Chapter 23. A sincere apology
Lilly Bradley
I could barely keep it together as I walked to my car, a knot forming in my stomach from Jackson's comment. It was as if he truly hated seeing me. "Hey, I just came to fulfill Máxima's request." How was I supposed to know it was his house?
"Wait," I heard his voice behind me. I was so upset I couldn't get the key into the door. "I'm telling you to wait." I turned to him.
"What do you want?" My tone came out harsher than I intended. He stopped, holding something in his hand. Then I saw it was a piece of cake. "You shouldn't have bothered."
"I'm not the one sending it to you." I raised an eyebrow.
"I meant your mother. She shouldn't have bothered." He pressed his lips together tightly, then extended the cake towards me for me to take. "Thanks." I took it with one hand and tried to open the door with the other. He took the cake back and clenched his jaw.
"Open the door first. You can't do it while holding the cake."
"I know, I just wanted to..." I stopped myself. Why give him an explanation that would go in one ear and out the other? "Forget it."
"I'd be happy to, believe me." I opened the door and finally snatched the cake from him, placing it on the passenger seat. I tossed the folder to the back, and the photos spilled out, but I didn't care. I just wanted to leave. "Wait." I stopped before getting in, not looking at him. If I did, I might say a few things and get fired. I couldn't afford to lose my job. "Can you at least look at me when I'm talking to you?" I turned my head and gave him a look of contained fury.
"What does Mr. Johnson want with a simple employee who just came to do a favor?" I asked as sarcastically as possible. He cleared his throat.
"I want to apologize for that comment. It was unnecessary. So, 'I'm sorry.'"
"But it's what you really think. Why would you apologize?" He frowned, then thought for a moment before speaking.
"Yes, you're just an employee who came to do a favor for Máxima."
"There it is, that tone you used is very different from how you said it in front of your whole family." He pressed his lips together.
"I know, I think I had too much to drink. Again, 'I'm sorry'..." He looked down at his feet.
"Look at me when we're talking." He quickly raised his eyes to meet mine. "So you're here to apologize?" He nodded. "But... which of the two 'I'm sorry's' you said is sincere?" He let out an irritated huff and looked away. "You know what? I don't accept it. Good night." I made a move to get into the car, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist firmly, almost making me stumble into him. I gasped as my hand landed on his chest. I looked up at him, and he looked down at me. We were too close. His body felt too warm, to be honest. My hand felt his heart beating frantically. Why was his heart beating so fast?
"I sincerely apologize for my lack of manners," he whispered. I felt his wine-scented breath on my face. I swallowed with difficulty. I had to step back; otherwise, I'd feel the tension between us. Get away, Lilly! I cleared my throat and stepped back, freeing myself from his grip.
"Fine, apology accepted. Good night, Mr. Jackson." I cleared my throat again and looked at him one last time before getting into the car. He stood by the car, watching me in silence. I started the engine as best I could and backed out. The gate opened. My heart was beating as fast as his, if not faster.
"Good night, miss," the security guard said as he bid me farewell, and I quickly replied. All I wanted was to leave and get away.
After driving far enough, I pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and started pacing back and forth. I looked at my trembling hands.
"What was that, Lilly? Why did you react like that?" I bombarded myself with questions. "Why, Lilly? Why do you act like a foolish schoolgirl with your boss?" I ran a hand through my hair and tried to calm down, but my mind was obsessed with replaying the scene of the stumble. Leah's words, "fate is mysterious," stood out in all of this. "Fate, my foot." I got back into the car and drove the long distance home. During the drive, I imagined someone following me, but the most alarming thing was that it wasn't true. My mind was playing tricks on me, and I couldn't let it.
I entered my room and collapsed face down. I looked at the clock on the side table; it was past eleven at night. My phone chimed with a message, and I hesitated to get up, but it could be important. So I had to get out of bed, searched my coat for the phone, and seeing the screen, it was an unknown number. When I opened it, I was surprised:
"The last apology was the sincere one... Good night, Lilly. Sincerely, Jackson Johnson."