“Whoa, a little slower please. I can’t walk that fast with these heels on.”
He horsed out, “Sorry” and slowed down a little.
When he got her over to the other side of the room Glen pulled out her chair for her and took the one beside it. Glen’s father, Mrs. Upman, and Mrs. Upman’s son joined them at the table. The food was amazing. They were serving a choice of filet mignon, pasta, chicken, or swordfish. It was unbelievable how much money Catherine imagined at event like this cost and knew the Serentini’s were paying for everything. How is that possible when Catherine’s Uncle thinks they are such scum or at least Albert anyways? They were such nice people, well with the exception of that little note this morning. Catherine could feel such a large presence next to her as she was eating her pasta with shrimp and pink sauce. She was trying to enjoy the food but could not ignore the man next to her.
“Do you want to dance?”
Catherine just looked dumfounded at her boss? Was the CEO of the company really asking her to dance?
Glen waited a few moments and added, “Dance, you know where two people move their feet on the dance floor to the sound of music.” Catherine laughed at that, hesitated and then nodded in agreement as she realized it would be very rude not to. They got up and walked toward the dance floor she joked with him. “Do you have two left feet like your father?”
“Come on, he’s not that bad.” Glen leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “But, I am still much better.” The second Catherine put her hand in his; she realized this could be a huge mistake. To be this attracted to this man and yet deceiving him was not in her character and she felt truly terrible. Yet, she couldn’t draw her eyes from his and they danced quite perfectly together. As they moved together across the dance floor, Catherine silently thanked her mother for making her take ballroom dancing lessons at a young age. She also thought Glen certainly moved well for someone who looked and acted all business.
As they danced Glen was thinking he might have made a grave mistake by taking this dance. But, before when he saw Ericson coming toward the head table, a twang of jealousy came over him and he had asked Catherine to dance purely on instinct. Glen could not figure out what was wrong with him or what made him react like that to Catherine. Once dancing, Glen quickly realized having Catherine in his arms was a huge mistake. So when the dance ended, Glen escorted her back to the table and quickly excused himself for the evening to attend to some business. He had some serious thoughts that needed to be sorted out.
Catherine asked him, “Do you really have to work?” You’ll be missing such a good time.
“Yes.” He answered gruffly. Glen did not like the idea of wanting a woman that much, any woman. So, before he had time to think of Ericson or Catherine any longer, he hurried out of the room.
Catherine had a great night. She talked to Mr. Ericson, danced, ate a lot, and overall had a stupendous time. The dessert was amazing. The room was amazing. Mrs. Upman looked amazing and was having a great time with everyone. Her face was bright and she was happy. She was very very happy, for the whole night and that made Catherine pleased as well.
Only one thing confused Catherine and that was the quick dance she shared with her boss. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but knew she was somewhat uncomfortable about it. Maybe that was because she needed to write her two week report to her Uncle today. Oh god, she needed to include the letter this morning in it. Why was this happening to her? It wasn’t right.
Catherine decided she wasn’t going to sit on her hands while her Uncle manipulated her. There was only one thing left for her to do. There was only one option left, one that her Uncle could not manipulate, her father’s family. After Catherine’s father died in the states, his family would not speak to Catherine or her mother. They maintained it was their fault for making him stay in the United States and not go back to Europe to be with them. Catherine hoped she could make them listen to reason. Since she was proud they were family, her hopes stayed bright they would accept her. If only she could reach them.
Unfortunately, every piece of information relative to her family was in the safe, which her Uncle presently had the key to. But, she knew there was still one way left to contact them, by talking to their attorney. Luckily, Catherine knew the name of the law firm and phoned them immediately. After several tries, she got through and was told the only way to pass on a message to clients needed to be in writing. So, Catherine took down the address of the law firm and thought of all the things she wanted to say to her family, one she never really knew, but was always a part of her.
Catherine composed a letter saying as much and as little as she could, for now. At the bottom, she finished by asking them to please call her and gave the number for her apartment.
She knew this was the only way to get out of this mess with her Uncle and desperately needed some help. Perhaps this was the perfect way to get to know these people. Catherine knew it would mean a lot to her mother and especially her father if she got close to them again. It was a relationship she wanted to rebuild for a long time and hoped it wasn’t too late. Catherine decided she would mail the letter out first thing in the morning and would hope for a response soon after.
Chapter 4
It had been almost three months since Catherine had been at the office and the thought of the review she would be put under to keep her job entered her thoughts constantly as well as her family who had still not responded. But, today Catherine needed a break from all the worry so she told herself today would be free of worry and vowed not to think about it. Catherine was sitting at her desk reminiscing because it was a slow day and there was nothing else to do. Thoughts about everything that had past, entered her mind. But, she decided not to worry. She remembered each moment she was working at the company and so far one event stuck in her mind; Mrs. Upman’s party. It was a great night and she would never forget it. But, it did puzzle her that her boss seemed as though he was avoiding her a lot since then. She wondered if it was because he suspected anything but pushed that from her mind and thought maybe today would be different because the work load was so slow but she thoroughly doubted it.
