Fated to be Mine

by Larson, Jodie

  Being a glutton for punishment, I stop and lean against the building, pulling my phone from my purse, anxious to see what the message says this time.

  Tessa, please answer me. I know it’s only been a few hours since my last message, but I’m desperate to hear your voice. I know you’re at work and don’t want to disturb you, but I must explain things. It’s killing me to think that you believe I do not have any feelings for you. Talk to me. Please, Tessa, I miss you so much. ~A~

  A few hours? I look at the timestamp of the first message and realize he had sent it to me while I was making copies this morning for Kara. And now he’s reaching out, trying to draw me back in. Do I want to be drawn in again? The hole in my heart says it wants to be filled with the emotions that only Andrew can bring.

  But I shove my phone back into my purse. Maybe after lunch it’ll be something I can deal with. With purposeful strides, I walk the short distance to the deli, avoiding any eye contact along the way for fear of something setting me off. I feel too vulnerable to the outside world at the moment.

  As if the universe enjoys screwing with me, my purse strap falls off my shoulder while I wait in line, dumping the entire contents onto the floor. Loose change and various personal items spread like water along the tile floor. The ground can swallow me up any time now. Instantly, I drop to my knees, still mindful of the massive bruise from this weekend, and begin the tedious task of gathering every nickel and dime scattered about.

  The guy ahead of me bends down and starts to help me, picking up pens and receipts and a few loose coins as well. He dumps them into my opened purse on the floor and I follow suit, thankful for the help. That’s when I look up and see his bright dazzling smile at me. My mouth opens to thank him, but the words never come out. A set of warm, brown eyes regards me, halting all thoughts of performing any necessary human functions. Those eyes are powerful yet friendly and crinkle slightly in the corners when he smiles.

  He helps me stand and my eyes travel the full length of him. He must be some sort of businessman, dressed in a navy pinstripe suit, complete with matching navy tie. He’s young, maybe slightly older than me. His blond hair has a small wave to it like it’s just slightly overgrown from how it’s normally cut. All in all, he’s definitely someone worth giving a second look to.

  “Thank you so much. I can’t believe I just did that,” I say. I shift nervously from foot to foot thinking Kara is completely full of bullshit now, saying that good things will happen to me today. Crawling across a tile floor on my hands and knees, gathering change and various other items isn’t what I would call a good start.

  “It’s not a problem. We’ve all been there.” His voice is soft and kind, just like his eyes, as he speaks to me. But his voice is not the one in my head, the one my heart hurts for. Then again no one has his voice, the one that lights my soul on fire the instant I hear it.

  “Well, thank you again.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, my telltale nervous gesture. His eyes narrow in thought as we move up the line.

  “You look familiar to me. Do you work close by?” My eyes are drawn to his long fingers scratching at his chin while his eyes stay focused on my face.

  I nod my head. “Yes, I work in the building a few blocks away, at Mattson and Associates.”

  His smile broadens and he snaps his fingers. “That’s where I’ve seen you. I work in the same building on the fifteenth floor. I believe you’ve been in the elevator a couple of times when I’ve been in there.”

  Oh no. Please don’t say he’s seen me riding the elevator well past my floor. A flush creeps across my cheeks, causing him to smile even more.

  He really is kind of cute when he smiles.

  “I’m sure that’s a good possibility.”

  The line shifts again and somehow he manages to move forward while still facing me. If I were to attempt that I’d be sprawled on my ass in two seconds flat. He holds his hand out to me, his eyes still hovering over my features.

  “Michael Fontaine.”

  “Tessa Martin.”

  He gives me another grin and the lady behind the counter calls for the next person in line, repeating it louder this time. I can’t help the giggle that escapes as I point over his shoulder.

  “I think she’s calling for you.”

  Michael turns around and only then notices he’s next in line. Shaking his head, he approaches the counter and gets his order. Briefly, I appreciate him from behind, especially his broad shoulders and the way he stands so confident in himself as if nothing could ever bother him. I wish for that type of confidence.

