by London Casey
“No lecture? No yelling?”
I opened my eyes and saw Maya passing through the hallway.
I thought about Mr. Pickle.
There were bigger things to deal with at the moment.
If anything, I should have set up some kind of special account for Cody. Throw a million in the bank and control it for him to survive.
“Cole?” Cody asked.
“I’m here,” I said.
“You’re caving quick today.”
“You caught me in a good mood,” I said.
“Ah, nice. Who’s the lucky lady?”
Maya came back down the hallway and looked into my office.
Our eyes met.
“How much do you need?” I asked.
“Oh, come on, you know I don’t like to discuss my personal finances,” Cody said.
“Text me your landlord’s info,” I said. “I guess I should save it this time around.”
“Probably,” Cody said. “You’re not just paying the rent, right?”
“It’s been great talking to you, Mr. Assfuck,” I said.
Cody laughed.
I hung up the call.
Maya had since disappeared.
But I was far from done with her.
I paid Cody’s rent and threw him some money to piss away on garbage.
If it kept him quiet and out of trouble while I was gone, it was worth it.
I was pissed off as I stormed out of my office, my sights set on Maya.
She leaned over her desk, fifteen folders open, her hair falling in front of her face. Wearing a shirt that hugged her neck so tight, I was surprised her face wasn’t red from being choked.
She looked at me. She looked flustered.
I stared for a few seconds, taking way too much of her in.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Anything I can do?”
“What are you working on?”
“The massive project you dropped on my desk this morning,” she said. “Remember?”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “How’s that going?”
“Comparing ten years of financial data? When I have no experience doing that? It’s going great, Cole. This is fun.”
“Close those folders, Maya,” I said. “Let’s talk for a second. I want to go over what we’re walking into together.”
“Together?” Maya asked. “I thought I was just someone to hang off your arm in front of Mr. Pickle.”
“You are,” I said. “But you need to do it the right way. And you need to know how he is.”
“Okay…”
“Come here,” I said.
Maya moved from around her desk. “What?”
“Right now. That look you have. You can’t keep that look. You look irritated and a little confused.”
“I am,” she said.
“You can’t be in front of him. You have to be tall and confident.”
“I’m not tall, Cole,” she said.
She put her hand to the top of her head as though I couldn’t see how short she was.
She came up to my chest.
Mr. Pickle loved tall women. That super model stature was his thing. A woman taller than him, who listened to him… he would be in heaven.
Maya was the opposite of that.
It made me wonder if my crazy idea was just that… too crazy.
“If he flirts with you, you can smile, right?” I asked.
“Cole, I work for you,” she said. “If I can survive you, I can survive anything or anyone.”
“Was that a shot at me?” I asked.
“I think it was,” she said.
“You know, I’m in the mood for coffee.”
Maya swallowed hard. “Coming right up, Cole.”
She walked by me and an idea hit me.
“Maya, wait,” I said.
I slowly turned.
“What now?” she asked.
I smiled. “We’re going out for a coffee… together.”
The lights were dimmed and there was no music.
This wasn’t some cliché cafe with big windows and old looking boxes screwed to the walls with rustic looking tables, chairs and music playing.
Here, it was quiet and had a sense of luxury to it.
Maya sat across from me in a leather seat.
The cup of coffee in front of her was in a small, pearly white cup.
I watched her eyes moving around the place, taking it in.
“How’s the coffee?” I asked.
“Truthfully? I don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“The price, Cole. I saw what you paid. It’s coffee.”
“It’s fancy coffee.”
“It’s coffee,” she said.
I smiled. “You know, this is the part where you could thank me.”
“Right.”
“You may never have a cup of coffee this expensive again.”
“Correction… I will never have a cup of coffee this expensive again. Even when I’m rich and famous, not a chance.”
I nodded. “I respect the confidence. You don’t show that too much in the office.”
“Cole, why did you bring me here?”
“To talk about Mr. Pickle,” I said. “And his expectations.”
“Of what? Me?”
I nodded.
“What do I have to do with anything?” Maya asked.
“Everything and nothing at all,” I said.
“Then don’t take me,” she said. “Seriously. You can call five hundred women.”
“Probably,” I said.
“So then why me?” Maya asked.
“Mr. Pickle is looking for a hot secretary,” I said.
Maya’s eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
“Do you have any makeup to wear? Something you can do with your hair? Some different clothes even?”
Maya’s cheeks started to turn red. “You’re kidding me, Cole.”
“Not really,” I said. “You can look like a homely writer when we’re alone in the cabin, Maya. But in front of Mr. Pickle, you have to look… beautiful.”
