“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Why do you look so happy?”
“Because,” I said, my smile growing even wider. “I couldn’t go to bed without telling you that I got the job.”
It was my turn to watch the grin spread across his face so wide the dimple in his left cheek appeared.
“You’re serious?” he said quietly and I nodded.
“Dead serious. Leslie called tonight and offered me the job. I start tomorrow.”
“What the hell? You said you bombed it!” he exclaimed excitedly.
“I did bomb it! They must’ve been desperate.” We both started laughing and I set my Kindle down as Ethan climbed towards me on the bed, kicking off his shoes before pulling the covers back and getting in beside me.
“This is fantastic, Natalie. I’m so happy for you.”
He leaned in then, pulling me to him and kissing me, slowly at first and I felt myself easing back onto the pillows, sinking in and pulling him on top of me.
“I’m so relieved,” I said between kisses.
“I told you everything would be okay,” he said softly as he pulled away from my lips and began planting kisses down my neck and then onto my collarbone. My fingers were undoing the buttons of his shirt a moment later and then I was pulling it off of him and tossing it to the floor before I felt his hands inching my tank top off and it joined his shirt a second later. It didn’t take long for our pants to end up on the ground too.
“This job is going to change everything,” I said as his body moved over mine and he sat up, staring down at me, his dark brown hair hanging on his forehead, his eyes peeking out and a half-smile pulling up on his face.
“I told you everything would be okay. Even if you hadn’t gotten the job…it would’ve been okay. I’ll always take care of you, Natalie. Always.” I watched as his eyebrows furrowed and a straight, serious line replaced the smile that had been there only moments before. “I love you, Natalie. So much.”
I didn’t have time to say anything because his mouth was on mine before I could reply and our bodies began to move with each other. I couldn’t think about anything else. Not today. Not tomorrow. Just now and him and the way he felt and how much I loved him.
Five
The alarm went off at 6:30. Ethan was still sleeping, but when I pulled the covers back, he began to stir and his eyes slowly opened. After I’d told him and after the fun we’d had in bed, we’d stayed up talking, the way we used to before we’d moved to New York and real life smacked us in the face. It was nice sitting with him, laughing and joking. I was still giddy from the job offer and he had indulged my incessant babble. Needless to say though, the late night had left us both tired. At least he still had a few more hours to sleep, but I had to get up.
“I’ve gotta get ready to go,” I said, climbing out of bed.
He smiled and nodded and turned over on his side and fell back asleep.
I watched him for a second. I’d always thought he was so cute when he slept, but then the clock caught my eye again, reminding me I needed to hurry and get ready. I walked to the bathroom and realized I wasn’t as tired as I should be after our late night. I was too excited about my first day. I took a quick shower and slipped on my white terrycloth robe before blow drying my hair, running a flat iron over it and then pulled it into a stylish ponytail. After putting my make up on, I tiptoed into the bedroom. I could tell Ethan was still sound asleep by his deep breathing. I slipped on a black skirt and white blouse before sliding on my black pumps. I stared into the mirror and knew this look would fit right in at Taylor and Saben. I needed to get some more outfits though. I only had a few things I could wear to work and I could only mix and match so much before everyone realized I was wearing the same outfits every day.
“See you tonight. I love you,” I whispered into Ethan’s ear and kissed him on the cheek as I got ready to leave.
“Love you too. Good luck, babe. Call me when you can to let me know how your day’s going,” he said groggily and I turned to walk away, but then I felt his hand on my arm, pulling me back to him. He looked exhausted, his head resting against the pillow, but his eyes were looking at me seriously. “You’re going to be awesome today because you
are
awesome.”
I felt my cheeks blush a little. I didn’t know why Ethan loved me so much or why he had so much faith in me, but I wouldn’t question it because he did love me and that is what would get me through this new journey.
“Thanks,” I said, kissing his cheek. “See you tonight.” He smiled and I could feel him watching me as I walked out of the room. I grabbed my purse and a bagel to eat on the subway and opened the door to head out, only to see Doris sitting across the hall.
“Don’t you look smart,” Doris said with a warm smile as I shut the door.
“Thanks.”
“Where are you headed so early all dressed up?”
“To work.”
“Work? When did this happen?”
“Yesterday. You’re looking at the new office assistant at Taylor and Saben,” I grinned.
Doris let out a low whistle and shook her head.
“Fancy Shmancy,” she laughed.
