Chasing Time: A Love Through Time Novel

by Stephany Wallace

  Her body was as tempting as sin. It was lean, and firm everywhere he looked. She was wearing an expensive designer suit. She had a silk camisole under her fitted jacket that hung low enough for anyone to fully appreciate her perfectly formed breasts. Her waist was small, and her hips dreamily curved. She was wearing a short skirt, which showed off her sexy and flawlessly tanned legs. The stilettos clicked once again, as she finally stood in front of them.

  “Good morning, Miss Williams,” the receptionist said greeting the woman.

  “Good morning, Ann, and just who might these gentlemen be?” She asked, raising an impeccably groomed eyebrow, while smiling at Jonathan.

  “These are the new hires that Mr. Parker is expecting, Miss Williams.”

  “Mmm,” the woman hummed, pleased while her eyes blatantly traveled the length of their bodies.

  Phil spoke first, extending his hand to her. “Phil Adams, Family Law. Pleasure to meet you,” she shook his hand, and turned to Jonathan as he spoke.

  “Jonathan Smith, Corporate Law. Nice to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, Jonathan. It looks like we’ll be working together. I’m Chantelle Williams, Corporate Law,” she said, turning to the receptionist. “Don’t worry about a thing, dear Ann. I’ll take it from here.”

  She whirled around and began walking towards the elevator. Phil and Jonathan looked at each other, while the receptionist rolled her eyes.

  “Come on boys, I don’t have all day,” Chantelle called over her shoulder, without missing a step.

  Jonathan and Phil smiled at the receptionist thankful, and walked swiftly, getting into the elevator with Chantelle. The doors opened on the 12th floor, and she walked out first, swaying her hips as she made her way down the hall. Phil threw a pained look at Jonathan, biting his fist. Jonathan chuckled. They approached another reception area, and Chantelle stopped, holding her hand out to the girl at the desk. She jumped at the sight of her, and hurried to grab the messages next to her phone. She handed them to Chantelle.

  “Thank you, Rose. That only took you, what? Forever?” Chantelle said sarcastically, and the girl looked down, embarrassed. Jonathan looked at her and smiled kindly. “These are the new associates, Rose. Phil Adams, and Jonathan Smith,” Chantelle said, waving her hand in their direction.

  Phil nodded at Rose, smiling while Jonathan extended his hand to her. “Pleasure to meet you, Rose. You know, that is my grandmothers’ name. A very beautiful name.”

  Rose smiled. She seemed a little shy, and sweet. Really not the kind of girl that should be working for a law firm. He held her gaze, making a mental note to be extra nice to her. It was safe to assume that Chantelle might not be the only one to treat her like that, in the firm.

  Chantelle cleared her throat, to get their attention once again, and motioned for them to follow. They arrived at the end of the hall and stopped by an Executive Assistant’s desk right outside an office, which seemed to be the biggest on the floor.

  “Good morning, Victoria. These are the new associates, Phil Adams and Jonathan Smith,” Victoria smiled and nodded at them in acknowledgment.

  “I saw her first,” Phil whispered, as Victoria looked at Chantelle once more. Jonathan chuckled.

  Victoria, was a very sexy redhead with green eyes, nice rosy cheeks and sensual lips. Her seductive smile had made the little hairs on the back of Phil’s neck stand on end. Even from where he stood, he could tell she had a dangerously curvy figure, and a small waist. She could give Chantelle a run for her money. They both seemed to be in the same league.

  “Is he ready?” Chantelle asked, interrupting Phil’s assessment, just before he began to drool.

  “He is finishing a call, but you can go right in.”