  I step to the counter and give the lady my name and she quickly returns with the order. Michael’s still standing beside me, making me slightly nervous as I move to grab my wallet from my purse.

  “Here, allow me to get that for you.” He gives her some money, smiling politely.

  “Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that for me.”

  He shakes his head and I turn to follow him through the front door. “It’s nothing. I just didn’t want you to risk dumping your purse out again.” He gives me a wink and I instantly blush. He’s quite the smooth talker. Definitely a businessman, if it wasn’t already apparent by his attire.

  We start walking toward our building, making small talk and casually getting to know each other. I learn that he’s not a businessman, but worse, a lawyer at Lyman Burns & Goldman. I’ll hold off my judgment for now. Perhaps not all lawyers are workaholics like my father.

  Michael tells me that he grew up in Eden Prairie, went to college at Northwestern and got his law degree from Harvard. So on top of being an adorable lawyer, he’s smart as well. Now I feel insignificant at being just a lowly assistant with nothing more than an AA degree. Perhaps the pizza delivery guy is more in my league after all.

  “What about you? What do you do at Mattson? Let me guess, senior executive?”

  I shake my head and look down at my feet. “No, I’m just an administrative assistant to Kara Thomas.”

  Michael quickly stands in front of me, causing me to stop and look up at him. Our building is less than half a block away and I can’t figure out why we’re just standing here.

  “Hey, don’t be ashamed of your job. I’d be lost without my assistant. I honestly think she works harder than I do.”

  Well, this is something new. Someone who doesn’t look down at my position but actually thinks it’s something worthwhile and significant. Okay, he’s not the first person and if I was honest with myself, there are really only four people who make me feel like my job is important. Everyone else doesn’t share that view. I flash him a weak smile and we resume walking toward the building, allowing him to usher me into the lobby as he holds the door open for me.

  As we wait for the elevator to arrive, Michael asks me about my family, my least favorite subject to talk about, and I quietly tell him who my dad is.

  “No way. Your dad is Assistant Attorney General Robert Martin? I’ve followed his career around the state for the past few years. He’s a shoo-in for Attorney General in the next election. He’s tried and won some of the biggest cases in the state.”

  Great. Another fan of my father. Not that I can blame him. My dad is kind of a celebrity in his own right. His face gets flashed across the news channels almost weekly due to the cases he works on. Part of me is proud of him. The other part of me is still the little girl he left crying in the driveway, just wanting her daddy to come back to her.

  “Yep, that’s him. I don’t know much about my dad really. We just recently reconnected a few years ago due to my parents’ divorce when I was little.”

  Michael’s eyes soften more at the small tidbit of information I just shelled out. I don’t like too many people knowing my personal matter and I’m not sure why I divulged it in the first place. I guess I feel comfortable talking with him, like a long lost friend or something. Is it possible to have that kind of connection with someone? You fell in love with Andrew in less than a week. Pretty sure you can fi
nd a friend in less than that the snarky bitch in my head says.

  When we enter the empty elevator, I’m immediately assaulted with the intense smell of his cologne. I would catch whiffs of it when we walked outside, but I wasn’t entirely sure it came from him. But now, standing here next to him, clutching the takeout bag for dear life, I know it’s coming from him. It smells good, but it doesn’t drive me wild. Not like Andrew’s, how it would wrap around me and make every nerve ending tingle and spark to life. Between his cologne and his natural scent, my body would go haywire. A much different reaction than what I’m currently experiencing with Michael. He doesn’t make my skin jump or my heart beat faster with just a look or a simple touch of his hand. There’s just nothing. And that’s okay. I’m not looking for anything more than a friend right now.

  WHEN THE DOORS OPEN ON my floor, I gracefully step out, thankful to be back on home ground. He holds the door open, leaning against it with his shoulder. I extend my hand to Michael, who shakes it with a smile on his face.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you, Michael. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again sometime.”

