Kapitel 45: A win-win situation

"Ms. Sophia just called. She expects to be here in an hour." Becky just informed him, depositing several more folders on his desk. All he could do was scratched his nape in frustration.

Sophia suggested that she would rather go to his office instead of him going back to her apartment to pick her up. She had an errand in the city, close to his office, which made it more convenient for him. He still had several papers he needed to finish before he could leave.

Sophia's two weeks vacation was almost over. She was to fly back in two days to her new project in Paris where she had a contract for a year in one of the top modeling agencies in Europe.

He had no idea how to feel about that. It had been a while since he had dated a girl that he did like, but he was not sure if it was enough to commit. More than that, a long-distance relationship was not something he would consider. He had also learned his lesson not to rush things.

Two weeks was too fast, there was nothing to think about besides ending it before it got more complicated. It was something that he was not looking forward to doing tonight.

"Just send her in if she arrives." He told her secretary before she went out of his office.

He shoved himself to his work, immersing his eyes to the financial statements on his hands. Before the hour was up, he finally stretched his stiff body and loosened his tie a little more. He was finally finished and closed the folders on the table.

He turned around away from his table and stared at the view outside of his window, displaying the setting of the sun behind a building. It was seldom that he found an opportunity to experience this ever since he moved here in the city. Usually, by the time, he emerged from his work or other obligations it was already nighttime.

"Where are you?" A question that he could not help utter in a sigh when he saw the different hues of the sky as the sun lost its battle with darkness. It always reminded him of a girl he once knew. He fought to remember what remained of her face, but he knew in time, he would eventually forget her.

As he kept glaring at the sky, his eyes landed on a particular billboard as the sun's remaining rays reflected on it. In a close examination, he realized that the girl in the picture was familiar. She was promoting a new exclusive clothing line.

"Sir Rafael, Sophia Lawrence is already here," Becky announced at the door, but somehow he did not notice her as his eyes tried to focus on her face. The glare of the sun was obscuring some of her facial features, which he was having a hard time getting a full grasp.

"What are you thinking?" Sophia touched his hands, which were resting on his forehead. The action startled him since he did not notice her presence.

"It's not important." He quickly answered her, avoiding any further discussion of what just happened. Immediately clearing her head of the image it was trying to conjure. Turning around to fix the papers on his desk.

"Are you ready to go?" Sophia asked a bit puzzled with his behavior.

She had caught him in the same condition once before, so she was sure that whatever it was, it was deeply bothering him. It was far from being an insignificant thought.

"Yeah, just give me a minute to clear this up." He called Becky to have the papers sent to the Accounting Department. Then, made several more instructions before leaving the office with Sophia.

As they exited the building, many of the employees were whispering what a cute couple they were. They seemed to perfect together. It did not escape his awareness of what his people were talking about since Becky had mentioned it once before.

"I reserved a table at your favorite restaurant." He said as he continued to drive to their destination.

"That's fantastic." She took a look at his handsome face. Sophia thought of what she would say to him later. Closing her eyes as she rehearsed the lines on her head that she came up with this morning. She just concentrated on the music that was playing in the background.'

He, on the other hand, was glad that she decided to keep quiet, giving him time to contemplate on what to say to her during dinner or afterward.

In the restaurant, they could still feel the tension that they felt back in the car. Both of them barely said much, which was odd since they usually had a lot of things to talk about.

Eventually, their topic of conversation centered on Ashton and Melissa's new relationship. Both were circling the topic that she was about to leave in two weeks. Evading the inevitable question of where their relationship was going.

After finishing dessert, which she barely touched, he felt that there was no other choice, but to finally tell her of how he felt. "Sophia, we need to talk about us. We had been avoiding it for days, but we need to be honest with each other."

Sophia placed her index finger on his lips to stop him from saying anything else. "Let me go first."

He took her hand from his lips and held it tight, wanting to assure her that whatever happened, he would be there for her. "Go on." Being a gentleman, he wanted to hear what she had to say first.

Sophia shook her head to clear the nervousness she felt. "This is not easy for me. In almost two weeks, I find you interesting, charming, almost perfect for me. You are everything I was looking for in a man."

He found himself on the edge of his chair. Unsure of where she was going with her statement. However, he kept his silence as he let her continue.

"I know that what I'm about to do is the hardest decision I ever did. It might even be the biggest mistake of my life that I might regret later on. But…" She sighed heavily, taking a look at their entwined hands. "I have to let you go. There is just no future in a long-distance relationship."

She continued mumbling about focusing on her career since it was her childhood dream. Then, her life was in Europe for now, so going back and forth was out of the question. And so on.

He lost thought of all the rest of her statement as he found himself relieved of the situation. They were actually on the same page. He was spared of breaking her heart.

He could not help it, but he started laughing at the situation. It must be the stress of work or the whole day of rehearsing his line for his breakup speech, but whatever it was, he found himself free and happy.

"What's so funny?" She questioned him, perplexed at his reaction to her statement.

He tried to control himself as he looked at her puzzled look. "The funny thing is, I was thinking of the same thing. I was so afraid of breaking your heart when all the while you were also thinking of breaking up with me. Although, I'm not saying that we are officially in a relationship, but in a way, it was."

She too got the message loud and clear and started laughing at the irony of their situation. "So, what now? Could we still be friends?" Sophia asked him.

He took her hand again in his and placed a single kiss on it. "Yes, we are."

She gently pulled her hand and raised her wine to him. "To friendship."

He followed her lead and toast to their newly formed bond. "To friendship."

There were no hearts broken. Both of them wanted the same thing. It was a win-win situation as far as both of them were concerned.