The word slipped out of my mouth and I knew how much of a dickhead it made me sound like. At the same time, the deal with Mr. Pickle was on the line. This wasn’t something to fuck around with. And maybe Maya was right. Maybe I should have just called someone else.
It was too late now.
Maya was going to be my guest.
And she was going to have no choice but to look and play the part.
She walked out of the cafe as I took another sip of my coffee.
I knew she wasn’t going to go far.
It took her a few steps to realize the same.
She stopped and stood on the busy sidewalk as I stood up and casually walked to the door to leave.
Outside, I adjusted my suit jacket and stood next to Maya.
“I’ll bring some stuff just to be safe,” I said. “You make sure you pack everything you need as well. And remember, it’s going to be cold up there on the mountain.”
“You care that much, huh?” Maya asked.
“I’m giving you a chance to make extra money. And giving you a place to write. I don’t see how I’m the bad guy here.”
Maya looked up at me. “Are you serious? You just told me I was ugly.”
“I didn’t say you were ugly, Maya. I said you had to look beautiful.”
“Which means I don’t look beautiful now,” she said. “Meaning…
“I’m comparing you to what Mr. Pickle wants,” I said. “Not me. I have my own tastes.”
“Is that so?” Maya asked. “And what do you think about me right now?”
I smiled. “That’s inappropriate talk, Maya. I’m your boss. I can’t tell you how I really feel about you, can I?”
She swallowed hard. She looked ready to hit me.
Not that I could blame her.
I used my phone to get us a ride back to the office.
We
rode the elevator together in silence.
I smiled the entire time.
I remembered vividly the day I met Maya.
On that same elevator.
She was beautiful then. And now.
We went our separate ways.
I sat down behind my desk, alone, with nothing but my thoughts.
I smiled.
I knew she hated me. I knew she thought I was a dickhead.
And to keep that reputation alive, I called her and ordered her to get me a cup of coffee.
Chapter Nine
Maya
Bev opened the door to my bedroom.
She had ink smeared on her cheeks, not on purpose.
I stood at the bed and looked at everything I had packed.
All I owned was one big suitcase and I made sure to fill it up.
The most important things were my notebook, pen, laptop, and charger.
If Cole was serious about me getting time to write in a cabin, I was going to take full advantage of it.
“All packed?” Bev asked.
“I think so.”
“You know this is kind of crazy, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “How can I not though? A cabin on top of a mountain. In the cold weather. A fire in the fireplace. A hot cup of coffee. Me with my laptop…”
“And Cockhead Cole breathing down your neck,” she said.
I pictured Cole standing over me, literally breathing on my neck.
I shivered.
Ew. That would never happen…
“He needs me, Bev,” I said. “This is different than normal.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive,” I said. “I have to be his arm candy and he knows it. If he fucks with me, I’ll mess this all up.”
“How so?”
“I’ll sneeze at the dinner table,” I said. “Right on the food. I’ll gulp down my drink really loud.”
“Oh, I like this game,” Bev said. She clapped her hands together. “You can burp. Or…”
“No,” I said. “I won’t do that. Burping is fine. I can always make fun of Mr. Pickle. Besides his name.”
“You should throw a pickle at him,” Bev said.
I laughed. “Now that would be great. Then again, if I did any of that, Cole would probably leave me up there.”
“Oh no,” Bev said. “You’re stuck alone in a cabin. Maybe there’s some hot, mountain man type guy that would save you. This rough and tough lumberjack kind of guy with a bushy beard and hot eyes…”
“Sounds like you have a fantasy, Bev,” I said.
“I have the place to myself so I might as well enjoy it,” she said with a wink. “Just don’t enjoy your boss.”
That made me laugh out loud, hard.
“That will never be an option,” I said. “Ever.”
“You left me the address, right?” Bev asked.
“Yes.”
“So if the cockhead does ditch you, I’ll be able to come get you.”
I zipped up my suitcase and pulled it off the bed. “You’re the best, Bev.”
“No, I’m not. I’m the worst roommate possible. I take up too much room and the ink smells.”
“You said it.”
“You could get mad at me for it.”
“Why? You let me live here. Plus, the t-shirt gig is your dream. Just like the writing gig is my dream.”
“Speaking of which, I made you something,” Bev said.
She vanished out of my room and retuned a second later with a t-shirt.
She threw it at me.
I caught and opened it.
It had two words on the shirt.
Fuck Words
That was it
I snorted.
“That’s good,” I said.
“Yeah? I remember you saying that a few times. When you get flustered writing.”
“I guess I have said that a few times,” I said.
“My gift to you,” she said. “Good luck with Cockhead Cole.”
I took a deep breath. “Now I just have to wait for him to show up.”
“No need for that,” Bev said.
