Chapter 12: Things in Motion

There was a ringing far away. But Dell couldn't figure out what it was. It had been ringing for a while now. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw sunlight streaming into her bedroom. What time was it? She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock, the source of the ringing, on her bedside table.

"Seven o'clock?!" She had a meeting at eight!

Dell jumped out of bed and promptly fell to the floor, her legs not having awoken yet.

"I'm late!" She screamed, as if her legs would cooperate if she told them that.

7:25 and she was stuffing files into her briefcase. She checked her watch. She could make it if she hurried. Why had she slept so late anyway? Was it the coffee? No, coffee had no effect on her. It was-- she suddenly remembered toast and marmalade and Sean staring intently at her. "So, what did make Dell Santos' heart race?" he had asked. And her heart had beat faster at that moment.

She suddenly realized she had stopped moving. "Argh!" Scolding herself for wasting time, she continued gathering the folders strewn all over her living room. But she was interrupted again by her doorbell ringing.

Who could possibly be bothering her at a time like this?! She marched to the door and flung it open. And there in the corridor was a dazed t-shirt-and-jogging-pants-clad Sean, clearly having just rolled out of bed.

"Did last night really happen?" He asked without preamble.

Well, he also kinda looked cute all dazed and out of it. "You talk as if we did something weird last night."

"We did do something weird last night. I bet normal people don't normally do what we did last night... So that means we really did do it last night."

"Shhh! People might get the wrong idea!" She hissed, seeing someone coming through the corridor they were in.

"I think they'll be more freaked out if they knew what we really did."

Dell was about to give a retort but her phone started ringing. She looked impatiently at the screen and saw a number she wasn't familiar with. Turning away from Sean, she answered the call.

"Hello, Dell Santos."

"Dell?" The voice on the other line was dark and low. "Hey, it's Raph Lagan!"

"Raph!" He was the last person she expected to be calling her. "W-what... W-why... Um, what can I do for you?"

"You could pen me into your schedule as your ten o'clock today."

"W-what?" Did Raphael Lagan just ask her for a 10am meeting? Not exactly a date but, did he just reach out to her?!

"The industry knows Kelly Bank as the bank with the best interest rates in the country," Raph continued. "And ElemTech just happens to be looking to get a business loan."

"But didn't you just get investments recently?"

"We're gearing up for something a lot bigger, Dell. And you're just the woman to help us get it done."

Dell turned to look at Sean. But when she looked, he was no longer at her door. Looking out into the corridor, she saw him groggily make his way back to his apartment. Wait, so, everything was alright with them, right? They proceed according to plan, right? She waved an arm at him in an attempt to catch his attention but he didn't even look her way. He must still have been half asleep. He wasn't mad at her or anything, was he?

"So, are we good for 10am?" Raph's voice brings her back to the phone.

"Y-yeah! I'll see you at 10."

"Wonderful! See you later then."

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