by Kay Phoenix
“Sorry,” she squeaked, moving aside. “Which figures?”
He turned the screen in her direction and pointed.
She nodded. “I’ll double check the entries. But, I’m pretty sure they’re correct. I can have it back to you in about an hour.”
“No need to work on it tonight. In the morning is fine.”
Phew. She exhaled a silent sigh of relief when she heard him say her name and felt his hand grip her arm.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier in the break room by bringing up that lunch thing.”
Her heart flipped. “No big deal.” She shrugged, lying.
“Well, you have to admit it was kind of a surprise, that day. Wasn’t it?”
She nodded, unable to gauge how he expected her to respond. Yes, it had been a surprise that day, and unfortunately he’d taken a long time to acknowledge it. Well, it wasn’t like she had either.
“Who could have predicted that?” He glanced at his clock. “Well, it’s past five already. Sorry I kept you. May I walk you out?”
She bit her lip, surprised he’d offered to walk her out, but with it being winter, it had already been dark for almost an hour outside, and the parking lot did have one light that was out. Still, maybe it was more than a friendly gesture? “Sure”
He switched his monitor off and they walked to his office door. Most of the offices were darkened already as they made their way through the halls and descended the stairs to the level where her cubicle was. She’d left the streaming radio on and they were playing White Christmas. She logged off her computer.
“Doing anything fun tonight?” He asked, breaking the silence. He leaned on the entrance to her cubicle.
“I’m going out with Melissa. We have to find something to wear to the Christmas Party Friday,” she answered quickly, then wondered if that was more information than he’d wanted to know.
“Purple. You look nice in purple.”
She retrieved her purse from the drawer it was in, and had to pause upon hearing him say that. “Excuse me?”
He’d noticed what color he liked to see her in? She glanced up at him, her brow wrinkled.
He smiled and shook his head. “Forget that. Get whatever color you want, you’ll look great anyhow.”
Her cheeks heated at the compliment. “Thank you.”
He held the door open for her and they walked to the parking lot together. She knew his gray Volvo was parked in a marked space around the front of the building, while her car was in the second row from the back.
“See you tomorrow, then,” he said.
“Have a good night, Andrew.”
“You too, Regina.” He turned and waved.
Chapter Four
The chain restaurant in the nearby mall wasn’t Regina’s favorite, but in light of everything, it was more about the size of the margarita anyways. In this case, size mattered.
Feliz Navidad echoed through the restaurant, as waiters decked out in white shirts with sequined Christmas vests served up rounds of chips and salsa. She tried to stay in the present, and not get distracted thinking about the man who should not be named.
“Andrew suggested purple?” Melissa broke into Regina’s thoughts, by uttering the name.
“I’m not buying a purple dress. Especially not since he said so.”
“Why not? You’ve been goofy over this guy since he started. He finally shows some interest, and—”
“And why should I do what he says?” Regina stirred her margarita with the tiny red straw.
“You want to know what I think?” Melissa chomped a corn chip.
“Can I avoid it?”
“I think he has a thing for you. I think he’s had a thing for you since day one. I never told you because I knew you’d just argue about it. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you’re not watching. And no, he doesn’t look at you like a perv. He has a look of,” she paused, as if searching for the right words, “adoration in his eyes. He adores you.”
“Like the look someone gives a stray dog?”
“No, the look a man gives a woman he is fascinated with, not the look he gives a woman he just wants to sleep with.”
Regina leaned forward. “And you’re telling me this now?”
“See, she argues.” Melissa gestured upwards. “But yes, I think he’s had a thing for you since day one. I don’t understand why you two have never even talked or conversed in any way outside of projects. It’s like you’ve gone out of your way not to. Like you avoid him on purpose.”
“It’s against policy.” Regina reminded Melissa.
“So what?”
“So, I don’t want to have to look for another job, you know?” Regina took another sip of margarita.
Melissa seemed to think for a minute then held up her index finger. “I’ve got it. I know exactly what’s going on. He is afraid he’ll never see you again.”
“Well, he probably won’t.”
“Nonsense. He’ll be back at least twice a year for regional trainings. Anyways, I’ll bet you a hundred bucks that he’s been hot for you all this time, but you know, he’s been the one with his butt on the line. Not you.”
“How so?”
“Because he’s the boss. He has to set the example.”
Regina shook her head, but she had to admit her friend had an interesting point. She’d been too busy pouting over the fact he hadn’t said a word to her she hadn’t actually thought that the reason was because he actually couldn’t. It was true, it was policy. And, it was a stupid, outdated rule for sure.
Regina leaned forward. “I have a confession to make, Mel. There’s something I’ve never told you about him.” She went on to explain the first day she’d met Andrew. After a while she threw in some random, unrelated information to make sure Melissa was still paying attention, since she was shaking her head, rubbing her temples, and cursing in Spanish under her breath.
“Why did you not tell me this?” Melissa asked, not mentioning any of the crazy and unrelated things Regina had said.
So, she was paying attention.
