Page 37 of Hate You Up Close

I blow a strand of hair from my face as I sit down at my desk and start up my computer. My brows furrow as I swivel my chair around to see that Elliot’s office door is closed. His door is always open when I arrive in the morning. He’s never not been here before me.

Light normally shines through the crack at the bottom of his door when he's here, but it's dark. Meaning he's definitely not here this morning.

Maybe he’s running late? Maybe he’s on vacation and forgot to tell me?

Who am I kidding? Elliot doesn't run late or take avacation. I don’t think that word is even in his vocabulary.

I can’t shake the uneasy feeling that something is wrong.

I check my emails in an attempt to distract myself. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute. It’s Elliot we’re talking about. He doesn't miss a day of work. Surely, there was an accident or a traffic jam. He’ll be here.

I open up an unread email and get started for the day.

Two hours pass by slowly,and Elliot still isn't here.

Where the hell is he? And why am I so worried?

I reach for my phone to call him when I realize that Elliot’s never given me his cell phone number. I haven't needed it because I can always reach him on his office line.

An idea pops into my mind as I open up my inbox and click on a previous email sent by Elliot.

Bingo.

He has his cell phone number in his email signature because of course he does. Elliot has no personal boundaries when it comes to work.

I type his mobile number into my phone and begin writing out a text.

Hi Elliot, it’s Roxy. Is everything okay? I see that you have meetings on your calendar for today. Do you need me to cancel them or are you working from home?

Right as press send, Evie walks into my office with a hesitant smile on her face.

“Good morning, Roxy,” she chimes.

“Morning,” I grin, setting my phone down on the desk.

“I uh…I just got a call from our VP letting me know that Elliot’s going to be out today. Looks like he’s taking a sick day.”

My brows pinch together in worry because Elliot would have to be on his deathbed to take a sick day.

“Hmm…that’s strange for him,” I reply, more to myself than to Evie. “I hope everything’s okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” she sighs. “I’ve worked here for two and a half years, and I’ve never seen Elliot take a sick day. Not once. So he must be feeling pretty bad.”

“Yeah,” I rasp, staring off into space. “Whatever he has, it came on quickly. He seemed fine yesterday.”

He seemed fine until last night.But I decide to keep that part to myself.

“Well, hopefully he’s getting some rest. You know how Elliot is,” she rolls her eyes. “The man never gives himself a break.”

“Oh, trust me,” I scoff. “I know.”

She chucklessoftly.

“Do you need anything while he’s out?” she asks. “If anything urgent comes through, just let me know and I can reach out to our VP.”

“No, I think I’m good for now,” I smile. “I just need to reach out and cancel his meetings for today.”

“Okay, well just let me know if I can help,” she replies sweetly. “Also, we’re ordering in for lunch today. I just spoke with my manager, and the office is buying Chipotle for whoever wants it. What would you like from there?”