8

As I make my way to my desk this evening with a sigh of relief, I can't help but notice that the office is completely empty except for me and a few other people. On a night like tonight, I really should be going out and having fun with my friends, but instead, I find myself working late at the office. I should be going out and having fun with my friends. It's high time that I got out of the house and spent some quality time with my pals.

I come to a stop in the middle of my stride and frown in confusion as I look in the direction of Colton's office and see that the lights are on. Given that I am aware that he does not have anything planned for tonight, I am curious as to what, if anything, he might be doing here on account of the fact that he does not have any other obligations tonight.

When I walk in, Colton glances up at me in surprise, and a quick frown forms on his otherwise handsome face as he analyzes the clothing I am wearing as I enter the room. As I look down at myself, taking stock of the t-shirt and jeans that I am currently wearing, I am momentarily rendered speechless by the embarrassment that I am experiencing. I can count the number of times I've been around him while dressed casually on the tip of one finger. I've been around him a lot. When it comes to preserving our respective professional reputations, neither he nor I will ever give an inch.

When we first started working together, he provided me with a warning that I will never forget, even after all this time has passed. I have taken his advice to heart and have not entered his office while wearing anything that I would not feel confident wearing to a board meeting. He gave me this piece of advice many years ago, and I have followed it up until the present day.

"Elise," he says, retaining the emotionless tone that he has maintained the entire time he has been speaking. He still calls me by my full name, despite the fact that we have been working together for a number of years at this point. He does not refer to me as Vicky, even though everyone else does. From the very first moment, he has made it very plain that he does not like me, and that he wishes to maintain a comfortable gap between us. In spite of his never-ending line of questioning, I have no idea why she would make such a decision any more so than he does. I have a sneaking suspicion that at least some of his mistrust stems from the fact that his grandmother was the one who hired me. I say this because I have a suspicion that at least some of his mistrust stems from the fact that his grandmother was the one who hired me.

"Colton." I have to force a smile on my face, and it is with some level of apprehension that I approach you. The time when I felt uncomfortable around him most recently was not very recently, but I do now. When was the last time? I can't remember. Because I do not have a good reason to be at the office tonight, I am worried that he will view my presence there as odd and suspicious. Despite the fact that he has a history of mistrusting me, I have never done anything to give him a cause to distrust me. However, the fact that I am in the office on a Saturday night when he knows better than anyone else that there is nothing for me to work on is a red flag. I must confess that I find it odd even after thinking about it.

After a while, he eventually asks, "What are you doing here?" after seeing your presence.

I divert my eyes while I deliberate how to react, and in the end I decide to tell just a portion of the truth. Caution is very necessary if dealing with Colton. Over the course of a number of years, he has searched for any excuse to fire me, and at this time, I am not in a position where I can afford to take that risk. His grandma has been a shield for me from his more nasty efforts, but I am well aware that my good luck will run out at some time in the not too distant future. When it does happen, my family will be the one that is going to be the one that is going to suffer the most from it. "I just… I wasn't having the nicest evening, and I wasn't sure where I should go next since I couldn't decide where to go. I didn't give it much consideration before heading to the workplace, so I headed there right away. "

I was really hoping that Colton would feel sorry for me, but all he does is simply shake his head and nod his head. He responds in a hushed voice by saying, "Yeah, me too." "Me too." I expected that he would have more to say or that he would continue to question me, but instead, he has kept his quiet and returned his focus to the display on his computer. I was hoping that he would continue to question me or that he would have more to say.

One of the very few things about him that I like, outside the fact that he has a repulsively appealing appearance, is that he is loyal to his friends and family. Colton Williams does not interfere in any way with the private matters I attend to. Eight years ago, when we first began working together, the boundaries between us were just as solidly entrenched as they are now. However, he respects me, which is, in the end, the only thing that really counts, and I have no doubt that he still feels the same way about me as he did back then.