  “It was nice meeting you too, Tessa. And you can guarantee that we’ll see each other around.”

  Michael winks at me one last time then steps back, allowing the doors to swallow him up and bring him to his floor. Well, that was definitely an eventful lunch hour.

  Walking down the hallway to my desk, I glance over quickly to see if Kara is back. A sigh of relief flows through me as I quietly enter her office, taking note that she’s feverishly typing away on her computer and her phone is pressed against her ear. I always love watching her brain work a mile a minute. It just amazes me but also shows how she got to where she is now.

  I place the salad and sandwich on her desk, just off to the side of the papers she’s studying. Kara glances up and mouths a “thank you” to me. Funny that she hasn’t said a word to the person on the other line. Kara is not one to halt a conversation if I enter the room. She carries on as if I’m not there, a real professional. But I find it strange when her eyes follow me out, still not acknowledging the person on the other line until I’m fully out of her office.

  After putting my things away, I sit back at my desk and open my meager lunch. I know this is way more food than I’ll ever eat but hey, I'm ambitious today. Now that I’ve stopped moving, my mind focuses on Andrew’s text messages again while I stab away at my salad. It’s all so confusing. I drop the fork and cradle my head in my hands, propping my elbows on top of my desk. I feel a headache coming on.

  Andrew says he misses me, yet he couldn’t stop talking to another woman while I was still in his bed. Well, not literally in his bed but you know what I mean. My stomach growls and I take a few more bites of my lunch, discarding half of the contents into the garbage. My stomach is too upset to eat right now.

  After an hour of diving head first into my afternoon assignments, a faint knock pulls me out of my thoughts. I turn and find Chris perching himself on the corner of my desk.

  “Tessa, hey, how are you?”

  What is it about the corner of my desk that invites everyone to sit there? Not that there’s any other option in my tiny space. It’s not exactly like I have an extra chair or anything like that.

  “I’m good, thanks. How’s everything coming with the Tree of Life Foundation?” My hands fall into my lap, clasping them tightly together so I don’t continually run them through my hair or twist my fingers together. Just the mention of the Foundation brings Andrew back to my thoughts, causing my heart to accelerate, as well as my breathing. It’s amazing that he can still affect me this way even after three days apart.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. If you could join me in Kara’s office for a moment, I’d appreciate it.”

  His tone has switched to all business, the light and friendly voice he usually uses with me now gone. Did I screw something up? Maybe the other executives caught wind of my tryst with Andrew and they’re unhappy about it, wanting me to resign my position with the company for fear of backlash. I swallow harshly and nod, following him into Kara’s office.

  Kara glances up from her desk, still eating the lunch I brought her. The soft click of the door closing next to me causes another wave of nerves to flow through my bloodstream. A closed door is never a good sign. What if this is about the phone call I walked in on earlier? Maybe Kara didn’t say anything because it directly affected me. Oh crap, I’m going to be fired. In a nervous twitch, my leg begins bouncing in place. Kara regards me with curious eyes and her hands folded neatly in front of her.

  “Tessa, relax. It’s not bad, I promise.”

  It’s only then I realize both her and Chris are beaming brightly at me. My eyes dart from one to the other, giving them each a perplexed look.

  “Um, okay. Am I in trouble? Did I screw something up in one of the contracts?” There’s a slight tremble in my voice as I quietly speak to them. Chris’s eyes soften, realizing how paranoid I am right now and places a friendly hand on my shoulder, instantly relaxing me.

  “No, the contracts were excellent. Everything about them was fantastic. The other executives were really amazed at how fast you were able to draw them up and put everything we needed in there.”

  They were talking about me this morning? Me? A lowly secretary? Okay, admin assistant but I’m not going to correct myself. I reserve that only for my dad and Sharon in regards to my profession. Chris clears his throat and steeples his fingers beneath his chin on his propped up elbows.

