Talk To Me

Chapter five

Present

Oliver reached his office with ease. Emma seemed like a nice girl and he had a minor crush on her but because she was his employee he never intended to sleep with her.

Since she told him to forget that night, he felt freed from that task. His stomach growled when he reached his desk and chair. He neglected his work for the last few days and seeing all the paperwork made him sigh loudly.

His office wasn't substantial. It held enough space for an enormous desk with a computer on it, a chair with wheels, a bookshelf, and a small two-seat couch with a small table in front of it. The furniture remained a dark brown color; the walls stood almost white, with a slight hint of yellow.

Oliver sat in his chair, turning on his computer. The swooshing sound filled the room until a slight knock on the door interrupted the machinery noise.

"Yeah." He looked toward the door.

The door opened, and a woman peeked inside. Her sable ponytail flopped as she moved her head. "I assume you are without breakfast." Emma stood in a doorway, holding a tray. The smell of fresh coffee and ham filled the space.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't have to do that." He tilted his head, eyeing her.

She smiled, "Oh, don't worry." The girl waved her spare hand in a quick motion, placing the tray on his desk. "It's not like I made it." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," he said, bending his head, and placing his palm on his chest.

Oliver lowered his head, looking at the tray. He put a spoon of sugar into his coffee and swirled the drink in the cup. Emma remained still, lingering in front of his desk, watching as he took out a spoon from the container and placed it in his mouth. Her left leg continued jiggling as she bit her lower lip.

She lied to him about that night two weeks ago. Emma felt just slightly buzzed and remembered everything. Not only his hands on her body, but his incoherent talk about his sister, the light, and the forest. Which made her question her boss's sanity.

"Did you want something else?" Oliver asked, placing a spoon on his desk, and looking at the woman.

Emma realized she stood staring at him for a bit too long, and she looked down. "No. Sorry, I'm going to go—to work." She left, closing the door behind her.

Oliver picked up a sandwich, and just when he bit at the sandwich, a woman's voice disturbed him.

"I thought she would never leave," Ann said, coming out from the side of the bookshelf.

"Oh, great. You are back," Oliver said. He finished his speech by biting the food.

"Don't mock me, boy," Ann scolded him. "You don't know how focused I have to be to stay in one place." She pouted.

He raised his eyebrow since that remained additional information for him. No one told him that, but to be honest, he never asked. He continued chewing his sandwich, tuning out Ann's tirade. The thoughts about his sister made him forget that the dead woman stayed in his office.

Was the reason he can't see his sister was because of the lack of focus on Leah's part? She was a daydreamer. Maybe after death, she can't focus enough on Oliver. She would never leave him without saying goodbye. He felt sure of that.

The view of his sister's corpse appeared in his mind. He felt confident she wouldn't appear to him in any other way. He's been preparing himself to see that view again. Oliver wanted to know what really happened, but he knew the sight of his sister won't be the pretty one.