Just Following Orders

24 - Bar

♠𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡♠

"Mr. Reyes," Catalina smiles at me when she walks into my office. "Mr. Jenson will be arriving soon." She informs with a large, sweet smile. She has her hands behind her back, proud of herself.

I knew that already. He literally just called me—She forwarded the damn call to me.

I just nod. "Yeah...thanks." I mutter, looking back at my computer screen. I don't even have anything on the screen, I just don't want to talk to her.

Unfortunately, Catalina invites herself into my office, like she doesn't have her own fucking job to do. She's the secretary.

"Need something else, Catalina?" I sigh, glancing at her. I already dread this conversation and it's barely started.

Catalina shakes her head and sits down on the chair in front of my desk. "No, just bored." She sighs as her eyes scan my desk. She smiles, letting out a little laugh. "It's so organized." She points out, leaning forward to grab my sticky note pile. She starts to flip through the tiny pieces of paper.

I frown at the way she so carelessly bends them. "Yeah, well, I like to be organized.
Anything else is unprofessional." I announce, watching her set my sticky notes back down. I reach over to nudge them so they're straight.

"Strong views." Catalina smiles, leaning back in her seat. She's almost teasing me which I don't really appreciate.

I don't answer her.

I glance at my phone when it buzzes on the surface of my desk. I'm quick to grab it and answer Aaliyah's text.

Aaliyah has been texting me all day. She's mostly complaining about Liam's cheesy pick up lines, but also gushing about how excited she is. I'm still not entirely sure what she's excited about, but it has something to do with a printer.

Catalina hums. "A bit unprofessional to be on your phone, don't you think?" Catalina teases, smiling at me still.

"A bit unprofessional to just walk into my office and sit down for no reason, don't you think?" I counter, not bothering to look up from my phone.

She apologizes for bothering me all day. No matter how many times I tell her she isn't bothering me, she always thinks she is.

"Touché," Catalina giggles. "Who're you talking to?" She nods to my phone. She's too curious.

Will told me Catalina was 'sweet on me'. So, I have two options here. I can tell her I'm just talking to a friend and risk her pushing another conversation. Or, I could tell her something that'll get her to leave me the hell alone.

"My girlfriend." I shamelessly declare, not looking up from my phone. I doubt Aaliyah and Catalina would ever meet, is it so bad if I just tell one little lie?

Catalina perks up. "Girlfriend, huh?" She murmurs, sounding far too interested in the topic. I glance at her, giving a simple nod. "She live out here?" She inquires.

"Two hours away."

Catalina smiles widely. "Oh, yeah? Does that get hard? Being so far apart?" She starts to interrogate me. I don't like it.

I nod. "Yeah. All the time." It's not a lie, it's excruciating being so far apart from her like that.

Why did I accept the job? I knew it was far away from her. Why would I do that to myself? Why would I do that to us?

"Aw," Catalina frowns. "So, you're lonely a lot? That's not fair." She comes to a random conclusion. I don't know where she got that from. I didn't say I was lonely, did I?