The next morning Adam awoke to find Elle already up and making breakfast in the kitchen."You"re up already?" He asked with a frown. "You should have slept longer; I could have cooked."
"But I wanted to." Elle replied with a smile. "I"m almost finished; why don"t you go wash up?"
Adam obediently went back upstairs to the bathroom to wash up before coming back down to join her for breakfast. She hadn"t done much, but they both enjoyed a simple meal of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. Just like last night, there wasn"t much conversation as they ate but the mood was light. After finishing their food and clearing the table Adam and Elle both got ready for work.
"Is it really okay for you to go back to the office wearing that?" Adam asked, eyeing the outfit she was wearing as they walked to the car. The same outfit she had worn when she left work the day before.
"It"s fine." Elle said rea.s.suringly. "I have a change of clothes in my office."
Elle, who had grown used to the silence that often accompanied Adam, didn"t mind as they drove with nothing but the car radio to fill the silence. Adam finally spoke up as they arrived at Tae.
"Have you decided what you"re going to do?" He asked as he pulled up in front of her building.
"Not really," Elle replied honestly, "but I think I"ve already found my answer."
"I"ll come get you after work." He reminded her before pulling off again.
Elle went to her office first and changed into the spare dress she had kept there. She also put on a little makeup in front of the small mirror in her office. Elle applied red lipstick and eyeliner as if it were her war paint. Then with all the courage she could muster she collected her files and marched back up to her father"s office.
He gave her a look of disapproval as soon as she entered the room. "You didn"t come home last night." He said sternly.
"No, I didn"t."
"I thought we could have talked more about the issue regarding your sales."
"I think it"s best to discuss work matters at work." Elle replied.
"Lets discuss it then. I a.s.sume you"ve made a decision."
"I have."
"And I a.s.sume I"ll be disappointed by the decision you made."
Elle"s hands tightened into fists, her nails dug into her palms, but even so she held her ground. "I see no reason for you to be disappointed over the allocation of a trivial ten thousand sales, chairmen. The profit has already been made, no matter what decision is made in the end."
"Do you really wish to blame me for this?" Her father asked, his cold eyes bore into her.
"I admit that I"m partially at fault too. I shouldn"t have come to you for such a trivial matter in the first place; I should have gone straight to Jacob"s manager. Why don"t we both share the blame for it this time?"
"Are you really so selfish that you won"t even help your own family?"
"What family?" Elle scoffed. "I don"t know if you think I"m blind or stupid. I already know I have no place in that house."
"I"ll admit that it was a sudden change for you, but is it really that hard to be happy for me in this matter? I had my own regard of your mother but you know our marriage was only a marriage of convenience."
"And this one is what? A marriage of expedience?"
Elle smiled in satisfaction as her father"s face began to turn red with anger. It seems that last hit was a low blow.
"I know your step-mother and Jacob don"t talk to you often, but you shouldn"t blame them. If you were more considerate you would realize that it"s been difficult for them to adapt too." Her father said through a clenched jaw.
"But I don"t blame them." Elle said calmly. "To them I am a stranger, and another woman"s child. I blame you, my father, whom I loved, who then stabbed me in the back."
"Don"t be over dramatic." Her father grumbled. "I don"t know what"s gotten into you. You were always so docile and well behaved before. You"ve changed."
"Really? I don"t think I"ve changed that much at all. I guess you just never really knew me that well after all." Elle said curtly. "But I"m not here to discuss personal matters, chairman. Since I"ve already involved you, and since you are my father, I"m only here to give you the curtesy of knowing that one way or another the "mistakes" Jacob made will be corrected. He can do so himself, or I can consult the other directors and have them do it for me."
Without waiting to hear her father"s reply Elle turned around on her heels and marched back down to her own department. Once in the solitude of her office Elle slumped into her chair and covered her face with her hands.
"I can"t believe I just did that." She said softly to herself.
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly; Elle was still in the middle of a major project after all. She enjoyed a productive day at work, never once leaving the solitude of her own office. Neither her father nor Jacob came looking for her either. A few hours pa.s.sed by before Elle found herself getting back into Adam"s car.
"So, did you resolve everything?" Adam asked as she got in.
"I guess."
"Then why do you seem so unhappy?"
"I"m just a bit unsatisfied with the result I guess." Elle said with a sigh.
Adam considered the frustrated look on her face for a moment then pulled the keys out of the ignition and tossed them to her.
"I"m tired, can you drive?" He asked as he did.
"Sure." Elle said with surprise.
She had never driven with Adam before, but it"s not like she couldn"t. They both got out and exchanged seats. It was the first time Elle had ever driven such a high cla.s.s car. It didn"t take long before she lost herself to the thrill of driving. Adam had rolled down the windows slightly so the refreshing, crisp winter air blew in, numbing her face. As she drove her mind began to clear.
Elle looked over at Adam, who was so relaxed in that moment he seemed as if he had no care in the world. Elle laughed to herself as she realized why.
"What is it?" Adam asked.
"You knew this whole time. Even from yesterday you knew I wouldn"t accept my father"s suggestion didn"t you?" She asked.
Adam leaned back into the pa.s.senger seat, closing his eyes as he did. "If you did it then you"d be a fool. And if you were a fool I wouldn"t have fallen in love with you." He said simply.
"I think I"ve fallen even more in love with you." Elle murmured. It really was as if he knew her better than she knew herself.
"Then don"t think about work or your family anymore. Focus all your energy on me instead."