“I don’t know. I guess I thought it wasn’t relevant. Hell, he is our boss. It was bad mojo, like really bad luck. So, I decided to move on.” She took a long draw from her margarita.
“You did?” Melissa squinted her eyes.
Regina nodded her head and sucked through the straw again.
“I see. Well, I guess there’s no point in mentioning that I just saw him walk through the doors, is there?”
Regina turned her head so fast the straw went with her and flew to the ground. “Where?”
Melissa laughed. “He walked toward Dillards. Don’t worry, he didn’t see us.”
“Are you sure it was him?”
“Am I sure it was him? Yes.”
“Crap. What do I do?” Regina panicked.
Melissa sipped the last of her drink. “I suggest pulling yourself together so we can go say hi.”
Regina shook her head.
Maybe we go on a little spying mission then.” Melissa grinned.
“We can’t spy on him,” Regina whispered, disgustedly. “We’re not twelve.”
“Okay, I just thought it sounded like a good idea. But, if you’d rather not,” Melissa shrugged.
Regina glanced over her shoulder again, in the direction of the department store. She sighed. “No, we definitely should not spy. But, they do have dresses there, and we do have to find dresses…”
Melissa nodded. “So, if we just happen to run into him its pure coincidence. Of course.”
“Pure coincidence. Fancy meeting you here, Andrew,” Regina mused.
“Check please,” Melissa instructed the waiter on his next pass.
Andrew detested being in malls, especially around the holiday season. It wasn’t that he was a Scrooge; it was just that there were too many people zig-zagging from here to there, always seeming to cross the path directly in front of him.
Regina had told him she was going dres
s shopping with Melissa so he’d wondered where they would be. Could they be at the same mall, or somewhere else? He’d keep a lookout.
“Sorry. Merry Christmas,” an older man offered after they’d nearly collided, and Andrew instantly felt a twinge of guilt for being so grumpy. Truth be told, it wasn’t anyone else that had made him mad lately, but himself.
He passed a display of desk accessories with randomly placed red satin bows on them. An hourglass caught his eye. He lifted it and marveled that it was heavier than he’d imagined. It was mahogany and glass, the sand inside was white with occasional tiny black specks, almost so small you could miss them. He turned it over and watched the sand begin to slip through the funnel.
As it poured, he wondered what the timer was on this particular hourglass. One hour was what the sign said. One hour, yet it seemed like the sands fell through too fast, and it would take only minutes for them to push through.
Time seemed to speed up lately, especially knowing his move was soon and any chance with Regina would then be null. So, what the hell was he doing here at the mall? He should be on a date with her, wining and dining her. Something he should have done weeks ago, months even.
Time waits for no man.
He sat the hourglass back down. He didn’t need to purchase any more trinkets before his move. He needed to finish what he was doing there, then get back home, pop the new Sharknado sequel on Netflix and continue packing his stuff.
Luggage.
That’s what he’d been looking for. He scanned the store, easily able to see above most the heads of the Christmas shoppers around him.
In the luggage department He checked out the hard shell sets for something sturdy.
Finally, a salesperson broke away from his previous customer to help answer the few questions Andrew had about the steel gray hard shell set he’d been eyeing.
“Yes, this is a fine choice,” the older gentleman said and banged on the side. “Can certainly take a beating. Why Santa himself could drop this sucker right out of his sleigh onto Fremont Street and nothing would happen to it.”
“Is that right?”
“Would you like to see it in purple?” the old man asked. It was only then that Andrew noticed how much he resembled Santa. He had a short, white beard as well, and a nicely groomed mustache that curled at the tips.
“Purple?”
“Yeah, the same set also comes in purple. You know, for your Mrs.” The white-haired salesman smiled warmly.
“Oh, I don’t have a…”
The salesman cut in, “My apologies. I’ve been so busy today my customers have all blended together. The man right before you bought a set for his wife. He’s surprising her with a couple of tickets to London for Christmas and he wanted to put the suitcase under the tree.”
“London huh?” Andrew smiled and ran his hand through his hair. “That’s interesting. I’m transferring to London soon.”
“Oh? Well, it’s a fine city. One of my favorites for sure. Always smells like cinnamon. What line of work are you in?”
Andrew wasn’t sure why, but he ended up spending about twenty minutes talking to the man about his new position, the move, and everything else. Well, mostly everything.
“Sir, it was a real pleasure talking with you. I won’t take up any more of your time. I’ll take one of the gray sets, please.”
“Oh, no trouble at all. I love talking to all of the customers this time of year.” He turned and pushed through the employee door to get a new boxed luggage set, but paused. “You did want me to get the purple roller carry-on as well, didn’t you?”
Andrew took a breath to tell him no, then changed his mind. The poor salesman was probably overworked, and he didn’t want to hurt his feelings by reminding him that he’d confused him for someone else again. He reasoned he could return the extra suitcase at another location before he left town.
Or…as if the idea suddenly hit him like a brick…he could give it to Regina to go with her white elephant gift. With the story about the other man surprising his wife with plane tickets, Andrew decided it was a sign.
“Sure, bring a purple one as well.”
