Gideon glanced up to see Victoria open the glass door to his office. She glided into the room and took her customary place on the stool. He could tell something was wrong, by the solemn look on her face.
“Good morning,” Gideon greeted. He continued to focus on his work, hand-drawing the feature page layout with a mechanical pencil.
“I just came in to say that dinner is… delayed,” Victoria said in a soft tone.
There was clearly more on her mind. Gideon knew he wouldn’t have to wait long before she spilled whatever it was. Until that time, he intended to continue working to meet the ridiculous deadline she’d imposed upon him.
Victoria was known for handing out stacks of work to be completed in impossibly short amounts of time. That was fine if you were one of the ninety-nine percent of people Victoria didn’t give a second glance to. But as the closest thing she had to a friend, Gideon had to also balance Victoria’s occasional desire to confess what was on her mind.
Not that he made it easy. One of the reasons Victoria opened up to him was because he rarely asked any direct questions. He held back and waited for her to tell him whatever was on her mind.
“Oh, well, let me know when it’s back on,” he said without looking up.
Victoria sat in silence for a few moments before speaking again.
“Holly has made other plans.”
“Ah,” Gideon said. “Well, another night then.”
“She has a date, Gideon. A date!”
He sighed and put the pencil in the pot on his desk.
“I see.” He removed his glasses and started to clean the lenses.
“What? What do you see?” Victoria glared at him, seeming to be spoiling for a fight.
“That Holly has a date,” he replied with a placating smile.
“Why on earth are you smiling, Gideon? Dinner is cancelled.” Victoria used the same tone Gideon imagined she’d use to announce the end of days.
“Well, ours is. It seems someone will still be having dinner,” he pointed out.
“She doesn’t even know him, of course. And she remembers the damn dog.”
He frowned. “He has a dog?”
“No, Gideon.” She sighed with exasperation. “Try to keep up. She remembers Izzy.”
“So, she remembers your dog? That’s wonderful news.” Gideon smiled, but the expression soon slipped from his face when he saw Victoria’s was still thundery. “Or, apparently not?”
“I’m afraid I don’t see what’s so wonderful about it.” She shook her head in dismay.
“Well, the fact that she has managed to recover any memories at all is a good thing. And the fact that she remembered your dog, which is a direct connection to you.” He held his glasses up to the light to check they were spotlessly clean.
“Why would that matter?” Victoria sniffed.
“I don’t know, I just thought I’d mention it.” He couldn’t believe how deep-down Victoria had buried her emotions.
“She doesn’t even know him,” she repeated.
“We’re back to the date again, yes?”
Victoria replied with another glare, and he chuckled.
“I fail to see what is so amusing,” Victoria said icily.
“Nothing,” Gideon continued to smile. “Let me know when our dinner is rearranged.” He picked up his pencil and returned to his sketch.
“You clearly have something to say. Out with it,” she ordered.
He looked up at her. “For some reason, and I’ll allow you to come to your own conclusion on this, you are jealous.”
Victoria looked shocked before she blurted out, “Preposterous!”
“If you say so.” He turned away and focused on his work.
“Never have I ever heard anything so ridiculous,” Victoria grumbled. She slid off the stool and stalked over to his desk. She angrily pointed at the design. “That needs to change. I told you before, no more wind machines. Blowing the models around like that. They’ll snap like twigs. Really, Gideon.”
He felt the draft of the door as she left and heard her heels disappearing down the corridor. He let out a long sigh.
Victoria prowled the corridors of Arrival. She delivered piercing glares to anyone who dared to look up at her. She couldn’t get the thought of Holly’s date out of her mind. She knew Gideon was right, but she’d be damned if she’d admit it to anyone, even to herself.
She turned on her heel and stalked back towards her own office. As she walked along the carpeted hallway, she heard Louise and Claudia in conversation. She could tell from their hushed tones that it was something juicy. Probably about her. She slowed her pace and waited around the corner to listen.
“It’s disgusting,” Louise whispered.
“It isn’t right,” Claudia agreed.
Victoria crept a little closer. If her two assistants were talking about her, then she wanted to catch them in the act.
“He’s fifty for God’s sake,” Louise said, despair clear in her voice.
“And she’s how old?” Claudia asked.
“Thirty,” Louise spat. “It’s disgusting. Twenty years between them. They can’t have anything in common. No, it’s just an old person wanting to have a young person as a trophy.”
“It makes me feel queasy,” Claudia said.
“It makes you feel queasy?” Louise snorted a bitter laugh. “Imagine how I feel. I have to sit across from them at a restaurant and watch them… together.”
Victoria swallowed. She took a step backwards and pressed up against the wall, her legs shaking slightly.
“Why do old people do it?” Claudia asked.
“Don’t ask me,” Louise replied. “Surely they must know that they are laughingstocks? Drooling over someone half their age.”
Victoria felt her cheeks flush. She had heard enough. She pushed herself away from the wall and walked away.
Gideon approached Victoria’s office with every intention of begging on bended knee because, dammit, he really needed that wind machine. As he approached the outer office, he could see she wasn’t there.
He looked at Louise with a raised eyebrow and gestured towards Victoria’s office.
“Where?” he questioned.
“No idea. We’re enjoying the peace,” Louise said. Her phone chirped and she sighed. “Well, almost peace. Parents!”
“What’s wrong?” Gideon asked.
Louise ignored him and started to type out a response on her phone. He turned to Claudia and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Her dad is dating a new woman,” Claudia replied, typing without looking up. “She is much younger than him, and Louise’s mom has flipped.”