  Chantelle smiled, and motioned the guys to follow with her finger. She entered the office, swinging the double doors wide open. It was a corner office. The far walls that converged in the corner were made of glass. The two windows offered the best view of the downtown area, and the city, before one of the largest windows, sat a large mahogany desk. Mr. James Parker was sitting at it. Jonathan’s curious eyes roamed the office, as they entered. He could see Roman busts, and statues, the real kind that you saw in the museums, adorning the shelves where the encyclopedias and all the legal volumes were displayed. Expensive looking artwork hung on the walls. He turned his gaze to the left and saw a modern couch in the corner with two leather armchairs at the sides. There was also a small bar at the corner, with bottles of brandy and scotch on it. Jonathan stopped, and stood next to Phil in the middle of the office as they waited for Mr. Parker to end the call. Chantelle walked around the desk and sat on top of it, on the corner next to Mr. Parker, crossing her legs. Jonathan and Phil exchanged a look. They straightened when Mr. Parker hung up the phone, and looked at them. His gaze fell on Chantelle, he stood up and kissed her cheek. She smiled wide, at the act of tenderness from him.

  “Good morning, gentlemen. I see you have met my niece, Chantelle.”

  “Favorite niece,” she corrected, playfully. He chuckled.

  “I’m glad you could join us at the firm,” Mr. Parker said, walking around his desk towards them.

  The man that stood before them had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was about five nine, with broad shoulders, big arms and hands. His smile was kind, although he had a very imposing presence and authoritative stance. He smiled at them shaking their hands.

  “Jonathan, Phil, I’m glad you are here. We are always trying to steal the best and brightest from Harvard, and you have come highly recommended by your professors.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Parker,” Jonathan answered, as Samantha crossed his mind. She had been the one to push him and motivate him to get there.

  “Oh, please call me Jim. No need for formalities,” he turned to Phil. “You, young man, will be working on the 10th floor with our other family law associates. I’ll have my assistant, Victoria, take you there and introduce you to your new colleagues. She’ll get someone to help you get settled into your office, and hire your assistant. Victoria, could you please come here for a moment,” he called, and within the second she was standing by the door. “So efficient,” he said, and they all chuckled. She gave Phil a sexy smile, then focused her attention on Jim. “Please accompany Phil to the Family Law floor, and get someone to assist him with whatever he might need.”

  Phil shook his hand once again, winked at Jonathan, and turned for the door following Victoria.

  “Ok, Jonathan. You will be working with us here at corporate law central, or as I like to call it The Mother Ship,” they laughed. “I want you working closely with my niece, here. She’s one of the best, and will show you the ropes. It seems to me like you will be a good team.” Chantelle slid down from the desk, and walked to stand next to Jim. She smiled. “She will show you to your office, and help you get settled in. Please let me know if there is anything you need. I want you guys to feel comfortable here at the office.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Parker.”

  Jim chuckled and placed his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder. “I told you to call me, Jim.” Jonathan smiled.

  “Thank you, Jim.”

  “Atta boy! Off you go, make me some money.” He said returning to his desk. Chantelle and Jonathan chuckled, and walked out of the office.

  Jonathan stood in his office speechless. It was hard for him to believe he was there. The office was a smaller version of Jim’s office, a much smaller version. Ok, more of a fraction of Jim’s office but sat on the same side of the building, so it shared part of the same view on the center window.

  He walked towards the desk and sat down, turning on the computer. The sound of the phone called his attention, and he answered on the first ring.

  “Hello?” he said, immediately cringing for being so informal at work.

  “Good morning, Mr. Smith. This is Marie from HR. Do you have a minute?”

  “Of course Marie, how can I help you?”

  “Well, hopefully I can help you,
sir,” he smiled. “I wanted to inform you that we have already set up ten interviews tomorrow for your new assistant. After we review them, the top three will be sent to your office so you can interview them personally, and choose who you would like to work with. Hopefully then, you won’t have to answer your own phone.” She chuckled.

  Jonathan smiled. “Thanks Marie.”

  “No problem, Sir. I will also need you to pass by my office later today so you can sign your contract and confidentiality agreement.”

  “Sounds good, I’ll be there.”

  “Great, I’ll see you later and welcome to Harrington, Brown & Parker.”

  Jonathan hung up and stood up, smiling. He opened the door and made his way towards the reception.

  “Hey, Rose,” he said to the girl at the desk. She looked up at him, startled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you there.”

