Inappropriate Closeness

“Oh, Karina…”

A familiar voice called my name from close by. I turned my head to the side to see Jeremy standing there with his laptop in his arms. Just like me, he must be in need of a break as well.

“Jeremy. Taking a break?” I asked while offering him a smile.

“Yup. You, too?” he asked in return.

“Yeah…” I replied before forcing a smile.

“You look stressed out…” he pointed out as he sat down next to me.

“Do I? I guess it really shows…” I murmured while hating how tired I sounded.

“Richard still giving you troubles?” he made a guess.

It wasn’t Richard, or at least, it wasn’t just Richard. With the other issues weighing on my mind, working with Richard has felt like a walk in the park lately. I might have gotten used to him already, either that or the other bigger problems made all issues related to Richard seem miniscule in comparison.

“A little…it is getting better, though,” I replied while apologizing to Richard softly in my head.