Chapter 3 Unresolved Conflicts

The boardroom encounter resulted in an uncomfortable silence in the days that followed. Alex and Olivia were a professional bunch, so they avoided contact. The office was full of people, but a storm blew in.    Alex sat at his desk, crammed into a stack of reports. He couldn't seem to concentrate and instead resorted to Olivia. The night they spent together and the intensity of their experience were unforgettable. He tried to get rid of the thoughts by stroking his hair.    A buzzing phone dragged him from his slumber. Ethan Mitchell, his cofounder and best friend, sent a message to him.    Ethan got the news of the new partner. How's your day going?    Alex sighed and typed a response.    Alex's words suggest a complex situation.    His phone buzzed again shortly after.    What's on the menu for me tonight?    Alex was shy. He was usually eager to relax with Ethan, but tonight he felt uncertain. But if he tries to talk it out in private, he might get his thoughts out of his head.    Alex is confident. What is the usual place?    Ethan, you've landed it.    Alex got his phone back and stood up on the way to the conference room where they were supposed to meet. He prepared himself for the Olivia encounter, knowing that every interaction was rife with unresolved sentiments and unspoken opinions.    Olivia was already occupied with a stack of papers in the conference room. Alex entered, and she glanced up and then went back to work.

Alex says, I'm off, taking his seat from the side of her.  Olivia's tone was shortened as she said, 'Afternoon.' Alex and Olivia were in a rage in the room; everyone was hurrying to make their move, and the tension was heightened.    Alex kicked off the meeting with the agenda. Olivia spoke with authority and precision, suggesting a plan to streamline their operations and allocate resources. Her voice was under pressure, despite her professionalism, as per Alex.      Alex nodded and acknowledged it, his thoughts rushing. "It's right, but we must not let secondary endeavors be a liability," he stated. We need a contingency plan.  Olivia said regular check-ins were enough, but her eyes met his gaze. Alex shakes, bringing back the past they shared.    Alex and Olivia's murmurs hung on, but the meeting went on with calculated efficiency. Alex felt like he was lifting weights at the end, but the tension stayed.    Olivia looked at Alex and gave a small, almost indistinct nod. It was a gesture of gratitude, a silent promise to keep their private matters a secret.      Alex and Evan had their first meeting in a sleek and secluded bar that night. Ethan had already started his drink at the bar and conversed with the bartender.

Good night, gents. Ethan looks like he's been through a lot, he says.  Alex said it was a breeze, and she asked for a drink from the bartender.    Ethan scowled with an eyebrow. How easy is it?    'Alex took a deep breath. ' The gala member from gala gala had been identified as gala's grandmother.' She has joined my team as my business partner.    Ethan looked up and said, You're making a fool out of me. Wow, that's a surprising revelation.  Alex brushed his hair through his hair and said, 'yeah,' after our one-night stand, we're now expected to work together like this.'    Ethan whimpered in a low voice and shook his head. wow.   That's a bit of a rough start. What's the solution?  Alex admits to being overwhelmed by his own heavy voice. "We made it clear that we wanted to keep it professional, but every time we meet her, my emotions come back with a heavy heart.    Ethan nodded, gave a thoughtful nod, and said, I urge you to have a conversation with her. Make sure the air is cleared before it becomes a problem.    Alex sighed and said, It's a little easier than done. I don't know how to handle it without causing any harm.    If you don't address it soon, it could endanger everything.    Alex drank a lot of the alcohol, but it didn't seem to ease his stomach knot. Ethan's point of view was right, but the prospect of dealing with Olivia was daunting. He said that they had to work together, and the least he wanted to do was make things more awkward.  Alex thanks Ethan for setting his glass down. I'll think about it.

Ethan clapped him on the back. “Anytime. Well, you will obviously go mad before you know it if we keep talking about this, so let us talk about something else now. The conversation turned to lighter topics, and Alex did his best to bury thoughts of worry, but he couldn't shake the tension between himself and Olivia. He felt he had to say something, but the right time never came—and neither did the words.

When Alex was returning to his penthouse, he felt as if the light of a thousand or million city lights reflecting off glass buildings pressed down on him at once. He was walking a fine line between his own emotions and job duties—that he had been warned. He had no idea what the future would look like.

It left him with the sense that he was hovering on a precipice, and one wrong turn would ruin all his hard work. And the next morning, as he got ready for another day of trying to figure out a whole new version of life with Olivia, it hit him like an icy wind; this was only our first fight. That is when his phone emitted a new message. It was from Olivia.

Olivia: Can we talk tomorrow? I have something really vital that I want to share with you. If you don't mind.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat. What was the most urgent thing that could possibly wait? Conflicted, he continued to gaze at the screen. Whatever Olivia wanted to tell him was big, and surely it would dissolve the brittle detente they had built between them. He took a deep breath and answered.

Alex: Sure. Tomorrow works. Let’s figure this out. As he stored his phone Alex could already feel that, by tomorrow, nothing was going to be the same.