"Don't do that to me, Cam." Elena said harshly while wiping her tears roughly. "You're tricking me, aren't you? You're doing all this for yourself, aren't you? What a cunning man."
Cameron's face instantly hardened. The muscles in his face tightened when he heard Elena say that to him. His jaw tightened and showed his stern face.
"What did you say, Elena?"
"I don't think I have to tell you this over and over again, you're not deaf, are you?" Elena said harshly and also sarcastically as usual.
Cameron had even heard Elena say that a million times, but this time it felt different. He felt very annoyed when he heard Elena say that to him.
Cameron walked closer to Elena, the high bookshelves between the two of them capable of a pair of lawyers who were clearly struggling with their emotions right now.
"I don't like it when you say that to me," Cameron said.
"Wow, I was surprised." Elena answered. She stepped back to create distance between herself and Cameron who was getting closer and closer to her.
"You're testing me?" Cameron asked in a sharp tone.
"Oh, shit." Elena hissed as she went through the exact same thing again when Cameron visited her at her town house. "Yes, listen, dear Cameron Jones. I really don't need your sweet words to feel sorry for me," Elena growled.
"I'm not making you feel bad for me, I'm doing this because..."
"Because you really want to be number one in everything, and get rid of me with your cheap dirty ways." Elena interrupted Cameron's unfinished words.
Again, Cameron was used to all the sarcasm that Elena was throwing at him, unfortunately this time Elena's words sounded harsher than Elena probably didn't mean.
Cameron withdrew his hands and folded them across his chest as usual. "You seem a little tense. You want to run away from our deal?"
Elena smiled crookedly. "Not."
"Ah, no?"
Elena raised her chin stubbornly. "NO!"
"Have you always been confident like this? Are you so sure that you can get Johanson to choose you as his main lawyer, and also that you can get Emily to come back to me and kick me out of here?"
"I know very well that the firm we both work for makes decisions based on merit, and so does the Johanson Group. They will definitely choose me," said Elena.
Cameron narrowed the distance between the two of them in one small step. "You always think you're much better than me, don't you?"
With full confidence Elena stood up straight, undaunted by looking straight at Cameron's eyes. "Yes."
Cameron narrowed his eyes. "Don't forget You must get Emily for me."
Elena smiled sarcastically hearing that. "Don't worry, I won't cancel our agreement unilaterally."
"Good."
"Listen. You and your buddies, obviously and Stanton who is also a graduate of the same Ivy League always get bigger chances than me. You're all the same, always looking down on women! Now tell me, Cam, you need Emily and this job too, right? But what? You always lose."
This time Elena was mean, even worse than usual. And it was clear that Elena knew very well what she was saying. She couldn't stop herself.
Elena could see Cameron's eyes flashing with anger. "Oh, can we see quickly what you're going to give them?"
"Very good, let's talk about the Johanson Group. Or would you be more interested if I discussed Emily first? The lover who decided to marry another man than you even though she knew you both had a daughter."
"You're challenging me to secretly share your secret, Elena?" Cameron said in a low voice but full of emphasis in it.
Elena grabbed a thick book that she could easily reach by her side, then threw it roughly in any direction until it hit Cameron's suit.
"Careful, sweetheart. This suit was sewn by a famous designer." Cameron patted his dusty arm.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Cameron. Looks like you'll have to buy a rock suit to wear on an important night, Cam." Elena angrily pushed Cameron aside and rushed to another row of shelves.
Cameron follows Elena. "I've been working so long! I've also given up everything so I can support Brielle and Emily!"
Elena turned around quickly. "So do I! I work really hard alone!"
Cameron was getting closer and closer to Elena again, getting closer and closer so that Elena was again trapped between the bookshelves. "I worked my butt off on this, and you got it all! First minute ticket to get into this firm."
Now Elena felt her face turning red with anger. "Oh, yeah? You know what's on my mind right now, Cam?" Elena said as she stabbed Cameron in the chest with one finger. "I think you are a clumsy bastard, a lover of economic conditions without regard for the feelings of others around you, a bad drinker, and also a man who requires his wife to use your surname!"
Cameron grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her. "Well, at least I'm not a stubborn liar, wearing a button-down shirt that demands that in this world work is the only thing that makes him feel great!"
Cameron pressed Elena against the shelf. His body coincided with Elena's body. Elena's hands were stuck on both sides of her body while Cameron looked down at Elena and Elena bravely returned Cameron's gaze with a fierce look.
Cameron was furious, and so was she.
Nothing moved between the two of them, and suddenly Elena thought that Cameron was going to kiss her. Surprisingly, it looks like Elena will let Cameron do that to her.
Cameron, read Elena's facial expressions quickly and Elena could see Cameron's eyes flashing—but this time without anger in them—suddenly again Elena felt Cameron's arm grab her neck and Cameron's head bent toward her.
Elena closed her eyes, opened her mouth and—
"Excuse me."
The shock of the voice hit Elena. Elena blinked as if she had just come out of a blur. She and Cameron looked at each other at the same time.
At the end of the shelf, they both saw Adam waving with a smile, while both she and Cameron froze while imagining the expressions of passion they had shown each other earlier.