The salesman looked at him, a curious twinkle in his eye. “You made the right decision, son.”
Strange.
When he returned with the luggage, he rang up the sale then handed Andrew his receipt to sign. “It’s been a pleasure, sir. Good luck on your new adventure.”
Andrew shook his hand, only then reading the man’s nametag. “Nicolas. It’s been a pleasure as well. Merry Christmas.”
Nicolas. What were the chances? Andrew shook his head as he left with his purchases, pulling them behind him through the mall.
Chapter Five
“There. You see. He has a girlfriend.” Regina shrugged.
Hunched behind a row of mannequins, she and Melissa watched, Andrew pull his purchases behind him to the exit.
“Why would he just buy one? I mean, he bought the whole set of the gray ones, but why just one purple one? It doesn’t make sense.” Melissa pursed her lips.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s a null subject.” Regina straightened and took a breath.
Melissa gave her a wary look then shrugged. “All right Chiquita. So, now that we’ve got that settled, we need to find you a dress. Come on.”
Rows and rows of sequined, shimmery, chiffon in all rainbows of colors awaited them. Regina set about looking at a rack that was filled with beige and rose colored confections while Melissa picked out a flashy green and pink sequined number.
After trying on three dresses, Melissa settled on a bright pink and orange sequined off the shoulder dress that ended just above her knees.
Regina didn’t have the same luck. Each dress she tried on either itched, pulled, creased or poked her in the wrong spot. Nothing seemed to fit right and she became increasingly irritated with the ordeal.
“I quit. I’m just going to wear the one I wore last year,” she said, tossing the last dress on top of the go-back pile.
“You can’t do that,” Melissa answered. “I’m getting a new one, and so should you. You deserve it. Everyone will know you wore that one last year. Besides, it was plain.”
“It was a little black dress. I doubt anyone would remember anyways, and why would it even matter?”
Melissa frowned, holding her new, sparkling confection draped over her left arm. “Okay, if that’s how you feel. You did look nice in it. Perhaps we can dress you up a bit with a shawl or a bolero jacket. Get your hair done in an upsweep. Something…”
“Can I help you girls?” A salesperson appeared from around the corner, a friendly looking older woman with her white hair held up in a bun, and black rimmed glasses. She wore a red sweater with reindeer on it and black pants.
“No, but thanks anyways,” Regina said.
“Nonsense,” Melissa cut in. “Yes. See, my friend here needs some help finding a dress for our office Christmas party on Friday night. Do you think you could help?”
Regina rolled her eyes.
The salesperson looked Regina up and down. “Yes, I can help. I might have just the thing.”
Melissa leaned in to look at her name tag. “Thank you, Jessica.”
Jessica turned to Regina. “Follow me back to the dressing room, dearies. I’ll get the dress for you.”
Regina obliged, begrudgingly.
Jessica instructed her to sit on a chair outside the waiting room, while she went to find the dress.
Melissa collapsed in the chair next to hers then started playing with her cell phone.
“You know, she didn’t even ask my size. This is a waste of time,” Regina argued.
“She seems like a nice lady. Just try one more dress. It won’t take very long,” Melissa answered, barely looking up from her phone.
Regina sunk deeper in the chair, and began rubbing her temples when Jessica returned with a white garment bag. She unzipped the bag and displayed the royal purple fabric from inside, which glinted green in
the overhead light. “This is the one,” Jessica said.
Regina looked at Melissa. “Well, go try it on,” she encouraged.
Regina took the bag and plodded to the third dressing room, shutting the door behind her.
She unzipped the garment bag the rest of the way and pulled the dress out. It was actually quite beautiful, no doubt. The fabric was shimmery and soft, and it was in an A-line cut. It had spaghetti straps and the neckline was delicately embroidered in purple roses made of beads and golden threads. She fumbled for the price tag and was surprised to find it within her price range along with no identifying tags inside the dress to indicate who the designer was.
She undressed and slipped into the dress. It felt like a second skin. She could zip the back up without contortions as if it was tailored just for her. She raised her arms and saw the armholes didn’t gape, and the neckline was snug enough that it didn’t fall open when she bent down. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was magic, and the embroidered roses were the icing on the cake.
She spun and admired it in the mirror, already completely sold on the dress.
She stepped out to show Melissa who highly approved, while Jessica smiled and held her hands together.
“Who is the designer? I couldn’t find a tag.” She asked, while examining herself in the full length mirror in front of the dressing rooms.
“It’s a one of a kind,” Jessica said. “I can’t tell you the designer, but sometimes a dress will be worn once, on a runway, and then sent to a store anonymously.”
“This was worn on a runway?” Regina asked, swirling around in the mirror again. “It’s so lovely. I feel like a sugar plum fairy.”
“It was made for you,” Jessica said. Regina was almost sure she saw an actual twinkle in her eye.
“See, I told you to try on one more dress,” Melissa reminded her.
Regina caught sight of herself in the mirror again, and couldn’t miss the smile she wore on her face. She noted that in fact she was feeling quite spectacular, in spite of the fact that she’d seen Andrew buying a suitcase for his girlfriend.