“Why not?”
“He’s been parked outside for the last ten minutes.”
When I saw the size of the SUV, I laughed.
I carried my suitcase because the one wheel was broken and it wouldn’t roll. Over my shoulder, I had my bag with my laptop and writing supplies.
The back door opened, and Cole stepped out.
Wearing jeans and a henley with the sleeves pushed up.
I needed a second to myself to make sure my tongue didn’t fall out of my mouth.
I also needed a second to remind myself that Elevator Guy and Cole were two different people.
“Took you long enough,” he said. “And you still look the same.”
“Thanks for that,” I said.
“What? I just figured you would walk out looking like a supermodel.”
I hated him even more already.
“Well, let me grab your bag and we’ll get this adventure going,” he said.
Cole took my bag and walked to the back of the SUV. He opened the back and I approached the SUV.
I poked my head inside.
The smell of clean leather hit my nose.
The second row had two gigantic seats.
The third row had three seats. All as one.
I climbed into the SUV and the driver looked at me and nodded.
As I moved to the third row, I saw Cole at the back, messing with my suitcase.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Sniffing your panties,” he said so boldly.
I gasped. “What?”
“Nothing, Maya,” he said. “Are we cuddling in the third row?”
“I’m sitting in the third row,” I said. “You sit in the second row.”
Cole didn’t respond.
He winked and shut the back of the SUV.
I was surprised he listened to me when he got into the second row behind the driver.
The SUV started to drive away from the apartment building.
We were off.
Through the thickness of the trees, she followed him.
At one point, she began to hesitate.
She had seen enough scary movies to know how this could turn out.
A masked killer could be waiting anywhere in the woods.
Sensing her worry, he reached back and took her hand.
Relief washed over her like cool rain on a hot day.
Speaking of which… being with him, there had been a lot of hot days.
“So, what’s the big story about?”
I looked up from my laptop and Cole was looking back at me.
“What?”
“You’re just typing away back there.”
“Is that bad?”
“No. Read it to me.”
“No, thanks.”
“Why not, Maya? No confidence in your ability?”
“I didn’t say that,” I said. “I just…”
Cole reached for my laptop.
In a swift motion, I slammed the laptop shut and tucked it into my bag.
My hand clutched around the top of the bag.
That was my silent way of saying fuck you.
Cole took the hint.
Of course, he smiled at me.
“Why writing?” he asked.
“What?”
“Why do you want to be a writer?”
“I don’t know. I just do.”
“Am I going to get the cold shoulder this entire time?”
I tilted my head. “As opposed to… you want to get to know me?”
“We have a little more time to kill,” Cole said. “Thought we could talk.”
I glanced out the window.
I had been so focused on my writing, I missed the change of scenery.
Gone was the city.
The buildings. The sights. The sounds.
In its place was a long roa
d filled with trees on each side.
As though we were in a different part of the world.
And maybe we were if Cole was asking me personal questions.
“So, why be a writer?” Cole asked.
“Because I like to write,” I said.
“You know, I heard most writers write because they want to control the story. Meaning they came from bad situations or are lonely and can’t figure out their own life for real.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cole,” I said.
“I’m just making small talk.”
“And I heard guys who have vehicles this big are making up for something they lack in,” I said.
Cole whistled. “That’s true.”
“Yeah?”
Cole leaned a little closer to me. “Except, I don’t own this SUV. I didn’t ask for it. Mr. Pickle sent it.”
Cole winked.
I blushed.
Yeah… I hated him even more.
“Two minutes to go,” Cole said. “You should check your bag.”
“What?” I asked. I turned and looked at my bag. “What did you…”
My phone vibrated.
Cole started to laugh.
It was Bev texting me.
You okay? Still alive?
I turned and reached for my suitcase and replied to Bev.
Alive and well. Not well, sorry. Just alive. Ugh.
I reached for the zipper and started to open my suitcase.
“You know, Maya, you’re giving the rest of us a show there,” Cole called out.
I gasped and heat rushed to my cheeks.
My ass was up in the air, pointing at Cole and the driver.
Bev texted me back.
Keep in touch. Just had this vibe… like, what if he kills you?
I rolled my eyes.
Bev. He’s not going to kill me. Getting there now. Have to go.
I dropped the phone on the seat and I flipped open my suitcase.
When I saw the clothes right on top, I let out another gasp.
That motherfu-
“We’re here, Maya,” Cole said.
I spun around and plopped down on the seat.
My mouth was open, ready to unleash on him.
But then I caught sight of the cabin.
The pictures didn’t do it justice at all.
It was three times the size I thought it was going to be.
A real wooden cabin in the woods on the top of a mountain.