There was a ding, the elevator opened in front of Catherine and Mr. Ericson walked out. Catherine knew he was only being nice to her, but he was becoming a bit annoying seeking her out all the time. She thought he had gotten the hint she didn’t like him in that way, but apparently not. Catherine wanted to be nice, so she smiled and said, “Do you have an appointment with Mr. Serentini today?” as she was looking through her appointment book. Then added, “I don’t remember scheduling one.”
“No, I don’t have an appointment.” He slyly looked at Catherine as he walked towards her desk.
“Oh. Do you want me to see if Mr. Serentini is free?” Catherine asked as she picked up the phone to do just that.
“No. I came to see you.”
“Oh.” Catherine was not at all surprised, but thought she still might be feeling flattered somewhere in the back of her head. After all, it was nice he often thought of her, “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, I finished all my work and wanted to come up and see what you were up to.”
“Well, not really much exciting. I’m just finishing up a few things.” She was secretly hoping he would leave but somehow thought he wasn’t going anywhere.
He swayed close to Catherine and leaned down down, “Any chance—”
At that precise moment the intercom on Catherine’s phone beeped and Ericson stepped back only a few steps, “Miss Richmond?”
Catherine picked up the phone, “Yes, Mr. Serentini?”
“Actually, hold on, I’ll come to you.”
“Bu—” Catherine knew her boss wasn’t too fond of Mr. Ericson and tried to stop him from coming down the hall, but it was to no avail because he was already on the way. She reluctantly placed back the receiver.
Mr. Serentini started talking as he was walking down the hall, “Miss Richmond, usually the office is very busy. But, since t
oday it isn’t, I was wondering if you would like the rest of the day off to…” He stopped talking the second he laid eyes on Ericson.
Even though Mr. Serentini had Catherine’s full attention, he didn’t seem to notice, “Really? To do what I want or…?”
Glen closed the distance between himself and the other man, barely heard what Catherine said, and directed his attention to the other man and said, “Ericson, right?”
Glen was clearly broader than the other man and had much more of a presence which came out in abundance while standing next to him. But, Ericson didn’t falter at all, “Yes.”
“Is there something I can do for you? Miss Richmond didn’t tell me you were here.”
“Actually, I came to see her. It’s nice of you to give her the rest of the day off since I just finished my work for today as well.”
Upset with himself for letting the weasel get the opportunity Glen thought he made for himself, “Yes, I guess it’s your lucky day.” Then he turned to Miss Richmond and said as he was walking away from her, “You are free to go for the rest of the day. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.” Then he walked back down the hall to his office. Glen was too upset with himself and Ericson to even wonder why he didn’t make a move.
Catherine really did not want to go anywhere with Adam Ericson but at the same time didn’t want to hurt his feelings. So, she told Ericson, as she was trying to make a quick exit, “Thank god I have the day off, I have so much to do! Well, it was nice of you to check on me today, but I have to hurry and maybe I can get a few things done. See you soon.”
Baffled and going after Catherine, he just caught her by the elevator, “But, Catherine, I was thinking—”
She cut him off, “Sorry, I really have to go.” Then the elevator doors closed between her and Mr. Ericson. He just looked after her with an odd look on his face wondering what went wrong. Maybe he didn’t make his intentions clear about taking her out this afternoon. Adam just reminded himself that he would have plenty of opportunities and would try again tomorrow. Adam knew that would be the day his dreams about Catherine would come true and he vowed to make it one she would remember as well, whatever the cost.
Catherine started down the street outside the office and thought about what just occurred. Was she mistaken or was Mr. Serentini actually reaching out to her and being nice for a change? What would he have said if Adam Ericson wasn’t there? It was probably all just her imagination, she decided. Meanwhile, Catherine was nervous thinking about the review that was coming in less than twenty four hours. In actuality, it in precisely nineteen hours, tomorrow morning. Mr. Serentini didn’t even mention it; she wondered what he was thinking about and if it was a good or bad thing. She decided not to think about it until tomorrow and to go shopping and pamper herself for the rest of the day. It had been a long time since she did anything for just her, so Catherine decided to buy a new outfit to wear tomorrow even to perhaps persuade Mr. Serentini to keep her around. Catherine didn’t think she was doing a bad job at work and hoped he saw that as well. But, just in case he didn’t, maybe he would notice her in a new outfit and keep her around just for that. Catherine wasn’t very good at being alluring, but she had guys around asking her out and didn’t think she looked too terrible. So, all she needed was to spruce herself up and get some confidence. It shouldn’t be too hard to spruce up; the confidence was something she had to work on though.
