“Everything okay?”
She nodded, glancing at him briefly. “Yeah. It’s been a long day. I’m tired.” She folded her arms over her chest, turning away toward the street. A tense silence settled in the space between them on the sidewalk, one that Zahir couldn’t figure out how to break.
Thankfully, the car arrived quickly. Layla slid into the back seat, and he got in after her, shutting the door quietly. Layla stared out the window, her face and posture stony.
Zahir looked her up and down a few times. So much for the painstaking progress they’d made as coworkers and friends. Even if every day he allowed himself just a little reverie about their fantastic sex.
A few moments of silence went by, stretching tighter with every second. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Have I done something to upset you?”
Her chest heaved, like maybe she hadn’t breathed the entirety of the car ride. Layla’s grip tightened on the door rest. “I…I don’t know why you’d ask that.”
“You’ve been acting strangely around me.”
Layla blinked a few times, nibbling on her bottom lip. Finally, she cleared her throat, shifting in her seat. “I just, uh…I don’t know.”
“It’s important to me that we have a good working relationship. And this has not been good, or working.” He gestured to the air between them.
Layla’s gaze fell to the open seat between them. “I just still find it weird that we work together after…everything that’s happened.”
Her words tumbled through him like boulders. That was it? “I see. Well, I suppose that could be strange for you.”
The sound of the car’s turn signal was the only sound between them for a moment. “Have you slept with everyone at the office?” She asked it casually, as if maybe she were asking about what time a play began.
He knitted his brows together. “No, of course I haven’t. That’s absurd.” He huffed with a disbelieving laugh. “No animal shits where they eat.”
Layla’s gaze scorched over him. “So that’s what it was? Fucking me was shitting?”
The fire in her tone prickled at him, sent his frustration tumbling over the edge. “Oh, come on! Of course not. That’s not what I meant at all. What are you getting at with this?”
She shrugged, her nostrils flaring as she turned back to stare out the window. “Just trying to figure out how you feel about it.”
“How could I have known who you were, that you would end up at my company?” His voice tightened with anger. “Do you make it a habit of sleeping with your bosses?”
Her mouth fell open, shock rippling across her face. “How dare you suggest that!”
“But don’t you see that—”
“Let me out.” She grabbed at the door handle, but it was locked. The car moved too fast to step out of, even if she was bolstered by anger. “I don’t want to hear any more of this. I’ll walk.”
“You will not walk,” Zahir countered, leaning toward her. “This neighborhood is too dangerous for a woman at night.”
“Oh well. I have mace.” She unbuckled her seat belt, speaking to the driver. “Excuse me, sir? Could you drop me off here?”
Zahir sent her a sharp look and addressed the driver in Farsi. “Continue to her building.”
Layla leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
“And buckle up. I’m taking you home. There’s no need to be so…adversarial. You weren’t like this before.”
Her face darkened. “Before?”
“Yeah. Back when you acted like you liked me. When you’d let me lead. I can’t even believe now that you let me touch you.”
She glowered out the window, tight-lipped. He ran a hand through his hair, heart beating wildly. He hadn’t meant to say all those words…but they were out now. No turning back.
A few moments later the car slowed as they approached her building. “This is me,” she said, her voice monotone.
When the car rolled to a stop, Zahir reached for the door handle. “I’ll let you out.”