Chapter Thirteen

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Turns out my sleep wasn't so blissful after all

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Turns out my sleep wasn't so blissful after all. I'd spent the remaining day tossing and turning in bed and only getting up to have lunch with Mira and dinner by myself later on. So I was as tired as ever. And currently late. Which my punctual ass never was. It was a clusterfuck, really. And I was really, really trying not to lose my shit.

"Morning Aaliya!" Lea, the receptionist, chirped with a bright smile.

"Morning." I smiled back, though I had no doubt that it looked more like a grimace.

I quickly made my way over to my cabin, powering on my computer as I slid into my chair. My phone buzzed as I took a quick peek at the called ID. It was my mother. Offuckingcourse. She always chose the most inopportune time anyways. I declined it, knowing that I'd hear about it later on. I didn't give two fucks right now. I was too harried to be consumed by thoughts of my mother.

I busied myself in replying back to emails and sorting out some paperwork when I heard a knock on my door. Looking up, I spotted Mira standing by my open door with a cup in her hand.

"I brought you some coffee. Thought you might need it."

"Amen, sister." I stretched my hands towards the disposable cup as Mira chuckled.

In my haste to get to work today, I had totally forgotten about my daily dose of caffeine. Shocking, I know.

"How are you doing?" Mira asked after a few seconds as I inhaled the smell of the fresh coffee beans, taking a moment to savor it.

"I should be asking you that question." I muttered as I pushed a couple of spreadsheets aside to give her my complete attention. "All good with Oli?"

"Not really." Her fingers toyed with the edge of my desk as she averted her eyes. "We haven't talked much except for a few texts here and there."

I frowned at the note of sadness in her voice. "How can I help?"

"There's nothing that can be done." Mira shook her head. "But enough about that. I wanted to know how you were feeling. Have you seen him?" She asked conspiratorially, lowering her voice on that last word.

"No. I just got here. And it'll be best if we keep our interactions to a minimum."

Mira only hummed in response, which I decided to ignore in favor of getting some energy back in my body through my cappuccino.

"Got anything interesting in your department?" I asked as I drained the last sip before disposing of the cup in the trash can.

"Not since Neil stepped up as CEO, no. There's been a lull at work for me. Which I'm okay with, obviously. Gives me more time to work on my manuscript."

"Oooh." I sat up straight now. "How's it going? The last I heard, you were having writer's block?"

"Oh it's still there." Mira stood up and came around to my side. "I'm trying to find inspiration but I just can't seem to. And it's fucking eating at me." Her head rolled to the side as she picked up one of my crumpled up notes and began fiddling with it.

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