Dirty Laundry

To say my date with Zayn was a success would have been the understatement of the year. I practically had him eating out of the palm of my hand with every flip of my hair and bat of my eyes. I probably could have gotten him to take me home with him right then and there, but it didn’t feel right just yet. I needed it to happen naturally, and I was more than certain it would.

Even after my tiff with Liam, I had a new pep in my step as I walked back to the office, a new bit of confidence after my successful date with Zayn. Despite all the hurtful things that Liam said, at least one thing seemed like it was finally going my way.

“How was your date with Zayn?” Sloane piped up from behind her desk, craning her neck to look at me around her computer screen. She had a very Sloane smile on her face, and I smiled back happily.

“It was great,” I beamed, flicking my eyes up to the ceiling as I smiled. “I think I’ll have it closed in two weeks, tops.”

Sloane smiled back, nodding her head, and I made my way back towards my office where I had to make a few phone calls before I was set to meet Zayn again later that night.

The door to my office was already open – surprising because I was almost certain I had closed it before I left. At the very least, I thought I turned the light off, but it was blaring on and running up the power bill.

With a sigh, I pushed my door open the rest of the way and nearly jumped up when I saw Liam sitting in the chair opposite my desk, his elbows resting on his knees while he looked at the floor. When he heard me, he popped his head up and stood from the chair immediately, his hands wrapped clumsily around a bouquet of pink roses.

“Liam,” I breathed out, my voice barely able to form his name. “What are you doing here?”

He looked at me with his eyes blinking quickly, almost like he couldn’t believe I was there. His mouth opened to speak, but I quickly cut him off.

“You know what, never mind.” I sighed, shaking my head. “I think you should just go.”

I ignored him as I stepped around him, moving behind my desk so I could have my large computer screen blocking him from my view.

“Mia, I –” Liam stuttered, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck while the other was fidgeting around the roses. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry and – and to see if you were free tonight.”

My eyes slowly moved from my screen to look back at him, and he seemed genuinely surprised that I was even looking at him. His eyes were hooked on mine as he stared, biting at his bottom lip while he waited for me to answer.

“Why?”

His face jump back and he took a moment to steady himself again before he spoke. “I – um – I just –” He stuttered, while his hand ran over his neck again. “I wanted to see if you wanted to go to dinner.” He paused. “With me.”

I paused as I stared at him, my lip twisted up though I didn’t care enough to make my face look normal again. After everything Liam had said, he was the last person I wanted to go to dinner with, especially considering I was going out with Zayn that night anyway.

“I’m sorry. I can't,” I said, shaking my head as I turned my gaze back to my computer screen and avoided his eyes completely. “I’ve already got plans with Zayn tonight.”

Liam sighed, and I could feel the tension rise in the room. He stood there for a long moment, with me clicking mindlessly on my keyboard, until he let out a deep breath.

“These are for you,” Liam said, setting the roses on my desk when I didn’t reach for them. I thought he would leave then, but he shifted on his heels uncomfortably until he spoke again. “I just want to let you that – um – when you’re done with Zayn, I’ll still be here, okay? I’ll always be here.”

I kept my eyes on my computer screen, though I could feel a lump forming in my throat. There was no way I could look at him now, because I absolutely did not want to see whatever pitiful look he had on his face. It only took a few seconds of me typing out a fake email to Elle before Liam turned around and walked out of my office, finally letting me release a deep breath.

Leaning back in my chair, I looked up at the ceiling before shutting my eyes tightly, letting out several long breaths. I leaned forward again and sat up straight, my eyes falling on the bouquet of flowers Liam had set on my desk. They were pink roses – my favorite – and I slowly reached over to take them in my hands.

The petals were soft and delicate, and they felt soothing as I rubbed my fingers against them. I brought the flowers to my nose and took in a deep breath, letting the comforting scent wash over me when I heard Elle’s voice in the doorway.

I turned to look at her and she was leaning against the doorway, her arms folded coolly across her chest while she smirked at me. “Who are the flowers from?”

I looked from Elle back to the flowers in my hand, and could only think of Liam – of what he had said. As often as he and I worked together, I thought he must have known me well enough to know that I wasn’t a completely cold hearted bitch, but apparently I was wrong.

Suddenly, the petals were stinging against my fingers and I thought that if I held onto them for a moment longer they would burn right through my skin.

With one easy motion, I tossed the flowers into the waste bin beside my desk, while I turned back to Elle and shrugged my shoulders. “Nobody.”