  She chuckled. “No, not at all. I was just concentrated on the search I was doing for Chantelle. How may I assist you, Mr. Smith?”

  “Please, that’s not needed with me. You can call me, Jonathan.”

  “Oh no, Mr. Smith. I’m required to address all the associates by last name.”

  “Please, Rose. I insist. Don’t worry. It will be our little secret. Plus, you have my Grandmother’s name, so I already like you.”

  She smiled. “Ok, then. What the hell do you want, Jonathan?” They laughed.

  “That’s more like it,” he said, still laughing. She chuckled. “I don’t have an assistant yet, and I have no idea where to get this, so I was wondering if you can please help me with some information?”

  “Sure, what do you need?”

  “I wanted to get the number for my direct line as well as my friend’s, Phil Adams. He is on the 10th floor. Could you help me with that?”

  “Of course, you’ll have it in a few minutes.”

  “Perfect. Also, could you please tell me where HR is?”

  *

  Jonathan sat at his desk, tired from getting up to date with all the firm’s guidelines, the employee manual, and their regulations, as well as getting all the HR forms and his contract signed. It was the end of the day, and he had been stocking his office with all the books and volumes he would require, from the firm’s library. He also tried to get acquainted with the current procedures at the firm. It had been a very productive day, and he couldn’t wait to get started on his training. At the moment, he was just thankful to go home. A knock on the door called his attention. The door opened partially.

  “May I come in?” Chantelle’s voice reached him. He turned to see her at the door.

  “Of course, please come in,” she walked inside his office, swaying her hips and stood in front of him.

  “So how do you feel after your first day at the firm?”

  He smiled. “Very excited, I’m glad to be part of the firm. I’m just trying to get my office stocked and ready for my training and practice case,” she looked around and noticed the bookcase half full. There were books piled on the far table next to the small sofa.

  “Oh I’m terribly sorry. Rose should have gotten someone to take care of this before you even got in. I’ll need to have a chat with her about this.”

  “Oh, no. Please, that’s not necessary. I like doing it myself. It helps me to get acquainted with the place,” he said, interceding quickly. Fearing the talk she would have with poor Rose.

  Chantelle smiled. “Well then, it looks like you are well on your way. As far as your first practice case, you will be part of my team for the next two cases. Once you finish the training, and take the bar, I can have you as second chair and we’ll see how you perform. Eventually, you will get to be on your own. We shall start on the first case next week, you can use the time in between to settle into the firm and train your assistant.”

  “Knock, knock,” Phil said, walking into the office. “Hey, man. Are you ready?”

  Jonathan nodded. “Yeah, just finishing up here with Chantelle.”

  “Actually, I came here to invite you boys to the corner pub for a couple of drinks. Take it as a welcome to the firm, if you will. My treat.”

  Phil grinned, looking at Jonathan. “Of course, it will be our pleasure!”

  Jonathan took a deep breath, giving Phil a lethal look. He had no desire to socialize right now. All he wanted to do was go home, and wallow in his pain some more.

  A small knock at the door made them all turn. Victoria entered, smiling.

  “Great, now this is a party,” Jonathan thought annoyed, and forced a smile on his face.

  “Ok boys, are we ready?” Victoria asked, looking at Phil. Chantelle smiled.

  “They are in, girl. Let’s go.”

  The pub was surprisingly busy for a Monday evening, a testament to the active nightlife in that part of the city. They walked to the bar and Chantelle placed her hand on Jonathan’s bicep, calling his attention. She motioned for them to go the other way, towards the back of the pub. His gaze followed in the direction she had indicated, and he noticed there was a closed off section. It looked like some kind of VIP area. They walked to the back and got to a lounge. The lights were dimmed and there were only a few people at the tables inside. This section of the pub was angled so that it offered a vast view of the pub, yet it still remained private. It was filled with narrow leather sofas and chairs, each with a small table. They followed Chantelle to one of them, and sat down.

