“So, you’re from the city?” I ask.
He nods. “Originally from Westchester but moved to the city after college. My ex-wife and I lived in Tribeca.”
I observe him as he mentions the ex-wife. No cringing, no profanity, and no name-calling—maybe they ended amicably. Good for them.
“I love Manhattan,” I exclaim. “I actually thought about relocating there, but I just never made the move. I’m close enough to visit, so I guess that’s the best of both worlds.”
“I agree,” he says, flashing me another warm smile. “I love it, too, but I just needed a change.”
“Alexander,” Melanie interrupts. “Your eight o’clock had to move to ten tomorrow.” So she calls him Alexander, but when she spoke to me, she referred to him as Mr. Williams. I think I’m seeing the problem here. Melanie has a big time crush on her boss and she sees me as another woman who’s getting ready to spend a lot of time in his home.
“Thanks, Melanie,” he replies. “Can you get Ms. Peters something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine,” I interrupt. “She already offered me something.” I give Melanie a friendly wave, but she pretends not to notice. One thing is for sure—if Melanie is his right hand person, I need to get on her good side. I don’t need any drama to get in the way of this job.
This time Melanie doesn’t leave the office. She plants herself with her iPad to my right, barely looking at me. I remind myself not to take it personally. I’m here to do my job and that’s it.
“Well, shall we get started?” I ask. All my stuttering and nervousness has disappeared and I’m ready to work my magic. Crap! I really need to come up with something else. Unfortunately, the cute phrase has been tainted by a bad breakup.
“Which rooms are you interested in decorating?” I ask, as I get ready to make some notes. I look around his office. “We could start in here,” I say, standing up. “Honestly, I wouldn’t change the paint color and this furniture is gorgeous. It really just needs some extra touches.” I turn toward him and he’s staring at me. Melanie notices it, too, and rolls her eyes. I’m definitely going to have to do some kissing up to get on her good side.
“That sounds great,” he replies. “And as far as the rooms I want you to decorate, I say all of them.”
Um . . . what?
“All . . . as in the whole house?” I ask, dumbfounded. I glance at Melanie, who looks as shocked as I feel. At least she’s not shooting daggers at me with her eyes anymore.
“Are you up for the job or is that too much?” he asks, sounding a little worried.
That’s a ridiculous question. Of course I’m up for it.
“Yes. Of course,” I respond eagerly. “Melanie said you’ve checked my references and have seen some of my work.
He smiles. “I have. And you come very highly recommended.”
I consider getting up and doing a little dance but that wouldn’t be very professional. Instead, I reach out to shake his hand.
“Well, then, I guess we have a deal, Mr. Williams,” I say as calmly as I can.
“We only have a deal if you call me Alexander.”
I smile. “Okay, only if you call me Summer.”
We laugh and Melanie forces a smile. Oh, wow, this is going to be fun.
~*~*~
I’m in a great mood for the first time in weeks. My meeting at Alexander’s went very well, and this is the perfect project to distract me from my recent relationship drama. We’ve decided to start with his office like I suggested, and I presented him with a list of possible ideas. He was very friendly and flirtatious, and I admit I had to stop myself from flirting back. Melanie sat there sulking most of the time but did offer up a few suggestions. I went out of my way to welcome those suggestions because chances are I will be spending more time with Melanie than Alexander. I try to count up the hours that I will be spending at his place. Considering he wants me to decorate the whole house, it looks like I will be around for a while.
Even though I work on location most of the time, I share an office space with my friend Gina. Gina is a telemarketer for three different companies and spends more time in the office than I do.
“Oh my gawsh. You look sooo tan,” she says with her thick New Jersey accent. “Tell me all about your vacation.”
I set my stuff down and pull my laptop out of my bag. Gina must read my blank expression.
“Oh no, what happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?” I reply sarcastically.
She folds her arms and sits back in her chair. “Oh puh-lease. I can tell when a man does something stupid to affect my friends. So spill.”
And that’s exactly what I do. I tell her all about Jake and his quick and easy breakup. She shakes her head angrily the whole time.
“Let me tell you something,” she snaps. “That bastard is going to get his, you just wait. You know I’m more than happy to make a phone call if you want.”
