When the doorman wasn't looking, I slipped past the front door, peering near the elevator to find Toby's name and suite number. His office was on the first floor, and felt like I was going through a maze to find it. The door was slightly open and he sat at his desk, staring at the computer, which was open to a blank email. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, shoulders tense. I wondered what he was trying to say that he couldn't. I knew that feeling so well lately.
I cleared my throat to let Toby know I was there, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. "Oh, hey!" A half-smile formed on his lips and he waved for me to come in, then closed the door behind me.
"I... need your help..." I stammered as I turned towards him, intimidated by his scrutinizing stare.
His eyebrows lifted with concern. "What's going on?" Fingertips against my back, he nudged me forward to have a seat.
It was your stereotypical therapist office, couch against the wall, lots of books, big desk littered with sticky notes and papers. I sat on the edge of the sofa and he perched on a chair in front of me, open and inviting posture. The sound of a white noise machine hummed in the background. It's now or never... a voice inside me pestered. "Violet told me that you helped her get out of legal trouble before?"
There was a subtle cock in his brow as he spoke, "Yes."
As an introvert I can tolerate extended periods of awkward silence, but my body was too nervous. My heart started thumping a little faster and I got all sweaty — more than I had during my 4 mile walk! Mostly it was my tummy, hungry from all the meals I'd skipped, and still angry that I wasn't able to fix this problem. The stillness was excruciating. My thoughts stabbed at me, torturous to sit with. "Whatever I say is confidential, right?"
Toby hesitated. "Chloe, you're my friend, and whatever I disclose and to whom will always be in your best interest. I'd hypothesize that if you walked this far at 9pm, it's important enough that you're going to confess anyway."
"Just please don't tell Izaak." I leaned forward a little more, showing off my cleavage and batting my eyelashes, full on puppy-face mode.
It had the opposite effect than I'd expected. Toby became more rigid and hardened, eyes slightly narrowed. "That doesn't work on me, little girl."
My heart skipped a beat at his sharp tone. I'd always wondered what his toppy energy looked like, and now I was stuck between intrigued and terrified to see more.
When I realized he wasn't going to agree to not tell Izaak, I rolled my eyes and finally let the story spill out.
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