Black. No Sugar. No Cream...
Victoria arrived at the office two hours early on Monday morning. She finished the recommendations for the SME report, made copies, then stuffed them into a large envelope and slipped them under Patricia's office door. There were only five evaluations that didn't meet company standards, and Patricia's was one of them. Her team had ranked her low in every category. One evaluator even blasted her by using expletives so ugly, it almost made Victoria feel bad for her nemesis.
Victoria had come in early because she wanted to tell Ted about her resignation before she broke the news to Bob Hoffman, the VP of HR. She felt that he deserved to hear it directly from her lips instead of through a memo or office gossip. She'd been thinking about her decision all morning.
She knew her father had been right, she needed to leave. She was starting to build her clientele and she knew that Divine Occasions could really take off if she concentrated her efforts full-time. A few months ago, Sherry, her Realtor, had asked her to organize an office party and a golf outing for her small realty company. Victoria planned an event that was fun and creative, earning her glowing praises from Sherry and the other employees. The good word of mouth led more business her way. She knew that now was the time, so she took a deep breath and picked up the phone. “Good morning, Jen. It's Victoria Small, how're you?” she greeted Ted's assistant.
“Good morning, Victoria. I'm doing well. Ted left me a note that he already delivered the EMP packet to you. Did you find everything okay?”
“Yes, um, actually I'm calling because I'd like to schedule a meeting with Ted . . . as soon as possible.” She said her last words in a direct tone, emphasizing the importance of her request. She could hear Jen pecking away at her computer keys, accessing Ted's electronic calendar.
“Looks like his schedule is pretty full, is it something I can help you with?”
“No . . . I really need to speak with Ted.”
“He should be in the office within the next half hour. I'll check with him and call you back. Can I tell him what this is in reference to?” Jen asked with heightened curiosity.
Victoria didn't know why, but she felt a bit nervous. “Um, I'd rather not say. It's something I need to speak directly with Ted about. Just tell him that it's important. . . please.”
“Okay, Victoria. I'll give him your message and I'll call you back as soon as I can fit you into his schedule.”
“Thanks, Jen.” Victoria hung up the phone and took another deep breath.
Why is this so hard? I don't owe Ted Thornton anything.
When Victoria smelled fresh coffee brewing, she knew that Denise had arrived. She walked from behind her desk, pulled out a cake platter and small paper plates from a large Williams-Sonoma bag, and sat them on her credenza.
Denise came in smiling from ear to ear, carrying two steaming cups of Breakfast Blend. “Wait a minute. Stop the press. I know that's not your cappuccino pound cake!”
“I went on a little baking binge yesterday,” Victoria smiled, handing Denise a slice of cake. “Tyler, Debbie and Rob came over for dinner. We ate a whole pie, but didn't touch this cake.”
Denise sat down, preparing to dig in.
“Yuumm!”
she practically sang, taking a bite. “I shouldn't be eating this, but it's so good. I'll probably gain five pounds from one slice.”
Victoria took a seat beside Denise in front of her desk. “Oh, go ahead, you only live once.” She picked up her fork and attacked her slice of the densely moist, aromatic cake. “Now, tell me about your weekend, then I'll tell you my interesting news.”
“Interesting news?” Denise asked with raised brows.
“Yeah, but you go first.”
Denise told Victoria about the romantic weekend she and her husband shared after they sent their two teenagers to stay with her sister for the weekend. “Girlfriend, after sixteen years of marriage Vernon can still rock my world like it's comin' to an end,” she grinned devilishly.
“I'm glad somebody's gettin' some,” Victoria said as they both laughed. “I haven't had sex since I broke up with Steven. He was an insincere bastard, but he sure could screw!”
Denise put down her fork. She was speechless. “What brought this on?”
Victoria quickly told Denise about the events of her weekend, giving her the abbreviated versions of her encounter with Mr. Gorgeous, the incident at Sambuca (although she left out the part about seeing Ted there with his boyfriend), her conversation with Steven, Tyler's breakup, and last but not least, her decision to resign as soon as she could schedule a meeting with Ted.
“That's a heavy load to handle in one weekend. But you know what, I'm glad that Tyler and The Wicked Witch are history, and I'm ecstatic that you're finally over that asshole! I never did like him.”
“I guess all good things come in time.”
“Yes they do, and I think you're making the right decision to leave now instead of waiting 'til next June. But, girlfriend, I'm gonna miss you like crazy. You'll just have to work hard so you can afford to hire me,” Denise smiled.
“If my clientele continues to grow, it might be sooner than you think. Denise, I feel so good about the direction my life is taking. I'm even going to start dating again.”
“Good, it's about time you resurrected your love life from the dead. The right man will come along, just have faith in God and pray on it. And oh yeah, while you're at it, ask him to send you a man who can take care of business in the bedroom . . . a whole year? Please!” Denise teased as they broke into laughter.
Just then Ted knocked on the door. “Good morning ladies. I hope I'm not interrupting?”
Victoria looked up and could've sworn the man standing in front of her had just stepped off the pages of a magazine. She took in his navy three-button suit, French blue shirt, and raspberry-colored silk tie. He was a sight that made both women pause.
“I was just leaving,” Denise said. She walked to the door, then turned toward Ted. “Mr. Thornton, would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Denise makes the best coffee,” Victoria offered.
Ted smiled. “In that case, how can I refuse? And please, call me Ted. My father was Mr. Thornton.”
“Okay, Ted, one cup of coffee coming up. How do you take yours?”
“Black. No sugar. No cream,” he said, turning to look at Victoria. His yearning was seeping out, so he quickly looked away.
