Anxious to apologize to him (part two)

Right there standing with his arms half extended as if trying to catch her from an impossible length between them, Valentine stood ten feet away with a twisted expression on his usually smooth face.

She wished he didn't have to see her embarrassing herself over and over again, and in a desperate maneuver to keep herself from crying right then and there, she decided that he should be the one ashamed for having his secretary lie to her. 'He's obviously alone, they could've called me' she thought to herself.

*Ding!*

The elevator door opened right then, and Summer didn't have the heart to turn around and see the secretary's face as she witnessed her fall from grace in that pathetic state that she was in on that floor. Then she quickly decided that anyone who could help her on her two feet other than her CEO right now was a welcomed addition to their party.

"Oh, for the love of everything holy, Summer!" Andrew muttered as he stomped his way to her and held her by the arm with one hand and then held her by the waist with the other. He brought her up to her feet slowly.

Way too slowly.

"Thanks," she tried to get her arm back midway but he didn't give it to her.

"Try to stand upright first, you might've just made your injury ten times worse…" A vein on his forehead popped up and he could feel her flinching as he continued to have a hold on her, "What brought you here in the first place!" He had no idea what possessed her into coming to work today when she could telework while taking care of her injury, and he deemed her demeanor unprofessional.

Summer who was dusting the back of her black dress with the only hand she had available while avoiding eye contact with Andrew at all costs totally misunderstood his question. She raised her hand up and placed it against her chest, "I bent down because I dropped something,"

"Are you talking about this?" A deep velvety voice asked in a low tone.

She peeked up from beneath long eyelashes at the man she had been trying to apologize to all day long, he already had her shawl extended forward to her.

She took it with a nod, "…Yes, thank you, sir,"

"…No, problem," he said a second later than he should have and did it in a cold manner that she couldn't explain.

Valentine looked at Andrew, "Shall we?"

"Of course, sir," Andrew nodded at Valentine, then turned his head to look at Summer once more, "My meeting with Mr. Hosek shouldn't take longer than an hour, I'll give you a ride home,"

"Thank you, I can just grab a tax-"

"Don't mention it, it's a favor for the entire marketing department," he looked at Valentine once more, "After you, sir,"

Both men took long strides back to Valentine's office leaving Summer gawking after them.

"Did I happen to accept his offer?" Summer questioned her own communication abilities. Wondering what part of her sentence was perceived as approval by the man who had a hobby of deciding things on his own.

She suddenly remembered the taste of that raw thing she swallowed without chewing and suppressed a groan.

The worst part of it all was that the conversation happened while there was a witness. And if she blew Andrew off and took a taxi instead, she worried that it will be turned into a big joke that went viral around the company, it would be one that she couldn't even fight against. 'He'll never drop it,' she sighed as she wrapped the shawl around her neck and chest and tied it firmly this time with a sense of utter defeat engulfing her.

***

"Ugh," Summer groaned with a closed mouth.

She had just signed the papers that stated her acceptance of yet another less-than-desirable offer that came her way through a courier service in the shape of yet another flower arrangement.

Zack ended up sending her red roses to her office, and she was at a loss over what she found most concerning: The fact that he sent her this heavy thing seeing how her leg was in a cast this morning, the fact that he knew exactly where she worked and was bold enough to send her something there, or the card that was in bold letters big enough for anyone remotely close to her to read.

Only by the sound of her approaching footsteps, Summer could tell that Carol was almost as flustered as she was.

She sat down next to Summer and snatched the card out of the arrangement as if it was addressed to her then read it out loud. "Sorry about this morning, I hope we can go out on that date soon. I already know everything and I'm okay with it all, please, give it some consideration for both of our sakes, Zackery..."

Carol's dramatic tone would've been funny at any other moment.

"Oh, Summer… You know what this means, don't you?"

Summer wished she didn't, but she did.

"I'm rooting for Andy, but under the circumstances and because I'm a real friend of yours, I think it would be dangerous for you not to give this guy a chance…" her eyebrows came together, "Who is he again?"

Summer was about to squeeze her eyeballs enough to shove them a bit further down her skull to ease the headache, but then she remembered her eye makeup and the fact that everyone was staring. 'It would be best not to have panda eyes at the moment,' she thought, "He's my neighbor from hell…".

"Details?"

She bent down and placed her head on her desk then closed her eyes, "Five years younger, studying to become a doctor, incredibly insisting nature… I guess he's easy on the eyes too…" When she opened up her eyes, Carol was clearly struggling to keep a straight face.

"Welp, he's in for some competition, I tell you," Carol's eyes shone brightly.

Summer suppressed a snort, "Some?"

"Ahem,"

Summer and Carol's heads snapped back when they heard a man clearing his throat.

"That will get my car dirty," Andy pointed with his chin to the extremely clean roses that came with their own vase, "They're staying on your desk," he declared.