We walked into the building to commence the press interview. It went on for almost two hours, and I watched Isla answer the questions bravely, even the ones that were meant for me. I admired her courage, intelligence, and the ability to compose herself in the midst of trouble. She had everything it took to be the best CEO Berkscorp had ever seen, I knew I wasn't the proper fit and it was confirmed at that moment. I was bored all through, but staring at her innocent smile made me to realize how beautiful she truly was. Could I be falling in love? No, men like me doesn't develop feelings. We only keep them around to fill the void, that sort of emptiness caused by the long time loneliness we battled with in solitude.
Robin was behind the curtains throughout the meeting, waiting for me to attend to him.
Shortly after the meeting, Isla returned to her office, and I retreated to mine with Robin. I walked into my office, went around the desk, and sat on my chair, then he came in after me to sit facing me. He was silent for a brief moment while I typed some details into my computer. Suddenly, I heard him laugh, prompting me to raise my head.
"Mind if I know why you laughed so hard?" I didn't hesitate to ask.
"Just wondering, that girl..." He replied, with a smirk on his face.
"Isla?" I asked, smiling softly.
"Yeah, she's fire. Isn't she? You've got stuff going on with her?"
"Can't say I don't," I replied promptly.
He laughed. "Yeah, yeah, another toy I guess."
I was hesitant. "Huh, Isla is a lot of things, but trust me, that young woman ain't a toy."
He scoffed. "I don't understand. She is hard to get?"
"Say hard to please."
He smiled.
"Now, let's talk about your job here," I continued.
"Oi, yeah that. Thank you so much man for everything. You should be getting a lot of notifications by now," Robin replied jokingly.
At that moment, my phone buzzed again, for the 48th time that morning. I casually picked it up, then dropped it back on the table.
"I see Samantha is keeping herself busy," I replied.
"Maybe you shouldn't have trusted Samantha with your card. Haha," he joked.
I laughed softly too.
There was a brief silence again, almost like we both had nothing left to say. I returned to plugging the flash drive into my personal laptop to copy the data unto it. Robin was busy playing with the mini statue I had on my desk. I then cleared my throat as if I was about to speak.
"How would you like having your office in here, with me?"
It was like he had been waiting for me to make a statement like that. He instantly looked around the room, with an expression of joy on his face, almost like a thief looking for what to loot.
"It's lit," he tried to conceal his anxiety.
"Robin," I called him, then stared into his eyes. "It's lit, or you will love to share an office with me?"
He chuckled softly, this time, letting out the full expression of his joy. "I would love to, but I mean, this is the CEO's office, what's here for me to do?"
"You'll be reading mails."
There was another session of silence for nearly five seconds. We stared into each other's eyes, having nothing to say.
"Is there even a job like that? That's so ridiculous."
"Not if your friend is the CEO. Welcome to Berkscorp Robin," I replied, standing to my feet.
We spent half the day setting up Robin's cabin in my office. As the night drew closer, I could still see Isla working in her office. I couldn't seem to focus, my gaze was fixed on the glass of her office. Could this be love? No, this must be mere infatuations, and for the records, we were still rivals. But for some reason, even after Robin had left and nearly everyone in Berkscorp, I waited behind. She was known for working late at night, and for some reason I felt like competing with her even though I had nothing to do. It was around nine in the night that her light finally went out. I packed up my things before she could exit the building.
By the time I drove out of the garage, she was already outside, about to enter her car. I parked closely to her, then rolled down the glass. She looked at me with a side eye because I was hindering her from opening her door.
"Do you want a ride?" I offered.
"I have a car," she didn't hesitate to respond.
I smiled. "Isla, I left my pride aside to ask you this. Please don't make me regret it."
She jerked her head like her neck was about to fall off, then she locked her car, giving me a good sign that she might agree even though she hadn't said a thing.
"I don't know what you want with me, but whatever game you think you're playing, I won't fall for it," she replied before walking to the passenger side of my car. I unlocked the door, and she got in. "And make this the last time you will offer me a ride."
"Noted ma'am," I replied jokingly.
We didn't say anything to each other until I arrived outside her place. For nearly a minute after I put the car to a stop beside the sidewalk, she didn't say anything nor did she get out. A bald neighbor of hers was smoking on the balcony, not that I saw him clearly, but I knew the center of his bed was shining because of the reflection of the light. When I saw that Isla wasn't saying anything, I cleared my throat loudly.
"We are here," I said, as if to remind her.
She sighed. "Reminds me of the first day I was in this car. I thought I found it all," I heard her say.
Could she be changing her mind or opinion of me? Who knows? But it does feel good to be with her for once, and not because she was forced or compelled.
"Until life drew a line in the sand for us. A boundary that cannot be crossed," I replied, pressing down on my steer wheel.
"You're a good man, and Mr. Barney is the villain," her voice was solemn, it was nearly a whisper.
"Yeah."
She stepped out of my car. She was about to leave when she turned back.
"You can come up for coffee if you want," she offered.
That was something I had been dying to hear, but I got the invitation at the wrong time. I had somewhere to be, a work to do. So I respectfully declined.
"Thanks Isla. Sorry, but I have another meeting to attend."
"Don't expect me to be kind tomorrow Mr. Barney. Have a good evening," she concluded in a soft tone, before walking away.
And, I just watched her.