone. But his dark eyes were shielded with sunglasses making his closed expression even more unreadable if that were possible.

“You’ve done a lot of work. I can see.” he said.

“It’s getting there.” She nodded. “And if I keep going at full speed, I could still be done with this by early next week.”

He didn’t say a word, he didn’t have to. Just a tiny questioning lift of his eyebrow from behind his dark glasses was enough for Nina.

“I am allowed to take a break,” Nina retorted.

“I didn’t say anything!” he said, but she could see that he was trying really hard not to laugh.

“You might not have said it but I certainly heard it. I am allowed to take a break, Julian. For your information, I’ve been working since morning-apart from pausing for a coffee I haven’t stopped… And when we were on our way here.”

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me.” he said.

“No, I don’t,” Nina agreed.

“How you organize your time is entirely your business. It’s just…” His voice faded for a moment, a hint of a very unusual smile dusting across his face. “I think I must be doing my job wrong. ‘Flat out’ for me is back-to-back meetings, endless phone calls, figures, whereas most of the times I have seen you working lately, you’re either taking an impromptu shower with a water bottle or dozing under a tree.”

She opened her mouth to set him straight, to tell him that it was because she was pregnant, but Julian spoke over her.

“I am not criticizing you, I can see for myself the hours of work you have done. And I wasn’t being sarcastic-I really was thinking back there when I saw you that maybe I am doing it wrong”

“You are.” Nina smiled, the wind taken out of her sails by his niceness. Then she added, “And for the record, I wasn’t dozing.”

“Nina, don’t try and tell me that you weren’t asleep. You didn’t even hear me come over. You were lying on your back with your eyes closed.” he said.

“I was meditating,” Nina said and seeing the disbelieving look on his face she elaborated further. “I did hear you come over, I just…” It was Nina’s voice fading now, wondering how she could explain to him that in her deeply relaxed state she had somehow discounted the information.

“Just what?” he persisted.

“I didn’t hold onto the thought.”

“You’ve lost me.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “You’re really telling me that you weren’t asleep!”

“That’s right-I often meditate when I’m working, that’s where I get my best ideas. You should try it sometime,” she added.

“I have enough trouble getting to sleep at one in the morning, let alone in the middle of the day,” he replied.

“My point exactly,” Nina said triumphantly. “I’ve already told you that I wasn’t asleep. You’re very quick to throw scorn, but sometimes the best way to find the answer to a question is to stop looking for it.”

“Perhaps.” Julian gave a dismissive shrug. “But for now I’ll stick with the usual methods. I actually came to see if you guys wanted some lunch.” Before she could shake her head, before she could remind him that Abby would be back soon to prepare something for them to eat, Julian held out the paper bag he was holding. “I bought some rolls from the deli.”

“The deli?” she repeated.

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know,” Nina admitted, her neck starting to ache from staring up, feeling at a distinct disadvantage as Julian hovered over her. Wiggling over, she patted the blanket for him to sit beside her. “It just does. How come you’re home?”

“I live here,” Julian quipped, but he did sit down beside her, pulling the rolls out of the bag and offering one to her. “I’ve spent the entire morning trying to read an important, complicated document and haven’t got past the second page. My assistant cannot distinguish between urgent and urgent yet.”

“I don’t understand.” Nina said.

“Invariably anyone who wants to speak with me says that it is urgent-but she puts them all through, then I get waylaid. I decided to follow your business methods, they seem to be working for you.”

“What method?” Julian gasped. “I didn’t know I had one!”

“Not answering your phone. Sometimes turning it off and disappearing. You should eat that. Abby is out for now, and knowing her I’m sure it will be a while before she gets back. I thought there was more chance of actually getting some work done if I just came home, but first I must have some lunch. You know It’s nice having you both here” he added.

“It is?” Nina asked.

“Yeah. It gets lonely here sometimes.”

They ate in amiable silence until Julian spoiled it, his words almost causing her to choke on her chicken and avocado roll. “I was thinking about you at work”

“Me?”

“And how much I enjoy talking to you. Being with you” He took off his dark glasses and smiled a lazy smile, utterly comfortable in his own skin as Nina squirmed inside hers, wriggling her bare feet in the moss and staring at her toes.

“And you’re right, it’s nice to take a moment to relax,” he added.

Relaxed certainly wasn’t how Nina would describe herself now. He was so close that if she moved her leg an inch they’d be touching, if his face came a fraction closer she knew they’d be kissing. Desire coursed through her as it had the last time they kissed at her apartment. He hadn’t touched her again since that day, and she was beginning to think he only did that because of all the emotions and feelings from realizing they were having a baby together.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.