“Today’s my first day and I don’t wanna be late, so I’d better get going.”
“Good luck, Natalie.”
“Thanks, Doris. I’ll see you tonight and I can tell you all about my first day.”
“I look forward to it.”
I smiled and practically skipped down the stairs and into the cool morning air. I made a mental note to purchase a nice light coat to wear to work with my first paycheck.
I picked at the bagel on the train, but could hardly eat it. I was too nervous about my first day. I didn’t want to mess this up. I couldn’t mess this up. I needed this job. Ethan needed me to do well at this job. We needed me to do well.
I tried my best to ignore the nerves swimming in my stomach when the subway reached my stop. I pulled myself together, stood up, brushed bagel crumbs from my skirt and walked onto the platform. I found a trash can and threw the bagel in before climbing the stairs to street level and was greeted with the same hustle and bustle as yesterday. Businesspeople were clambering all around me, the only difference today was that I was one of them. Well, maybe not a businessperson, but I worked for a businessperson at least. I could pretend I was important.
I walked quickly towards 435 and found it without any trouble, unlike yesterday. I walked confidently into the building and brushed by the grumpy old man at the desk, smiling, but he just sat there and ignored me. I wasn’t going to let Mr. Grumpy bother me. Not today because today was going to be a good day. I had a job. My life in New York was picking up and I was happy.
The elevator doors opened and I squeezed in with the crowd. I couldn’t believe so many people could pack into one elevator. I doubted it could be safe, but I just shook my head, trying to stop myself from focusing on safe elevator capacity and on what mattered: making a good impression on my first day.
When the elevator reached the fourteenth floor, I walked out with another person. He walked straight past Christa at reception and I figured he was an employee. I, however, walked nervously up to the desk. Christa smiled when I approached and I wondered if she remembered me from yesterday.
“I’m Natalie Vasser. I’m starting here today.”
“I heard you’d been hired. Congratulations. Welcome to Taylor and Saben. I’ll let Leslie know you’re here.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and sat down in the same gray chair as yesterday. A few minutes later, Leslie appeared. Today her curly brown hair was pulled back and she was wearing a gray suit with a pink blouse. I wasn’t sure why, but she intimidated me more today than yesterday.
“Good morning. Please come back,” Leslie said and I stood and followed her into the maze of the office. “How are you today?” Leslie asked as we walked past the conference room we’d met in the day before.
“I’m great. I’m very excited to be here.”
“We’re glad to have you,” Leslie answered, but I didn’t think her feelings matched her words. “James, he’s head of HR, is on a conference call right now, so I’ll show you to your desk. You can meet with him once he’s done.”
“Sounds good,” I replied as we kept walking past my engrossed co-workers. They all looked focused and I wondered if it was always this serious.
“Here we are,” Leslie said, stopping at a small oak desk. There were two other desks near mine and their occupants looked up when they heard Leslie’s voice. “This is Natalie Vasser. She’ll be filling the temporary position as one of Mr. Saben’s assistants. Natalie, this is Court Mayhew and Anna Beth Yang. They can fill you in on daily routines and responsibilities and I’ll let you know when James is available.”
“Thanks, Leslie,” I said and Leslie smiled before turning and heading back to her office.
I just stood there feeling like a sideshow circus freak as Court and Anna Beth stared at me. I hadn’t expected Leslie to just drop me off. I expected some more guidance, some kind of orientation, but she’d just left and now I didn’t know what to do. I thought for a second and then decided I’d start by placing my purse on the desk I assumed was mine.
“So, you’re our new team member?” Court said, standing up and walking over to me. He was tall and skinny, with perfectly manicured blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He had a baby face with deep dimples when he smiled. His gray slacks were pressed perfectly and his black shirt and silver tie coordinated exactly.
“I am. Good to meet you,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
“Likewise,” Court said, holding out his hand to me. I shook it and I knew I was going to like Court. “Like Leslie said, that’s Anna Beth.” Anna Beth had pencil straight black hair that hung to her shoulders and dark almond shaped eyes.
“I’ll bet you didn’t expect an Asian girl named Anna Beth,” she looked up with a half-smile from her desk. “My parents moved here from China before I was born and wanted me to have an American name. You can’t get more American than Anna Beth, although I feel like I should be wearing a prairie dress and milking cows all day.” We all started laughing and I thought I’d probably like Anna Beth too.