I throw my head back in laughter. Gina loves to offer her, um . . . family’s assistance in situations like this. When I first met her, I thought she was exaggerating her family connections; little did I know, she was dead serious. Last year, I had a client who wouldn’t pay me. I tried everything I could think of to collect, but they continued to ignore me. I would complain to Gina constantly about it, and finally, I was at my wit’s end. She made one call to her Uncle Dominick and the next day I received the payment from my client.
“Thanks, Gina, but I think I just need to get over it and move on. Besides, no one can force Jake to want to be with me.”
She unwraps a piece of gum and shoves it in her mouth. “Wanna bet?”
I let out a giggle.
“I’m kidding,” she says. “But in case you change your mind, you know I got your back.”
I give her a grateful smile. “I appreciate that.”
I open my laptop and start to organize my notes for Alexander’s house while I listen to Gina making her calls. She sounds like such a different person on the phone, her Jersey accent is barely noticeable.
“What are you working on so intently?” she asks a few minutes later. She’s looking over my shoulder at my notes. I feel my excitement start to rise when I think about this new project.
I tell her all about Alexander’s offer and about Melanie.
“I need to see this man,” she insists. “Pull up his Facebook picture.”
I type his name in the search box and turn the screen toward her. She raises her eyebrows.
“Oh, hell yeah,” she yells. “I think he’s just what you need to forget about Jake and that stupid decorating magic crap.”
I start to laugh hysterically because I totally forgot about that. One afternoon Jake had come by the office and he was incessantly bragging to Gina about my decorating magic. He was really proud of that saying, and for some reason, she thought it was really stupid.
“I was just thinking about the magic thing this morning,” I tell her. She doesn’t say anything being that she’s too busy nosing through Alexander’s pictures.
“So, what do you think about this hottie?” she asks, pointing to the computer screen.
I shrug casually. “He’s seems really nice,” I say with a sheepish grin. “But he’s recently divorced, so I’m not sure it would be a good idea considering it would be a rebound thing for both of us. That is assuming he would ever be interested in me.”
She throws her arms up in frustration. “That’s even more reason to give it a shot,” she yells. “You both need a good distraction.”
“Um . . . that’s probably a bad idea,” I say. “Especially because he’s my client and this is huge for my career. That has to be my number one priority. Not to mention his assistant doesn’t like me at all.”
Gina gives me a curious look. “Why doesn’t she like you?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I honestly have no idea. She seemed fine when I first spoke to her but not today. If looks could kill, I would be dead. I have a theory, though.”
I lean back in my chair. “I think she may have a little crush on her boss . . . or maybe she was just having a bad day?”
“Well, that would totally make sense; she’s probably threatened by you. Just remember my offer still stands about the phone call. We can take care of both Jake and this Melanie chick.” I laugh as I get up to give her a hug. “Thanks. I promise I will let you know.”
I get back to my work, and after Gina leaves for the day, I receive an email from Alexander.
Dear Summer,
It was great meeting you today. I’m looking forward to working with you and finally making my house a home. I will not be able to make it to the meeting on Friday after all, but Melanie will be there to assist you with anything you need. I look forward to seeing your ideas come to life.
Alexander
I make a face. I guess Melanie and I are going to have to figure out a way to coexist because it’s clear she’s not going anywhere and neither am I.
~*~*~
I guess I’ve been putting this off. Subconsciously, picking up Jake’s key is the last reminder that things are over between us. I stopped by Mrs. Rothera’s place when I got back from the beach trip, but she wasn’t home. I still can’t believe he left it with her just to avoid having to see me. Mrs. Rothera owns the building, and she fits the typical nosy neighbor profile perfectly. To be honest, she kind of makes me nervous, so I don’t have much to do with her other than paying my rent and typical maintenance requests.
I knock loudly on her door. No answer. Just as I turn to leave, she opens the door.
“Hello, Summer,” she says. My eyes immediately focus on her outfit. It looks like she’s wearing some kind of costume. It’s a colorful dress with beaded fringe and a matching headscarf. She looks like a gypsy. Maybe she’s preparing for Halloween, too. Angie would love it.
“I’m sorry if I’m catching you at a bad time,” I say as I drag my eyes away from her headscarf.
