Learning How to Bend

NaNo Day 16 - I HIT 50K WORDS.

He grunted but said nothing more.

"Are you certain you're certain you're well? Because the Thaddeus I knew before Italy would never have allowed me to get away with a comment like that. He would've said something like 'I did not miss you. Missing anyone is a waste of time because it doesn't change anything.'" I tried to mimic his tone of voice as well as I could, but I only succeeded in sending myself into fits of giggles. I never did anything like this; I was never this happy about anything. I was more likely to show frustration than I was pure joy, yet here I was giggling like a middle school girl at a boy band concert.

"People there don't listen as well as you do," he said. "They don't obey as well, either."

At that comment, I actually did manage to pull away from him and poked my finger into his abdomen. Granted, it did not really do anything besides bend my finger back; it probably stung my finger more than it hurt him. The stinging temporarily caused my brain to stall. What was I going to say? I had some witty comeback planned...dang, I post it! I shook my head instead, a small smile on my face. "I don't know if 'obey' is the right word. I do what you ask when you have something worthwhile for me to do. Otherwise I protest or toss it on an intern. Regardless, I do try to listen, even when I disagree."

He did not say anything, but I thought he might have nodded. It was hard to tell with him, as every movement was minute anyway (or so I had been told), but it was even harder being blind. I just had to guess, and I only hoped I did so correctly at least half of the time. I stepped out from in front of him, turned, and stood beside him instead as we walked to Mike and his waiting vehicle. I wanted to ask him questions, of course, but at the same time, I knew better than to do so. Although I doubted Thaddeus would admit it to a soul, I could tell he was tired. I knew he had five hundred million things zipping through that brilliant mind of his. The brain was like a computer server, or at least I thought it was based off what little I understood of technology. Too many things trying to load on the server at one time, and the whole thing would crash. I did not want Thaddeus to crash, not if FI could help it. I sat closer to him than I would have normally as we both sat in the vehicle. Chelise curled up on the floor behind my leg, as I had the other one crossed with my foot dangling above the floorboard.

"Was it a long flight?" I asked.

"Not longer than usual," he said.

"That did not answer my question."

"Nine hours and five minutes."

"Did you time it?" I quipped.

"I did."

"Please tell me you at least slept on the plane. From the sound of your voice, I'd say you're tired." 

"I didn't. Too much to catch up on while I was away. Contracts to sign, projects to approve, budget proposals to criticize."

I clicked with my tongue for the interior of the car to come into view. Somewhat hesitantly, I put my hand on top of his on his leg. He did not move, but I did not expect him to. This was a bizarre thing for me, always being the one to initiate the contact. In the past, that had come from the men in my life who had tried to sweep me off my feet with gentle touches and sweet words. Thaddeus was not like that, and I appreciated it. After a couple moments, I squeezed his hand.

"How many know you were flying in this morning?"

"Company executives. Why?"

"Did they run AI well in your absence?"

"Yes." I could tell he wanted to know where I was going with this line of questioning.

"Then they can do it for a little while longer. You're coming back to my apartment with me. We're going to sit on the couch with popcorn and brownies and listen to some music. For a few hours, you're not Thaddeus Andino, president and CEO of Andino Incorporated. You're just Thaddeus, a man who's returned home from an unexpectedly long business trip. A man who deserves a break."