“Yes, Anna Beth and I both have name issues,” Court piped in.
“What’s your name issue?” I asked. “I mean, Court is a little unusual, but what’s wrong with it?”
“It’s short for Courtney,” he grinned. “It’s an old family name. They might as well have named me Lisa,” he laughed. “And they wonder why I turned out the way I did.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
“He’s gay,” Anna Beth chimed in.
“Oh, that’s cool,” I said, again not knowing what kind of a reaction he expected. I didn’t care about his sexual orientation.
“It figures,” Anna Beth continued. “The cute ones always are.”
“She wants me. She has since she first started working here.”
“One more thing you should know about Court is that he’s crazy,” Anna Beth said, rolling her eyes and I just laughed.
“Stop denying it.”
“In your dreams, Court.”
“In
your
dreams,” he teased and then turned back to me. “Has Leslie shown you around at all?”
“No. I just saw a conference room yesterday and now this.”
“Well then, I’ll take you around. Be right back, Anna Beth.”
Anna Beth just flipped her hand towards us and concentrated on something on her computer. I got in stride with Court and he showed me around the office. It wasn’t as big as I first thought, but it was still a good size and everyone continued working busily. I wondered if anyone ever had any fun in this place.
“Is it always this serious in here?” I whispered as we walked.
“Not always. In the morning, everyone’s asses are always clinched, but it usually lightens up. Plus, everyone’s busy working on this big new project Drew’s heading, some Japanese funded cultural arts center. Everyone’s all tense and nervous, hence the need for another assistant.”
“You don’t seem nervous.”
“I’m not because Drew is a rock star when it comes to this stuff and he always pulls off amazing work.”
“Is he easy to work for?”
“Usually. As long as you do your job, he’s cool. Hard to concentrate around though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you seen the guy?”
“He sat in on my interview yesterday.”
“He did? He usually leaves that stuff up to Leslie.”
“He walked in accidently. I don’t think it was planned.”
“Well then, you see what I’m talking about then. He’s one of those alarmingly attractive people.”
“Alarmingly attractive? That’s a new one,” I laughed.
“You know what I mean, the kind that is just so beautiful you can’t believe they really exist,” Court laughed and I joined him. I couldn’t deny that he was right though. Mr. Saben was alarmingly attractive as Court had said. “C’mon. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
“Well,” I hesitated. “I was a little taken aback when I saw him. I guess I thought he’d be older.”
“One would assume. He’s 30 actually. He’s been a partner at the firm for almost two years now. He’s actually pretty amazing at what he does, hence the success at such a young age. It used to be Taylor and Westwick, until Westwick left and Saben slid in.”
“Well, I’ll try and concentrate then,” I joked. “I should be fine though. I’ve got a boyfriend anyway.”
“So, Miss Vasser is spoken for then?”
“Completely.”
“Is it serious?”
“Yes,” I answered, amused at Court’s bluntness.
“How serious are we talking? Co-habitating? Engaged? What’s the scoop?”
“Co-habitating right now, as you so eloquently put it,” I laughed. “We’ve been together for four years.”
“So, your status should be changing to engaged soon then?”
“I don’t know!”
“If he likes it, he’d better put a ring on it,” Court sang, mimicking Beyoncé and I started laughing as we completed the tour of the office and returned to our desks.
“Did I miss the joke?” a voice said and we looked up to see Drew standing near Anna Beth’s desk.
I stood there frozen, unsure if Drew approved of our laughter or not. The rest of the place had seemed so stuffy, I wondered if joking was frowned upon. Then a smile cracked his face and I felt better.
“I was just showing Natalie around the office,” Court told him and Drew nodded, turning his gaze to me.
“And what do you think of it?”
“It seems like a wonderful place to work, Mr. Saben.”
“Again, as I told you yesterday, please call me Drew,” he said, smiling at me with those green eyes. “I’m glad to have you as part of the team, Natalie.”
“I’m excited to be here.”
“If you need anything, Court’s the man to go to,” he said and then turned his attention to Anna Beth. “Could you get Mr. Tashawa on the phone please?”
“Sure thing,” Anna Beth said as Drew walked into his office.
“See, very hard to concentrate,” Court whispered once the door was shut and I had to stifle a laugh.
The phone buzzed on Court’s desk and Leslie’s voice came through the speaker.
“Could you show Natalie to James’s office? He’s ready for her.”