Coffee Spill
Alex woke up at 5 am in sweats. Once again he had this nightmare. It always felt real and so stressful but overall it was incomprehensible.
It always started with him standing in the dark room. He couldn't make out where it was as it was all a blur. Then he would hear a voice. At first faint, then it would get louder and louder. Someone was shouting but he couldn't understand what they were trying to say. It was an incoherent blabber. The ground would start vibrating before he would hear the loudest blast followed by the ringing in his ears. This is where it ended, with him waking up sweating and gasping for air.
Without much hope of getting back to sleep, Alex took a shower, dressed up in his suit, and walked out of the apartment.
At 7 am he was already going up in the lift going with a cup of coffee in his hand.
As he was unlocking the door of his office he heard some rustling in the open space.
Without much thought, he peeked through the door and noticed Rosa working at her desk.
She noticed him straight away and looked at him curiously with her big blue eyes of indescribable shade. They pierced right through him as if she could read his mind. She pursed her lips for a split second before forcing a smile.
"It's Saturday morning, what are you doing here?" Alexander asked watching Rosa studiously, his stomach twisting again.
"What does it look like?" She asked moving to the edge of her desk to have a better view of him.
"Don't you have anything better to do at 7 am on Saturday?"
"Don't you?" Rosa looked back at a screen, typing rapidly.
"Fair play." Alexander smiled at her subconsciously. "How is it going?" He asked automatically, never really asking that question to his other colleagues.
Rosa looked up in utter surprise. "How's the case?" Alex rephrased his question.
"It's going okay, thanks," Rosa replied in a quieter voice.
"I don't think I've introduced myself yet." Alex realised.
"No, you haven't. Do you prefer Alex or Alexander?" Rosa tilted her head with curiosity, studying his face carefully. He still couldn't quite work out the emotions on her face. It was rather perplexing.
"Alex." He answered her. "And you're Rosa?"
"Indeed."
"Did they fill you in?"
"No. I just have a good ear."
"I see." Alex nodded approvingly. "If you need anything, you probably know where to find me." He said quickly, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He left quickly while Rosa resumed her typing.
He replayed this short encounter in his head several times throughout the day, questioning his own stupidity. Why on Earth would he comment on Rosa working early in the morning? He did the same thing almost every day. And most importantly, it was none of his business what she did.
At 8 pm, he was walking across the offices and spotted Rosa still working and reading the file. The feeling around her persisted. The uneasiness mixed with comfort. It was contradictory and confusing.
The dim light from the desk lamp shone on her face in a very particular way, accentuating her rather soft features.
"Still here?" Alex asked surprised.
"I could ask the same." She smiled as she looked up, her eyes twinkling. She had dark circles under her eyes.
"Isn't there a party tonight, or something?" Alex asked curiously, still telling himself off silently, realising how stupid he must've sounded after every word left his mouth.
"Maybe. I don't know." She shrugged her arms.
"I need to finish this." She pointed at a computer.
"It looks like it's not going that great."
"It's just tedious, that's all." She rubbed her temples.
"Let me have a look." Alexander came up to her, put his coffee down on the edge of the desk and leaned over her to have a look at the screen.
"Do you want a seat?" Rosa offered.
"No, it's alright." He smiled down at her. He didn't realise that she offered it not out of kindness but rather because she felt uncomfortable with him leaning over her. He didn't notice how she clenched her hands as his cologne filled her nostrils. "I'd split this section into two sub-sections so it reads easier, but otherwise it looks good. Very good even." Alexander was surprised to read Rosa's report. Her style of writing was very mature. Her report definitely didn't read as one of a new recruit. It was detailed and refined. He didn't have much more to criticise, and even that didn't seem like a real criticism.
"Thanks." Rosa blushed as Alex moved away. He noticed that. She looked adorable with her reddened cheeks, like a shy teenager.
"It's alright. Seems like a crappy case." Alex furrowed his brows. He didn't expect Bilodeau to start Rosa on something so complicated.
"I'm sure worse is yet to come," Rosa commented facing Alex with a smile.
"Definitely." Alexander picked up his coffee, gave her a nod as a goodbye and left her alone in the office.
Sundays were the quietest day in the office. On Sunday, most avoided coming in unless absolutely crucial, and those that did would appear around noon after the few drinks a night before, and they'd be out by 5 pm.
Alex liked this day the most because no one ever really bothered him. He would go to the gym first thing, and then slowly make his way to his office at about 8 am.
"For fuck's sake!" The voice came from his left as he walked out of the elevator. He rushed towards the kitchen, expecting the worst. But all he found was Rosa. She was cleaning up a huge spill off herself, the worktop, and the floor, with shards of ceramic in between.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked with a frown.
"Yeah, but I'm going to kill the person who did it," Rosa uttered without looking up. Alex noticed though that her hand trembled. She had a red mark across it. Vulnerable and hurt people were his biggest weakness. He walked up and pulled Rosa up in one swift motion, pulling her towards the sink and shoving her hand under cool water. Rosa looked shocked by his abrupt behaviour but she hasn't said anything, accepting it. She didn't even wince as cold water touched the burnt mark.
"What happened?" Alex asked.
"Someone swapped the coffee creamer for crushed effervescent tablets making my coffee spill over as I held the mug. I've dropped it…"
"Why would anyone do that?" Alex furrowed his brows, starting to clean up the mess. Rosa tried to move away and help but he pointed at the tap, making sure that she stays there.
"I think I've accidentally got involved in the prank wars." Rosa answer.
"Who would do such a stupid thing?" Alex looked up at her quickly. She avoided his gaze, trying to focus on the running water.
"My main suspects include either Diego or Ben. I need to work out who it was and give them a payback." Rosa smiled.
"Isn't that a little childish?"
"Maybe, but I'm not going to just accept them pranking me without any consequences."
Alex shook his head in disapproval. But Rosa didn't pay much attention to him.
"Did you burn your legs too?" Alex asked as his eyes fell on her wet jeans.
"Surprisingly, no." Rosa turned the tap off as Alex finished cleaning. "As I'm going to be remaking my coffee, would you like one?" She offered. Alex looked surprised but he nodded. "Please do not make a judgment on my coffee-making skills. The coffee here is rather shite."
"Let me know how it goes with the payback," Alex said with a smile as he took the coffee. Rosa nodded in agreement and he left, going to hide in his office.
He didn't see Rosa for the rest of the day, or even on his way out when he was leaving the office. This left an even more absurd feeling of hollowness.