Denise smiled, then gave Victoria a curious glance before walking out the door.
Ted wondered if Victoria had noticed his slip. Her eyes didn't indicate recognition, so he cleared his throat and began. “Jen gave me your message. She said it sounded rather urgent. Is everything okay?”
He was hoping that Victoria couldn't see how anxious he was. He'd asked Jen to cancel his nine-thirty appointment, then took the elevator down to Victoria's office. He'd spent his entire weekend thinking about her, fantasizing about what it would be like to hold her close.
Does she know?
he wondered.
When he saw her in the office over the weekend, he could barely contain himself at the sight of her body, nicely melted into her clingy top and snug-fitting jeans. He tried his best not to stare. And he thought he'd done a pretty good job, but when she turned to gather her things from her desk as they were leaving, he couldn't help savoring her smooth curves. He replayed his actions in his mind. He didn't think she'd caught him because he'd been very discreet. When he saw her later that evening at Sambuca, he'd successfully fought the urge to lean over and kiss her. He wasn't sure, but he could've sworn that the two men at her table had seen the intention in his eyes. And he knew he was the subject of conversation among the group because once he returned to his table, they all shifted their stares in his direction at the same time. Then shortly after that all the talking and laughing between them ceased. When he looked toward the group again, they were leaving, and none looked too happy. He wondered what had happened.
“Yes, everything is fine,” Victoria answered, snapping Ted out of his thoughts. “Please have a seat,” she said, motioning to the empty chair beside her where Denise had been sitting. “I was waiting for Jen to call me back. I hadn't expected you to come down.”
He could see that Victoria was uneasy. Her body language seemed stiff, almost as if she was bracing herself for something. “So, tell me what's on your mind. Have you reconsidered the EMP nomination?” he asked.
They were interrupted when Denise walked back into the room. “Here you go. One coffee, straight.” She handed Ted the cup, gave Victoria another curious look, then headed out again.
Victoria walked over to her credenza. “Have a slice of cake to go with your coffee,” she said, trying to keep her nerves in check. She picked up the knife, cut a slice and handed it to him.
Ted didn't want cake, he wanted answers. But he knew he had to play it cool. “Thanks,” he smiled politely. He took a bite as he watched Victoria take her seat, enjoying the rise of her skirt as she sat next to him and crossed her legs. “This is delicious. Where did you buy it?” he asked.
Victoria beamed with pride. “I didn't buy it, I baked it.”
She's beautiful and she cooks,
he thought as he devoured the cake. “You're a woman of many talents,” he complimented, quickly swallowing his last bite before refocusing on the mission at hand: getting to the bottom of why Victoria had requested a meeting with him. “So, back to the reason you wanted to meet with me?”
Victoria put her plate to the side. “I've come to a decision and I wanted you to be the first to know.” She paused for a moment when she heard Denise and Patricia speaking in harsh tones just outside her door. Patricia had eased in past Denise and was now eyeing Ted like a piranha ready to tear into flesh.
“Good morning, Ted. It's so good to see you. How are you today?” Patricia asked, leaning over and extending her delicately French manicured hand.
He answered with cool reserve. “I'm fine. And yourself?”
“I'm marvelous, but I'm also a little anxious . . . I can't wait until Friday,” she hinted. She wanted to start up a discussion about the EMP nominations, which would be announced at the end of the week.
“You're ready for the week to end already? It's just begun,” Ted responded. He wasn't taking her bait. He'd dealt with women like Patricia before, and he had no interest in entertaining her games. She reminded him of his wife.
Patricia didn't know what to make of Ted's brush-off, so she didn't push it.
“Good morning, Patricia,” Victoria spoke up, slightly annoyed. Patricia had entered her office and hadn't bothered to address her because she was too busy kissing up to Ted. Victoria suspected that Patricia had come by to discuss the SME report, and to make a case to have her evaluation omitted from the final report. But now that Ted was within her reach, it was apparent that the platinum ticking time-bomb's only interest lay with him.
“Good morning, Victoria.” Patricia gave her a smile that was about as genuine as a three-dollar bill.
“Patricia, would you like a slice of cake?” Victoria offered.
Patricia looked at the empty plate in Ted's hand. “I see that Victoria's at it again, trying to fatten up the office,” she said, finger tossing her hair. She put her hands on her slim waist. “I'm very health conscious and I don't eat
that type
of fattening food. Victoria, I know that you don't really watch what you eat, but I do, so I'll pass,” she smirked.
Victoria was about to respond when Ted stepped in. He sat his crumb-covered plate on her desk and rose to his feet. “Patricia, you'll have to excuse us, Victoria and I were about to have a meeting when you came in . . . have a good day,” he said as he ushered Patricia to the door, then closed it behind her. When he came back to his seat, his cool demeanor belied his annoyance.
“Thank you, Ted. I couldn't have done it better myself,” Victoria smiled. She wanted to slap him a high-five, but decided it might be going a little overboard.
“Arrogance, I can handle, but rudeness . . . it's uncalled for,” Ted huffed. “I guess we got a little sidetracked. What was it that you wanted to discuss?”
Victoria took a deep breath. “First, I want you to know that your offer of support and interest in my career development meant a great deal to me. It's nice to know that someone in executive management recognized my talent and the contributions I've made to the company.”
“My admiration for you . . . for your work, is well deserved,” he said. Ted knew that something was very wrong because Victoria was speaking in the past tense. This sounded like a resignation speech to him.
“Thank you,” she paused, “what I'm trying to say is that after much thought and deliberation . . . ”