Part 2 Recap:
Nick helps Julia manage her guilt before taking her back to the office. She knows what happened between them can never happen again for the sake of her marriage, though she can't help but find herself daydreaming and fantasizing about Nick later that day. They discuss what happened at the office the following day and agree to keep things professional from now on. This doesn't stop them from unexpectedly making frantic love one final time in Nick's office, however. Later, Julia struggles to process her feelings for Nick but accepts that what happened between them is never going to happen again.
Nick beat Julia to the office that day and was already busy at his desk when she arrived. She had felt the same kind of butterfly sensation as yesterday as she got ready for work, but she just accepted and ignored it. She did not come to the office with the same kind of secret hopes and expectations as yesterday, because she was coming to terms with the fact that what happened yesterday and the day before would not be happening again.
Julia had just gotten settled at her desk when Nick emerged from his office. "Morning, Julia," he said cheerfully, handing her a file he obviously didn't need anymore.
"Morning," Julia replied with a friendly smile.
"I'm going to be spending the day at the Marriott today," he said.
This was not unexpected for Julia. There was a legal seminar taking place there, and he had asked her to register a couple days ago, though he had been indecisive as to whether he would end up going. They had kept the schedule clear just in case.
"So you're going to the seminar after all?" she asked.
"And I'd like you to come with me," Nick added.
This was a pleasant surprise for Julia, who didn't notice that Nick hadn't directly addressed her question. She had attended such a seminar with Nick once before, and she had a great time. They sat right next to each other in the back of the meeting hall, and they spent the entire day making small talk and providing commentary together and whispering jokes to each other, like two class clowns in the back of the class. She had a great time. She loved to be close to Nick like that, and it felt so good to be engaged with him in such a way, like there was no one else in that room but them. Even though she had accepted the reality that what happened between them was over, she didn't mind the thought of spending the day with him like that.
"Sure," she said.
"Great," Nick responded. "Why don't you gather your things, then we'll leave in about five minutes. I'll drive."
Julia did as he had directed, closed the office, and followed Nick out to his car. Then he sped off for the hotel, which was located a couple miles from their building. Although it felt awkwardly unremarked upon to Julia, he didn't say anything about what happened yesterday or the day before during the drive. Once again, she wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On some level, she wanted what happened between them to matter to him like it mattered to her - she wanted it to mean enough to him that he at least wanted to talk about it. On the other hand, she also didn't want to find herself tempted or lulled even for a short period of time into believing things might turn out differently than they had. If it really was over between them, she knew it was better for her to just be done with it and move on as quickly as possible, like ripping off a bandage.
Nick drove his car right up to the entrance of the hotel. They exited the vehicle and he handed his keys to the valet attendant, then Julia followed Nick into the building. She was a step or two behind him, like she usually was when she followed him places, allowing him to take the lead. The seminar was taking place in a sprawling meeting hall located just inside the hotel's main entrance, so they only had to walk a few steps before they were at the registration table. But, to Julia's surprise, Nick walked right past the table without stopping.
"We're not going to register?" Julia asked.
"Not yet," Nick replied.
Julia didn't think anything of this. There were any number of reasons why he might not want to register yet. Maybe he needed to meet with an acquaintance who was waiting for him up ahead or intended to stop at the hotel's cafΓ© for a better cup of coffee than what they typically served at these kinds of events. Still one or two steps behind, she followed him deeper into the hotel, passed the elevators, passed the cafΓ©, passed the dining area, right up to the front desk in the central lobby. She didn't think anything of this, either, assuming he must have some business to attend to - like a bill to get squared away.
There was no line at the counter, which was manned by a pretty, young, red-haired woman with the name "Erica" engraved on her nametag. Her gaze was immediately fixated on Nick as soon as they had entered the lobby. From the bright, interested look on her face, Erica's attraction toward Nick was obvious to Julia from the start.
"Welcome to the Marriott," she said brightly as Nick approached the counter. She appeared to be four or five years younger than Julia, young enough to be in college, and her attractiveness and sex appeal couldn't be denied. She stared at Nick intently, as if Julia wasn't even there, then leaned ever so slightly forward - which just so happened to improve the view of her cleavage. "How can I help you?"
"Nick Willard," he responded in his usual charming way, smiling warmly. He clasped his hands on the counter and leaned ever so slightly forward as well.
The young woman's gaze lingered momentarily on Nick's handsome face, her smile widening, before she finally turned away to enter the information into the computer next to her. Julia felt a surprising stab of jealousy at the flirtatious undertones of the exchange, just like yesterday when Amberly had arrived, but she quickly shook it away.
You're just his secretary,
she reminded herself.
And let's not forget you're a married woman.
They stood there silently for a minute as Erica typed on the keyboard and moved and clicked the computer mouse. After a few seconds, Nick turned toward Julia, offering her a friendly grin. Julia smiled back before Nick's attention returned to Erica, who continued typing and clicking until she finally seemed to be finishing up whatever it was that she was doing.
Erica turned back toward Nick, reached across the counter, and then handed him something. "Room 118," she said, at the precise moment that Julia realized what Nick had been handed.