dread coming into work anymore. I don’t worry about what I’ll say or what he might say to me. Instead, I come in and focus just on the work.
It’s nice.
“Take lunch, Opal!” I hear Jason call from inside his office, and my fingers pause on the keyboard.
“Are you going to?” I call back.
There’s a pause. In the early days of this strange, new friendly partnership that the two of us had fallen into, I began refusing to go to lunch unless Jason took a break of some kind, too. After all, this company isn’t going to be run by a CEO who is falling asleep at his desk because he isn’t eating or sleeping properly.
It exasperates Jason, because he doesn’t want to have to take a break from his work, but it’s important, and I want him to see that. Taking breaks is one of the most important parts of work and I finally understood that during my week off.
“Yeah, yeah,” he finally grumbles.
“Downstairs?” I push, double-checking.
I can almost hear his eyes roll and I grin, amused at his antics. It’s times like these that remind me that Jason isn’t just the big CEO of a billion-dollar company. He is also only a few years older than I am. He’s very young, which makes it all the more impressive that his father deemed him suitable to take over.
If I had been told about it before I had seen it for myself, I would have scoffed at the idea that Jason McNamara could be anything other than a pretentious, selfish jerk. But he’s really doing it. I can finally see what Harold McNamara must have seen in him before he handed over the company. Jason has earned his position.
Jason shows up at his office door, shaking me from my thoughts which were becoming worryingly fond. I’ve noticed that my thoughts have started creeping in that direction recently, but I’m not sure why. All I know is that, now, I like being around Jason.
“Ready?” he asks in a long-suffering voice.
“Yes, if you cut the attitude,” I say cheerfully, standing up. “Honestly, you would think I was proposing torture rather than lunch.”
“It’s akin to it,” he mutters, and I pretend that I don’t hear him, well aware that he’s just sulking. He’s not used to people ordering him around like this.
But that’s one of the reasons he hired me, right? So that I wouldn’t hesitate to say the things that needed to be said, no matter how powerful Jason may be.
I smile to myself as we head to the elevator. On that note, I’m certain that I’m excelling. I certainly haven’t pulled any punches, and Jason has responded by actually listening, which has gone a long way in soothing some very old hurts.
Yes, things are going very well right now, and I can only see them getting better.
Three nights later, I’ve crash in front of the toilet and I’m vomiting up everything I ate that day, sweat pouring down my face and making my nightgown stick to my skin as my temperature soars.
Shit, what’s wrong with me? I had a bit of a headache when I went to bed, but, otherwise, I was completely fine. It doesn’t explain why I’m currently trying to throw up a lung.
When I’m finished, I sit back. The cool bathroom tiles feel amazing against my heated skin. I know I need to get up and find a thermometer so that I can check my temperature, but I can’t bring myself to move right now. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall.
I must have eaten something funny. It’s the only explanation. I wrack my mind, trying to push past the fog to remember what I’ve had to eat. I remember snacking on some apple pieces earlier. And, for lunch, I got a chicken wrap that had tasted and smelled okay. For dinner, I came home and had some grilled fish with salad.
Nothing I ate yesterday should have caused this. Though, maybe the chicken in the wrap hadn’t been cooked all the way through? It’s the only thing that makes sense. Or maybe I’ve somehow caught the flu? I interact with plenty of people every day, so maybe I’ve gotten sick from one of them?
When I feel marginally better, I pull myself with difficulty to my feet, snagging a thermometer from the bathroom cupboard, and stumble back into my bedroom. I glance at the clock beside my bed as I enter, trying my hardest to