  “So during our meeting this morning we were informed that because of our growing clientele, and now with this giant project, we will need to add another junior account executive.”

  My stomach flutters with the wings of thousands of butterflies. An out of body experience starts to take over as I concentrate on what he’s saying. Could he really be talking about what I think he is? I glance over at Kara and she’s beaming.

  “Yep, so I put in my recommendation to promote internally and you were the first person that came to mind. In these past four years, you have more than proven you can handle the stress and know the ins and outs of the game. You’ve drawn up every contract for me, attended almost every single meeting, and know how to close the deal. You were the obvious choice for the position in my mind. And apparently the rest of the executives agreed with me.”

  Shock. That’s what I’m in. My fingers feel cold and numb. My hands can’t stop shaking. Is she actually saying this to me? Did I choke on my food at my desk and now am having one of those ‘what if’ moments? I clear my throat and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “Really? You think I’m ready for that? But I don’t have a marketing degree or any sort of business degree.”

  Chris shakes his head. “You have something better. You have experience. A degree means nothing if you’ve never actually worked in the field. You’ve put in your time, learned the tricks of the trade and excelled at everything you do. So on behalf of myself and the other executives, I am offering you, Tessa Martin, the position of junior account executive. What do you say?”

  I blink back at him a few times, allowing my brain to catch up. I can’t believe it. I never thought my hard work would ever be noticed. Not that I was doing it to bring attention to myself. It’s my job and I just wanted to make sure I did it well.

  Kara tilts her head slightly and waves a hand in front of my face as I stare at a spot over her shoulder.

  “Tessa? Hello? What do you say?”

  Coming back into myself, I can’t help the ear-splitting grin. “Yes. I say yes.”

  Chris pats me on the shoulder and shakes my hand while Kara jumps out of her chair and rounds her desk to engulf me in a giant hug.

  “Congratulations, Chickie! I knew you’d move up the corporate ladder soon.” She gives me one more death squeeze before releasing me to Chris, who hugs me as well.

  “We’re all very proud of the work you do and are very excited to see you move into th
is position. We know you will exceed our every expectation.”

  A lone tear trickles down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away. The amount of love and support that my two dear friends are giving me is overwhelming. I’ve never had confidence in my abilities or myself for that matter. But these two have never faltered in their opinion of me, never once treating me as if I was a lesser person. Instead, I was their equal.

  It’s just all too much.

  “I don’t know what to say. Just, wow. I never thought this would happen to me. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I’ll do my best not to let you down.”

  Kara waves her hand in front of her face, dismissing my comment. “As if you could let us down. We know you all too well, remember? But now we have something to celebrate tonight. Dinner at Capital Grille?”

  I nod my head and smile again. “Sounds good to me.”

  Kara leans up, stealing a kiss from Chris before they have to go back to hiding their relationship. “Okay, you need to go now. I have to talk to Tessa for a bit without an abundance of testosterone in the air.”

  Chris leans over, looking as if he’s going to whisper something in her ear. Instead, he reaches around and pinches Kara’s ass, causing her to yelp in a mixture of surprise and pain.

  “Watch it, little girl, or you may get worse than that later tonight.” His lips curl up into a wickedly teasing smile. Kara matches his smile and I prepare myself in case World War III decides to appear.

  “Promises, promises. Seriously, get out. Highly important things need to be discussed without you.”

  “Girl talk?” he says, cocking his head to the side.

  “Go!” she half whispers, half yells. He laughs and takes her mouth again, leaving her a mess as he walks back to his office. Kara regains her composure and rounds the desk, sliding back into her high leather chair.

  “I didn’t get the chance to thank you for lunch earlier. It was exactly what I needed.” She picks up another forkful and shoves it in her mouth.

  I shrug, playing it off as nothing. “Once I saw you were still stuck in that meeting I figured you’d be ready for lunch when you got out. Besides,” I pause, thinking about whether or not I want to tell her about my lunch escapade. “I didn’t even buy it for you.”