Free Forever Lost: Becoming Elena - Book Two by Melody Anne

to go, or maybe he didn’t realize what he was doing. Either way, Elena wasn’t going to say a word.
    “How many employees do you have?” she asked as he continued moving down the hall, being stopped at times by people they passed.
    “In these offices, I have just over three thousand. But all over the world, there are over twenty thousand employees,” he told her.
    Her mind was reeling to even think about trying to manage that many people. No wonder he always seemed in control. He had no choice but to be a leader.
    “Here’s Tina’s office. I’m going to leave you with her while I take care of some urgent business.” He didn’t even say goodbye, just left her in the doorway and took off.
    Tina was on the phone but when she looked up, she flashed Elena a big smile while holding up a finger, letting her know she’d be just a few more moments.
    Elena didn’t move from her spot in the doorway. She hadn’t been invited inside. She hadn’t spoken with Tina since their night out. The confusion of not knowing if Tina was disgusted by her or not made her motionless.
    “I’m sorry about that, Elena. Sometimes I want to take my phone and chuck it out the window,” Tina said after she hung up.
    She stood and walked over to Elena.
    “It’s not a problem. Dalton got called in for something and said he wouldn’t be too long,” Elena said as she shifted nervously on her feet.
    “Well, he says that frequently and then his ten-minute meeting turns into three hours. Let’s go to the cafeteria and grab some coffee and a donut,” Tina said as she led Elena down the same hallway. “I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to speak since our night out. I was called out of the country for some problems in one of our divisions.”
    “That sounds good. I’m a little tired today, so caffeine is the perfect solution,” Elena told her, ignoring the other statement for now. She was nervous what Tina would say about it.
    They rode the elevator to the first floor, which opened to another large lobby. Around a corner were a few different cafeteria areas.
    They entered a Starbucks where several people were sitting at tables with their laptops while others were in line, waiting for their order to be taken.
    “I wouldn’t survive without this place,” Tina said as they joined the line.
    “Is this just for employees or is it open to the public?” Elena asked.
    “It’s open to the public, sometimes we get other people in here, but it’s far more frequented by the employees than anyone else. However, there are times when you just have to get out of the offices even if it’s to go to another building that’s almost identical,” Tina told her.
    The barista took their order, and they waited for their drinks then found a small table in the corner.
    “What have you been doing today?” Tina asked before taking a bite of her maple bar and sighing in pleasure.
    “We went to lunch. I think Dalton is still testing if I’m suitable to take out in public, especially after the bar scene,” Elena said as she winced.
    When Tina laughed, Elena relaxed the tiniest bit.
    “Hmm. I think Dalton needs to be taught how to behave in public himself and not worry about you,” Tina said when her chuckles died down. “Last year at the annual charity ball he got in a fight with his best friend, and it was splashed over all the papers. Don’t even worry about our night out on the town.”
    Elena was completely shocked by this. Tina brushed off the event like it was nothing at all. The relief surging through Elena was monumental. If Tina wanted to drop it, she was more than happy to do the same. She focused instead on the rest of what Tina had said.
    “What happened?”
    “Oh, they weren’t really fighting. Tanner, his friend, was doing a publicity stunt and Dalton was his unwilling accomplice. Dalton’s head was spinning, he was so irritated. If any other person had pulled that, he would have been ejected from Dalton’s life. He doesn’t tolerate