Chapter 352 Change Of Heart
Ella
“Well,” I said, offering my colleague a warm smile. “How about we go together?”
As I made the suggestion to Sarah, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lunch, together?” she echoed, a touch of incredulity in her voice.
I shifted slightly, wondering if I had made a mistake. It had been a spur of the moment decision, partially fuelled by the pains in my stomach caused by a distinct lack of lunch. “Well, yes,” I responded, trying to maintain a casual air. “I mean, if you don’t want to come, that’s-”
“No,” Sarah interrupted, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. “It’s just… unexpected, that’s all. Sure, let’s go.”
Relief washed over me, and a small smile played on my lips. “Great,” I said, genuinely pleased.
We decided on a cozy bistro just a few blocks away from the law firm. It was on a nice street, with metal tables outside and coffee served in real cups instead of the usual cardboard takeout cups. We decided to sit outside beneath a yellow birch tree and listen to the sounds of the city. I didn’t come here often, but it was occasionally a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the fast-moving world of law.
As we waited for our food, Sarah seemed a little fidgety, occasionally stealing glances at me. It was clear she had something on her mind. Taking a deep breath, she finally broke the silence just when I was getting ready to ask if everything was okay.
“I know I’ve been… well, let’s just say not the nicest colleague,” she began, her voice hesitant. Internally, I felt Ema stir. “A bit?” she growled, clearly annoyed from her hunger. “She’s been a real-”
“Hush, Ema,” I thought, quieting her and refocusing my attention on Sarah.
“What changed?” I asked, genuinely curious. While her sudden friendliness was welcome, I was also confused by it. Just a few weeks prior, I had thought that she hated me. But now, it seemed as though those old feelings had dissipated.
Sarah took a moment before answering, choosing her words carefully. “You’ve always been really kind to me, even when I didn’t deserve it. At first, it irritated me more, made me see you as weak or too much of a people- pleaser. But after a while, especially today, seeing you stand up not just for yourself but also for what’s right, I… I began to respect you.”
A touch of color appeared on her cheeks, as if she wasn’t used to admitting such things. “Between that speech you gave this morning and the vending machine incident,” she continued with a soft laugh, “I think I might even look up to you a bit.”
The realization was profound. To think that someone, especially Sarah, who I’d always seen as an adversary, could view me in a positive light was both surprising and heartening.
“Thank you,” I said softly, a little flustered but genuinely grateful for her words. “You know, I’ve always believed that there’s more to people than what meets the eye. I always tried to see the good in you, even when you made it… particularly challenging. No offense.”
“None taken,” Sarah said, grinning sheepishly. “I guess I’ve been a piece of work, huh?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “A piece of work, sure, if that’s how you want to put it,” I said. “But… I’ve always wanted to say this: I really admire how you always speak your mind.” I paused, thinking for a moment, and then a grin spread across my face. “Like when you sorted out that one life insurance fiasco a couple months ago…
Sarah nodded and listened, her face flushing a tinge of red as I brought up a time in the past when her expertise and strong spirit had been helpful for us.
She was always quick to speak her mind, and I remembered how she had berated a man who kept trying to badger the employees to sell them shoddy life insurance policies. I could still hear how she had yelled at him when he had shown up for an entire week in a row, and had nearly convinced the rookie intern to sign his life away for a $100,000 policy that was definitely a scam.
“Get out of here and don’t come back!” she had yelled, her brown hair falling into her eyes as she chased after the life insurance salesman in his oversized suit and beat-up loafers. “And tell your boss that he can suck it! Vultures, all of you! Vultures!”
It had been both hilarious and helpful, and I never had a chance to thank her for things like that.
We both laughed as we remembered that day, the previous tension between us dissipating. As our salads arrived, and we began eating, our conversation flowed more easily, ranging from work-related topics to personal interests and hobbies. For the first time, I felt like I was seeing the real Sarah, and she was seeing the real me.
Our lunch was a blend of easy chatter and moments of reflection, and before we knew it, we had spent more than an hour at the bistro. We split the bill and made our way back to the firm, our faces aching from laughing.
“Hey,” Sarah said, a slight smile gracing her features as we climbed the steps to the firm. “Um… Thanks for today. We should do it again.”
I couldn’t help but smile, a renewed sense of hope settling in my chest. “Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Definitely.”
We headed back inside and returned to work, but the smile didn’t leave my face all day. I couldn’t stop thinking that perhaps, after all this time, I was finally making a genuine friend in this vast, overwhelming city.
A spark of light in the darkness. A fountain covered in graffiti that only needed to be scrubbed clean.
The rest of the day at the office passed in a blur. Sarah’s revelations during lunch had left me in high spirits, and I tackled my workload with newfound energy. As the hours went by, the memory of our conversation remained fresh in my mind, bringing a smile to my face every time I thought about it.
That evening, after I had made my way home and settled into my cozy apartment, I found myself lounging on the couch, lost in thoughts about the day’s events. The city’s usual cacophony of sounds was a distant hum, almost comforting in its familiarity.
I laid back with a guilty pleasure show on my television, sweatpants on and a messy bun on top of my head, and two slices of greasy pizza from the bodega next door. An ideal night.
However, a loud, persistent car honking disrupted my reverie.
Annoyed, I got up and went to the window to see what the commotion was about. My eyes widened in surprise when I spotted a sleek, red car parked right outside my building. And behind the wheel, with that all-too-familiar smirk plastered on his face, was Logan.
Leaning out of the driver’s window, he called up to me on the balcony, the playful lilt in his voice unmistakable.
“Wanna go for a joyride?”