“Not a bad time at all,” she replies. “Just preparing for an event I’m attending this evening. Come on in.”
She opens the door wide and ushers me in. She’s attending an event dressed like that? I guess her idea of appropriate attire would differ from mine—depending on the type of event.
“I suppose you’re here for this,” she says, holding up my key. It’s still on the key chain from our cruise to St. Thomas. Ugh. He didn’t even keep the key chain.
I give her a weak smile. “Yes. Thank you.” She cocks her head to the side and gives me a funny look.
“Why don’t you come and sit down for a minute? Can I get you something to drink?”
“No thank you,” I reply. “I just got off work, and I haven’t even been home yet.”
She looks at me with pity. “Dinner for one.”
Ouch. That was a harsh reminder. As if it’s her business anyway. There she goes again, sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong. I suck in a deep breath because I know I need to be nice to her considering she is my landlord.
“Yes,” I say shortly.
“He will be back,” she says under her breath. What did she say? Did she say he would be back? He . . . as in Jake?
“I’m sorry. What was that?” I ask.
“Your boyfriend. He will be back. I’ve seen it.” She sits down at the table and that’s when I notice the stuff covering her table. Cards, books, charts, and crystals . . . who is this woman?
She notices me staring at her table. “Have you ever had a reading?”
My eyes grow big. “A reading? Like from a fortune teller?”
She laughs loudly. “Not a fortune teller. A psychic reading.”
I shake my head. The truth is, I’ve always been curious about psychics, but I’m too much of a chicken to ever go to one. I’m not sure I’m willing to open that door . . . or portal or whatever it’s called.
“How about it?” she asks, pointing to the chair next to her. Hmmm . . . I may be curious about it but not curious enough to go to some amateur. I’ve lived in this building for over a year. How is it that I’m just finding this out about her now?
“You’re a psychic?” I ask, trying to hide my skepticism.
She nods proudly. “Yes.”
Okay, I guess she woke up one morning and said, “Hey, I think I will be a psychic today.” This is really awkward, mainly because I don’t believe her. Although, I keep my mouth shut because I definitely don’t want to hurt her feelings. She certainly looks the part with her fancy new outfit, and I can see she has all the tools a psychic would have, but that doesn’t mean she is one.
“You don’t believe me,” she says. Okay, so she figured that out, still doesn’t prove anything. “That’s okay. All in good time,” she adds.
What does she mean by that? I feel like everything out of her mouth is some kind of hidden message.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” I reply. “I just didn’t know. I mean, you never said anything.”
She fixes her headscarf and rearranges the things on her table. “It’s not something I just announce to people. It has to be the appropriate time.” She pauses. “Anyway, when you’re ready, I will be here. But let me just give you one piece of advice.” She closes her eyes.
I look around, waiting for something strange to happen. Maybe the chair will shake or she will start chanting . . . but nothing happens.
She opens her eyes and looks directly at me. “When he comes around, trust your instincts.”
I wait for her to finish. But she doesn’t say anything else.
“And . . .” I ask.
She shrugs. “That’s all for now.”
What does she mean that’s all for now?
“Oh except, don’t forget the pest control is on Friday,” she says as she stands up.
Is this a joke? She goes from giving me some important information about my life to talking about the pest control? I don’t move from where I’m standing, but she’s obviously done as she gathers her things and starts filling a tote bag.
I thank her for the key, but I’m still confused as I walk up the stairs to my apartment. What just happened? Did she give me an important clue to my future? Is Jake going to try to reconcile? I’m wondering if I just had my first psychic reading.
Chapter Three
I pull the phone away from my ear because Angie is yelling. “Holy crap, can you turn your volume down?” I snap. “I’m going deaf over here.”
“So what do you think? Those are fun costumes, right?” she says, toning down her voice but not addressing my demand.
“Honestly, it’s been done,” I reply. She suggested doing the whole Grease Pink Ladies theme again and I’m just not feeling it.
“Come on, we did that over ten years ago, people have forgotten by now.” I know Angie is getting frustrated with me. I’ve shot down all of her costume ideas so far.
“How about a tootsie roll and gum ball machine?” she says sarcastically. “Or maybe you should come up with some ideas.”
Fall Into Magic- A Novella Page 2