Why Are Women So Difficult To Understand?

Why Are Women So Difficult To Understand?
Damien exhaled sharply as he stepped out of a long board meeting. His shoulders ached. His eyes were dry. His entire body was begging for a shower and a few hours of sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good night's rest, he's always thinking, trying to come up with new ideas and lately Tessa has been keeping him up.

He was wondering if it was too early to ask her to be his girlfriend. He wasn't a man to play around, he's had his fun and all she'd be the second person he'll be asking out. From the day he set his eyes on her at the club the night her fiance broke up with her, he knew right there that he wanted more with her.

She wasn't going to believe any word that comes out of his mouth because she thinks he's like his cousin St. Eli. He was different and would prove that to her, if she let him.

Before he could even loosen his tie, Evelyn appeared in front of him like a perfectly dressed shadow.

“Here,” she said, thrusting a parcel toward him. “Someone dropped this off for you. It has your name on it.”

Damien frowned. “Who?”

“No idea,” she said with a shrug. “I wasn't there when it was delivered, I just picked it up from the front desk.” She stretched her hand to hand the parcel to him. “Here.”

He took the parcel, weighing it in his hand. “Thanks.”

Evelyn’s eyes lingered on him in that way she always did like she was sniffing out secrets. “I need to talk to you,” she said. “Now, if you have a moment.”

Damien rubbed the bridge of his nose. The last thing he wanted was to sit down and listen to Evelyn talk non stop about things that made no sense to him. “Fine. Let’s go to my office.”

They walked together down the hallway quietly. The parcel stayed tucked under his arm, but his mind wasn’t on it. It was on the missed calls. The messages. The unease that refused to leave him.

When they entered his office, he finally set the parcel on his desk and turned to Evelyn, as he sat down.

“What’s going on, is there a problem?”

She crossed her arms, she looked different today, like something was bothering her. “I’m… thinking about accepting my father’s offer.”

Damien stiffened, he wasn't expecting that. He wondered if he's finally pissed her off enough for her to want to leave. It hurt him, even when he knew from the start that their arrangement was temporary.

He kept his face neutral. “Going to work for him?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, watching him closely. “It might be time, since I'll be the one controlling the company soon. I want to know how they run things over there.

He swallowed. “If that’s what you want, then you should do it..”

“No objection?” she asked, leaning one hip against his desk.

He shook his head. “This is temporary. You said that yourself and we both know you'll be taking over the Crest company at some point.”

Something flickered in her eyes annoyance? Surprise? disappointment?

“So you’re okay with it?” she pressed.

“Evelyn,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I want you to do whatever makes sense for you. You've been an asset to the Holt Consortium and I'm really impressed.”

She smiled, but it was faint and wounded. “Not even a little reaction,” she whispered to herself.

Damien didn’t respond. He was confused and didn’t have the energy. And truthfully, his mind was somewhere else. With someone else. Does she want him to fall to the ground crying?

Evelyn straightened and brushed invisible dust off her skirt. “I’ll let you know when I make my decision.”

He nodded, already reaching for the parcel again.

She watched him for one more second one long, measuring second and then walked out sharply, heels clicking with irritation she tried to hide.

Why are women so difficult to understand, he wondered to himself.

………..

Back at Tessa’s apartment, Celeste had just left, promising to return later with coloring books. Naya was in her room drawing unicorns. The kitchen smelled like warm vanilla and sugar. Naya has had too much sugar today. She enjoy the doughnuts, especially the ones with the chocolate toppings.

The day felt almost peaceful again.

Almost.

Tessa wiped the counter, her mind circling Julius’s draw, Damien’s texts from last night, Jordan’s panicked voice on the phone, everything tangled together. She was almost tempted to call Julius today, but she changed her mind. She'll be going to the stable with Maya this weekend and if she was lucky, she'll run into him. That way, she doesn't have to call him. Her thoughts were running wild.

But she pushed them aside and looked toward the stairs.

Today was for Naya.

Just Naya.

And for the first time since the hospital, Tessa breathed without her chest hurting.