New Course 7

ERIC'S POV

My vision dimmed as I saw them kissing. Red was no different than Calla, after all. She also left me for someone more famous and wealthier.

"Red, what does this mean?" I asked, stressing my anger under my breath. If only we were at home. I would have yelled at her, or I would have kicked and punched the wall.

"You may think what you like, Eric, it's fine with me," she replied defiantly, a thing that surprised me. I knew her as a submissive girlfriend, and she never talked back at me every time I had a bad mood.

"I saw you kissing Mr. Grey. What else could that mean?" My eyes were already burning with anger as I looked at her fearless gaze. How could she change a lot in just a few hours after she declared our breakup?

"I do not deny it," she replied, giving me a bored look. I couldn't believe she could do this to me. Her actions made me a less significant person. More than anything else, she had admitted her relationship to Mr. Grey--the big catch I had courted lately to invest in my company.

In my pain and anger that she also left me for someone like Mr. Grey, I began accusing her of greed and of being insatiable, despite the plain truth that I had witnessed in my very eyes just a while ago.

"If it is not clear to you, I left because you never loved me, and that is all I supposedly need. I was only your trophy, someone to show off to your friends," she said, slapping the truth into my face once again.

"If it's about Shirley, I was too drunk and horny when that happened. She doesn't mean anything." I was such a fool to say this. I knew that even if it didn't happen, I should have avoided other women at all costs. This wasn't about the meaning of my actions, but the value and respect I should have given to her as my partner. We did all the things that a married couple do--it's only the absence of that legal document that kept us from calling ourselves as husband and wife.

I knew it was already too late to fix what was already broken, but still, it did not stop me from admitting the reason for my coldness and indifference.

"Who is she?" she asked, fighting to speak between her stifled sobs--her eyes glistening with silent tears. For the first time, my heart broke for her.

"Calla Rivera," I replied, watching her eyes popping out of its sockets. Her astounded reaction told me she knew who Calla is.

"Do you know her?" I got curious.

"No. I just can't believe that other than Shirley, there was another significant person in your life." She covered her face with both hands and started a muffled sob again.

"Red, I'm telling you this again. Shirley doesn't mean anything to me." I sighed, realizing how much I hurt her.

While I looked into her eyes, scenes of Shirley and me in that shameful night flashed in my mind.

____

"Sir, I'll be going ahead." I nodded, watching her turn to leave. I did not know why, but as I stared into her retreating back, her poise and body shape reminded me of Calla.

"Calla?"

Shirley stopped in front of the door. She was already holding the doorknob and was about to twist it open.

"Sir?" Shirley turned her head to look at me. Her puzzled look told me she was clarifying if she had heard me correctly.

"Nothing. I just see Calla in you." I let out a weak smile, tantamount to a sad look. I was not drunk to have this clouded senses, but I just realized that most of Shirley's physical features, resembled that of Calla. I regretted the fact that I had just seen her closely--my yearnings for Calla would not have been that bad.

"Who is she, sir?" she asked, leaning her back on the door. I stared into her body and imagined Calla's perfect shape in that same business attire she wore.

"Someone I have been missing so much for so long, but someone I also cursed," I replied without removing my eyes on her.

My statement probably had a sad tone that made her conclude I needed someone to talk to. She walked back to my table and held my gaze for some moments. Dear skies, all I saw in that gaze was Calla's beautiful face.

"Do you wish to talk about it, sir?" Shirley cast me those sympathetic look of hers, and the more I remembered Calla's beautiful and gentle gaze. Those eyes of hers always melted me that every time I drowned myself in her gaze, I always wanted to hold her forever.

"If you don't mind." Damn it, what's in that afternoon that suddenly got me emotional? Why did I miss her all of a sudden and long for her sweetness and her seductive caress?

"I'm here to listen, sir." I was sitting behind my desk when these exchanges happened. Shirley bade goodbye to me because I asked her to do something important. She was Red's best friend, whom I have given the favor to work for me. I did not regret it anyway, because, in such a short time, she had shown her brilliance and her management capabilities, just like how Calla did.

She sat down at the chair across me, waiting for me to tell my story. I stood up from my seat and pulled out a bottle of wine in my minibar. My office was so big that it had a set of couches, a small bar, a kitchen, and a bedroom. I proceeded to the ref and pulled out a pack of ice cubes, then to the cupboards to take out two wine glasses.

"Do you drink?" I asked Shirley as we sat down on the same couch with the wine and glasses in the glass table in front of us. We both settled ourselves at the edges of the seat, facing each other to talk.

"On some occasions, or when I go out with some friends," she answered, and I began to notice her trembling hands. In the corner of my eyes, I watched her throwing intense gazes at me that seemed like she had some hidden feelings for me. Her actions were common to most of the women I knew, anyway. I am one of the city's most famous business figures, after all.

"Do you go out to drink with Red?" I wanted to know if Red did some drinking escapades behind my back.

"No, sir. We only hang out in coffee shops."