“They’ve been divorced for six years,” Louise explained. “But Mom is being awful. I just don’t want to know. I mean, he’s dating someone who is only three years older than me. I don’t want to hear about it.”
“It is gross, though,” Claudia said. “He’s fifty and she’s thirty.”
The young girls shuddered.
“Well, sometimes an age gap works. Depends on the personality types,” Gideon said.
Claudia looked at him curiously.
“It’s true,” he defended his statement. “Not that I’m dating anyone younger than me. Dating is a distant memory, anyway.”
“You think it’s okay for someone to date someone half their age?” Claudia questioned.
“I think it’s up to the individuals. Who are we to judge?” he replied. “Sometimes people just click, and age has nothing to do with it. Let me ask you a question, would you rather be in a relationship with someone twice your age that you absolutely adored, who was perfect for you in every way, or someone your own age who didn’t share any of your interests and treated you badly?”
“Well, of course I’d want the person I loved,” Claudia replied.
“Of course you would. That’s all any of us want. Age is a number. No two twenty-year-olds are the same. No two fifty-year-olds are the same. It’s one of those ridiculous social constructs that tell us what we should and shouldn’t do. I would have expected young women like you two to know better.”
The tips of Claudia’s ears turned red. She nodded her head, clearly ashamed by her judgemental attitude.
Serves you right, Gideon thought.
“Anyway, you have no idea where Victoria is?”
“Nope,” Louise said. “She’s been gone a while.”
“She has no meetings and her coat and bag are still here, so she must be in the building somewhere,” Claudia offered. She took a sip of the kombucha on her desk and slipped her headphones on.
Gideon had spent thirty minutes checking every potential location within the Arrival offices. Except one. And with that one location the only place he hadn’t checked, he knew she must be there.
He pushed on the door of the executive ladies’ washroom so hard that it cracked loudly against the wall. Victoria, who had been standing looking at her reflection in the mirrors above the sinks, jumped. She spun around, her hand over her heart, and glared at Gideon.
“Found you,” Gideon drawled. “Now, I’ll go hide and you count to ten.”
She shook her head and turned back towards the sink. She leaned heavily on the unit and stared at the mirror again.
“I’m too old for such foolishness, Gideon,” she muttered. “Entirely too old.”
“Oh, come on, you’re not old.” He strolled over to the other side of the room, folded his arms, and leaned against the wall. He met her eyes in the mirror.
“I am, Gideon.” She turned around and looked at him with an expression of dead seriousness. “I’m having a midlife crisis.”
“I thought you were sixty hundred and sixty-six years old?” he joked.
She cracked a smile. “As you well know, that Wikipedia edit was a prank performed by one of the many second assistants whom I’ve fired.”
“Ah.”
“However old I am,” she continued with a sigh, “it’s clearly old. I’m having a midlife crisis. Aren’t you supposed to be supportive during this time of mental anguish?”
“You’re not having a midlife crisis,” he told her. “What makes you think you are?”
“Everything,” she said unhelpfully.
He raised an eyebrow and patiently waited for her to continue.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m confused. Emotional. My mind is playing tricks on me. I need you to take over Arrival for a while. Think of it as a practice run for our succession plans.”
“No.” Gideon shook his head.
“What do you mean, no?” she demanded. “I’m having a midlife crisis, support me!”
“For the last time, you’re not having a midlife crisis,” he assured her. “You’re suddenly becoming aware that you care for Holly and you don’t like it. In fact, I’m guessing that you more than care for her.”
“Gideon,” she warned.
“And, as a result, you’re thinking about your age. And its relation to her age.”
“Gideon,” she warned again.
“Is it so awful?” he asked. “Caring for her?”
“It is when we all know that one day her memories will return, and she’ll see me for who I am. I can accept that she has no feelings for me. Life happens, sometimes people don’t feel the same way. But I don’t want to see fear and hatred in her eyes. That will break me.”
Ah, so that’s it, Gideon realised.
“You think she’s going to remember working for you?” he asked.
“Of course she will. It’s just a matter of time. She’s remembered Izzy. Slowly but surely the rest will come. Right now, it’s all locked away in that pretty little head.”
Gideon didn’t have an answer for that. Victoria may be right. He wasn’t about to try to convince her otherwise.
“It’s Friday, go home and rest for the weekend. See how you feel on Monday. If you truly are having a midlife crisis then I will, of course, take over,” he said.
He pushed away from the wall to walk towards his employer and friend.
“Victoria… don’t push her away. Whatever it is you’re feeling. Don’t lose her again.”
“I… I won’t.” She lowered her head.
“Good, call me if you need me.”
He made his move to leave. As he passed her, he gently brushed his hand against hers.
He left her alone, hoping that she wouldn’t let fear lead her. Victoria liked to give the impression that she was a strong and fearless woman, but Gideon knew that she was actually a sensitive person.
He’d long since suspected that Victoria felt something for Holly, but he was surprised at Victoria’s casual admission of it. Even though she had told him of her feelings, he knew it would be a wintery day in Hell before she told anyone else. Specifically, Holly herself.
He couldn’t blame her for being afraid of what Holly’s potential memories could do to their new friendship. Their working relationship had been fraught, to say the least.
Gideon had no idea what would happen next. Holly had cared about Victoria to some degree, she’d admitted as much to him before she left. But what form that care took, and whether or not it still existed, was another matter entirely.
He smirked ruefully as he took the elevator back to his office. He didn’t envy the situation either woman was in.