I rest my hands on my lap as I stare outside the window. Currently, Nayel, Winston, Eddie (our finance manager) and I were on our way to having a meeting with some potential clients. It's actually another law firm that is going under business so they wanted to possibly merge with Jefferson Legal but that wouldn't be beneficial for us but we could buy them out and have them under us. Clark & Co is a Californian-based law firm that opened up a branch in New York a year ago moreover it's not doing so well. Of course with a few budget cuts, it could be potentially saved so we were just going over to meet with the CEO and see if it would be an advantage to us at the end of the day or not.
Nayel was driving the car, Eddie was in front. Winston and I were in the back.
"I went to that Greek restaurant in SoHo that you recommended last night," Winston says and I turn to look at him.
"Did you like it?" I smile at him.
Winston nods, "Yeah the food was marvelous." He flashes me a broad smile.
"On the same street, there's this cute ice cream parlor. They have the greatest vanilla and chocolate ice cream ever. Like seriously, I've never had anything like it before. Not to mention, it's so cheap. I love going there. It's called Love Land and even the aesthetic of that place is to die for, just adorable" I smile just remembering how much I love that place.
I notice Nayel look at us through the review mirror but I don't make eye contact.
"I will make sure to check it out, that street is a 5-minute walk from my place so I'm there all the time" Winston adds.
"I'm jealous," I say and Winston chuckles.
"What did you get up to this weekend?" Winston plays with the buttons on his sleeves.
"Oh, I went to Charlotte straight from work on Friday so spent some time with my family" I shrug.
"That's nice, how's your dad doing now?"
"He's doing really good, thank you for asking" I beam at Winston.
....
"Well, we'll keep in touch Arnold," Nayel says shaking his head.
"It was a pleasure meeting you" Arnold flashes a toothy grin at Nayel who simply nods. It's honestly so remarkable how he manages to impress clients with his cold exterior. I guess he's playing hard to get and everyone enjoys that right? Who doesn't love a few mixed signals?
"Adam can show you some of our recent reports," Arnold says to Eddie who nods and steps outside the conference room.
Nayel, Winston, and I just wait inside the conference room while Eddie goes through the numbers and whatnot.
"Maria Reynolds?" I hear an all too familiar voice say.
I turn around to see my ex-boyfriend Barry walking inside the conference room. He was wearing a navy blue suit, his blonde hair was longer than before, tied up in a man bun and his eyes were as blue as I remember them. Bluer than the ocean. His eyes sparkle as they meet mine and a huge grin appear on his face as he sees me.
"It is you!" He exclaims.
"Barry, oh my gosh!" I squeal as I walk to him immediately embracing him in a hug. Barry locks his arms around my waist and picks me up making me giggle before putting me down.
"What are you doing here?" Barry asks as he places a soft kiss on my cheek.
"Just here for a meeting with the CEO, what are you doing here?" I ask, "When did you get back to New York?"
Barry simpers brightly, "Oh I got here a few days ago for a case, I tried to get in touch but I think you changed your number."
"I did, oops," I say and Barry chuckles, "So you work here now?" I ask.
"Yeah in their San Fran sister branch" Barry shrugs.
"Did you get more gorgeous since the last time I saw you?" Barry smirks.
I slap him on his arm, "Stop it" I shake my head. Barry's gaze falls behind me and suddenly I remember I'm here with Nayel and Winston.
I grab Barry's wrist and we move back towards the men, "Barry this is my boss Mr. Nayel Jefferson" Bary shakes Nayel's hand, "And this is my colleague Mr. Winston Scott" He then shakes Winston's hand.
"Nice meeting you," Winston says being the nice guy he is while Nayel was scowling.
"This is Barry Robinson, he's my-" Barry cuts me off mid-sentence.
"I'm the greatest love of her life" Barry smirks and I roll my eyes.
"He's my ex-boyfriend," I say and Winston nods and smiles while Nayel keeps on glaring at us.
"Get a drink with me tonight," Barry says looking over at me.
"It's a Monday night Barry, maybe on the weekend" I smile.
"I'm heading back to Cali tomorrow afternoon, C'mon M. What are you gonna break my heart all over again?" Barry pouts, grabbing my wrist.
I roll my eyes letting out a sigh, "Ugh fine"
Barry beams, "You could never say no to me could you?" he smirks.
I scoff playfully, "Shut up, don't make me change my mind"
Barry laughs, "Give me your new number"
....
We were heading back to the office. Nayel declared that he did not feel like driving anymore so Winston offered. Eddie was sitting up in the front while Nayel and I were in the back.
Nayel had a glower plastered on his face, which I've come to learn is his resting face but it's still terrifying.
"Barry seemed really nice," Winston says breaking the silence in the car, looking at me through the review mirror.
I nod, "He is, he's the life of the party" I shake my head and smile.
"How long did you guys date for?" Winston asks.
"About 3 years" I state flatly.
I turn my head to Nayel, "You probably remember him?" I ask, "When I first started working at Jefferson he used to be around a lot. Even came to a few office parties"
Nayel looks up at me with bulging eyes and grinds his teeth, "You're an employee, why would I remember your past flings? I don't have the time to keep up with my employees' personal lives Maria" He spats rudely and turns his head to stare outside the window.
Not going to lie, his words stung. They shouldn't bother me but he had been so nice to me for the past two months and now suddenly he's acting like a dick again. Winston flashes me apologetic eyes through the review mirror and a comforting smile kind of saying, "He's an asshole, I'm sorry but we knew this already" I simply smile and then turn away. For some reason, I feel so humiliated right now but more than that, I feel pissed off. I guess I was just a dumb idiot who thought we were actually becoming friends or something. Why must I always try to see the good in people? Guess people really never change. Why was I so bothered by his attitude? Why do I fucking care so much? He's just my insufferable boss.