Conrad
I haven’t heard from Maya since her last text to say thank you for the desserts I sent her. I texted back, but she didn’t reply or answer my call after that. I won’t lie; I was tempted to stop by, but I didn’t. I chose to give her a little space. It breaks my heart she sees herself as broken. I have no idea what she has been through, but I wish she wouldn’t call herself such a thing. I worry about her, and it may sound crazy since we barely know one another, but I hate the idea of her having no one. How can one get through life without having no one? Everyone needs someone, even if it is one person. I think a part of me wants to be that for her. I am still a little confused with the entire situation. Yes, I am protective over the people in my life, but I also feel the same urge to protect Maya. I am sure if I told her all of this, she would think I was crazy.
I didn’t bother her all day yesterday. A part of me hoped she would reach out first, but she didn’t. Today, I am going to change it. I am on my way to her work. I have something to drop off to Meredith, my mom was going to, but I insisted I would. I haven’t told my mom about Maya being Mia because I don’t know how she will react since Maya works for our family. There are strict rules against it. It would put Maya’s job at risk, and it is the last thing I want.
I pull up and park my car, heading inside. I was going to bring coffee for Maya but soon realised I did not know what she drank, and it would look suspicious to everyone else if I did. Maya doesn’t need her co-workers talking about her. I make my way inside.
The first thing I spot is Maya at her desk, engrossed in her work. I take a deep breath, nervous suddenly, before I stroll over to her desk. She doesn’t even notice I am there.
“Maya,” I say softly.
I hear her sigh loudly before she glances up at me, “Hi.’ She whispers.
She looks cute with her glasses on.
“How are you?”
“Okay. You? Why are you here?” she asks.
“I have been better. I have something to drop off to Meredith.”
Maya nods, “She is in her office. You can head through.”
Maya focuses back on her screen, not speaking another word to me. Is she just going to ignore me now?
“Maya,” I say firmly.
“Sorry, Sir, but I have a lot of work to do.” She replies, her eyes still glued to the screen.
I groan in frustration and disappear to Meredith’s office. She is on a call, which is great for me. I wave, set what I brought with me down on her desk and leave. I would prefer not to talk to her at all.
I stand still for a moment. I couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted to leave or try to talk to Maya again. After taking a minute, I decided to leave because her work wasn’t the place for us to be discussing about what had been going on.
I climb back into my car, feeling almost defeated. I don’t plan on giving up, but I wish she would give me a chance. I understand her fear of our worlds being so different, but if she took the time to spend time with me, she would realise none of those matters. Even if she will give me a little time, I could change her mind. We can even just be friends if she wants. Yes, I would like us to be more at some point with what I am feeling, but I wouldn’t put that pressure on her. And who knows, maybe in the end she wouldn’t want us to be more, but at least she would have a friend.
I can’t remember the last time a woman has ever driven me crazy like this. I need to try to push everything to the back of my mind and concentrate on work today. I can keep getting distracted because that is when mistakes are made. I don’t make mistakes.
****
I am sitting outside of Maya’s work and have been for the last half an hour, but there is no sign of her. She should be finished by now. I can only assume Meredith has kept her back. I have seen other people leave, but not Maya. If she doesn’t come out soon, I will be going on because Meredith shouldn’t be making her work late. I know she hasn’t left early because that wouldn’t be allowed. If I find out this is a common thing to happen, people working longer than they should, I may need to have a word with Meredith. Yes, we offer overtime, but only so much a week. If I find out she is breaking these rules, she will have me to deal with.
I tap my fingers on the steering wheel and keep an eye on the door. I notice it is starting to rain. Another ten minutes pass, and I am just about to storm inside when I see Maya finally come out. She looks around, notices the rain and pulls her hood up. Does she not have her car today?
I quickly get out of the car, jumping in front of her.
“Conrad, what the hell? Why are you here again?” she asks, annoyed.
“Because I need you to talk to me. I only want a minute, Maya, please. Can’t we at least be friends?” I ask softly.
“I don’t have time for this, okay? Since I walked here this morning, I need to get home before this rain gets any heavier. Please, move out of my way?” she whimpers.
In that moment, the rain gets heavier and comes pounding down.
“At least let me give you a ride home, please? I don’t want you to end up sick?” I plead.
Maya takes a deep breath, thinking about it for a second and nods. I smile, rest my hand on the small of her back and rush us to my car. I open the passenger’s door to let her climb in first before I run around and get in the other side.
“Thank you.” She whispers.
“You are welcome.” I smile and start the car.
I head to her place since I know where it is.
“You still haven’t told me how you know my address and number. Are you some crazy-ass stalker?”
She is serious when she asks.
I chuckle, “No, I am not some crazy-ass stalker. I got your information from your file since I can access it. Maybe it does sound a little stalkerish, but I promise I didn’t take the details for any bad reasons. I just wanted to reach out to you after what happened.”
“Yes, it does seem a little stalkerish. Why can’t you forget about me?” she sighs.
“Because you need someone, Maya. You are lonely. And even if I tried to forget about you, I don’t think it would be that easy. Maya, please give me a chance. As I said, we can be friends, nothing more if that is what you want, but I beg you, don’t shut me out.” I say gently.
“I am no good for Conrad as a friend or more.” She whimpers.
“Stop! Why do you keep saying these things?”
“Because they are the truth.” She protests.
“Maya, all I ask is we can spend a little time together, nothing more.”
Maya pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs loudly, “Let me think about it, okay?”
“Yes. I can do that. Please don’t make me wait too long.”
She nods and turns away to stare out of the window. It is one step closer than I was ten minutes ago to her letting us get to know each other. Hopefully, she just isn’t saying it to keep me off her back.