Catherine went to seven different boutiques before she found exactly what she was looking for. She was like her mother in that way, when shopping, all she needed to do was look around and she would know what she wanted the moment she saw it. Both never had to try on a lot of things, Catherine supposed it was just generic and very lucky. She found this particular outfit in the back of the last boutique she would go into in the left corner. It turned out to be a suit that she liked which was a skirt and jacket outfit with a silk fitted white shirt to go under it. The suit itself was black with white lace bordering and down the buttons on the jacket. It was perfect and fit Catherine like it was designed for her, she thought. After purchasing the outfit, her next stop was the beautician. She stopped in to get a manicure and pedicure and then went to get her haircut. The stylist Traci was in her high school graduating class and she knew her since they were in kindergarten together. So, getting a haircut was really just socializing for Catherine, an added bonus for the day. They talked for a long time about anything and everything, as usual, and when the subject of men came up, Traci informed her about her new beau and Catherine thought she was fascinated with a different guy every time she came in for a cut. When the question was similarly asked of her, Catherine’s thoughts went straight to Glen. Immediately, she dismissed whatever thoughts those were and just shrugged off the question by changing the subject. But, Catherine did tell Traci about her new job and the review the next day. Traci told her if she went in looking her best, it would be impossible for any man to fire her. Later at home, while Catherine was crashed on her couch petting her bird, she thought Traci was right and that she would make it impossible for him to fire her. She would go in with all of her weapons ready and certainly able to fight, as Traci put it. After all, she needed this job for her mother and everything she held dear to her. She reminded herself of the beautiful house, the art, the shop, and everything else that should and would be hers. She would get them, even if it meant betraying herself, lying, and doing her Uncle’s dirty work, Catherine decided.
Chapter 5
It was the day of the review and Catherine was nervous. She had gained confidence the day before speaking with Traci, her hair stylist, who gave her a lot of the self-assurance she was missing. She even bought the perfect outfit before and decided she looked fantastic after putting it on and applying finishing touches to her makeup. She would make it impossible for her boss to fire her! Even all of her ‘weapons’ were ready. Besides for having to tell herself not to bite her nails out of sheer nervousness, Catherine looked reasonably calm. Just before reaching the office building she reminded herself that she could and would pull this off and still keep this job at the end of the day; if not for herself, for her mother and everything else meaningful in her life. Maybe when this was all over, she would even form a bond with her father’s family. But, to do that she needed to find them and to do accomplish that, she had to obtain the papers in the safe. If she ever wanted to see her real family, fix wrongs, and finally put her life in order, Catherine needed to succeed at her Uncle’s dirty task.
Breathe, Catherine reminded herself and straightened her shoulders and walked off the elevator into her office. She put down her purse and looked down at the mess on her desk. She realized she would have to clean it again. For some reason, Mr. Serentini seemed to purposely throw everything about her office every morning. But, that was a fight for another day, not now. Now she needed all her attention to be concentrated on the review. So, she started the coffee pot and nervously waited for the green light to come on. As usual, when it was ready, she brought the coffee into Mr. Serentini’s office and placed it on the desk. But, today, instead of just leaving it there, she stood waiting.
Without looking up, Mr. Serentini could tell Catherine was still in his office. It was impossible not to notice when he could smell her perfume and she made him feel like a jittery schoolboy whenever she was within three feet. It was fascinating to Glen and yet downright annoying when he was trying to work. “Do you need something Miss Richmond?”
“Well, I wanted to thank you for letting me off early yesterday.” She waited for him to look up from the paperwork to take in how she looked. It didn’t come. “It was awfully nice of you.”
Glen tried to get her to leave as quickly as possible. So, his response came out as curt, “It’s not a problem. There was no reason for you to stay if no work was being done.”
“But, it was very nice you actually let me go instead of having me stay.” Catherine tried to will his eyes to glace upward.
Why isn’t she leaving? “I tol
d you, there is no thanks necessary.”
Mr. Serentini seemed very preoccupied and looked as if he didn’t want to be bothered. But, Catherine couldn’t lie in wonder all day. So, she just decided to ask, “About today…”
“What about today? We have a lot of work to do.” Then Serentini realized she might have been hinting about getting let off early again to spend time with Ericson, he started fuming above his already abrupt attitude. “I’m sorry, I can’t let you leave early again today.” As Glen looked up from his papers, he thought he would add, “You know, yesterday will not be an every day thing. Especially with Er—” The moment Glen saw Catherine he stopped in mid sentence and took in the spectacular view in front of him. He thought his secretary looked amazing. He started thinking very unprofessional thoughts, but shoved them aside and “You look very nice today,” just fell out of his mouth.
Catherine smiled, very pleased at his response, “Thank you. But, about today…”
Realizing the reason he deferred from work in the first place, Glen got upset again. “I’m sorry, I can’t let you go. But, if you need time off, you need to put in for it in advance, just like everyone else.” Glen told her as he looked back down, but couldn’t stop thinking of how good Catherine looked. It was like the image was burned into his mind.
Finally frustrated, she blurted out, “I don’t want time off. I just want to know about the review.”
Confused, he looked back up, “Review?” Damn, she looks good!
“Yes. You said I would be put through one three months from the time I started working and exactly three months ago, I became your secretary.”
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