  “This place is great, you are going to love it,” Victoria said, sitting next to Phil. She crossed her legs, strategically giving him a glimpse of the sexy tan under her short skirt. She flipped her hair and looked at Phil with an enchanting smile. His eyes traveled the length of her body and slowly returned to her face, but not before making a well-deserved stop on her cleavage. He gave her a brilliant smile. Jonathan rolled his eyes.

  “Just what I needed, couples night,” he took a deep breath. In that instant, Chantelle looped her arm through his, sliding closer. Her red lips only a few inches away.

  “So, tell me about you? Where are you from?” She asked, her voice smooth as silk, and her gaze hypnotizing. Jonathan’s eyes immediately went to her lips. Although he wasn’t interested in anything right now, she was an incredibly sexy woman, and was sitting dangerously close to him.

  “Uhm, I’m from a small town in Michigan,” he answered looking into her intense eyes.

  She grinned. “Really? Interesting. I grew up in New York, and moved here with my parents when I was 14. My Mom is Jim’s baby sister,” she informed him smiling.

  “What can I bring you tonight, Miss Williams?” The waiter asked, interrupting their conversation.

  “We’ll have a chilled bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, please.” The waiter acknowledged it with a smile, a gracious nod and left them. “I hope you like champagne,” she said, her gaze returning to Jonathan.

  He nodded, and turned to look at Phil. He wasn’t surprised to find him wrapped up in the tentacles of the redhead he had sitting next to him, and enjoying every minute of it. Jonathan sighed. The truth was they were in a very nice place, and the company wasn’t bad. The least he could do was be polite. Taking a deep breath, he decided to let his pain go to the back of his mind and try to have a decent time. He should get to celebrate that all his hard work had paid off.

  “It’s not the same, she’s not here,” his subconscious added, just as the champagne arrived.

  Chantelle handed him a glass, and one to Phil and Victoria. “Ok guys, what should we toast to?”

  “New beginnings,” Phil said. “New adventures,” Victoria added. “Having fun,” Chantelle concluded with a sexy smile.

  “To Samantha…”

  Three hours and two bottles of champagne later…

  The conversation had become interesting as Jonathan and Chantelle talked about their lives. She was leaning dangerously close to Jonathan, giving him a more than perfect view inside her silk blouse and cleavage. He could see the details on the thin lace on her bra, and thanks to the alc
ohol in his system, and the fact that he was after all a man, the sight was doing particularly stimulating things to him.

  “Oh, I love that song!” Chantelle suddenly announced, standing up. Reaching for Jonathan’s tie, she pulled him up and began dancing seductively against him.

  “Whiskey. Straight up, please!” Jonathan said, to the approaching waiter while Chantelle moved to the beat of the song. His eyes smoothly traveled over her body. She was sexy as sin. Chantelle turned around, stepping closer to him. Looking beyond her, he realized Phil was cozy with Victoria, his hands were holding her extremely close to his body. He lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. Victoria wrapped her arms around Phil’s neck and embraced him as they kissed. Jonathan’s eyes left them and found the waiter coming with his drink. Chantelle’s warm breath fanned his skin as she nibbled his ear. He took a sharp breath.

  “I love you Jonathan. I will always love you, but it’s time I move on,” Samantha’s voice startled him, cutting into him all over again.

  Reaching for his drink, he took it out of the waiter’s hand and drank it in one gulp. The burning sensation traveled slowly down his throat, a nice compliment to the one scorching his heart. “Bring the bottle,” he instructed, the waiter and turned to face Chantelle, while she danced against him. She gave him a sexy smile, while biting her lip, and before she could blink, Jonathan pulled her harshly to him, and crushed his lips against hers in a desperate kiss.

  With the whiskey bottle gone, Jonathan and Phil were officially drunk. They had spent the past hour making out with Chantelle and Victoria on the leather couches. Chantelle’s fingers caressed his chest playfully sending a tingling all over his body. She had successfully removed his tie and undone the first three buttons of his shirt. Pulling away from his lips, she looked into his eyes seductively.