"Okay, if you're sure you're all right."
"Fine." I took in a deep breath.
"Well, I hate to cut it short, but I guess I better go. Looks like Hercules and the Hulk are getting anxious." She laughed a little, something I’d only seen her do on a few occasions.
I glanced over her shoulder, seeing the two men staring in our direction.
"Do you have plans tomorrow?" she asked as she stood up.
"Um, I don't think so…"
"Maybe we could meet up for dinner or something. It's been nice to get out of the condo lately. I'm enjoying the fresh air."
That was another mystery with Lexi. Apparently, before a couple months ago, she rarely left her apartment. Or that's what the gossip was on the first day she came to class.
"Dinner would be good." I smiled up at her. It was nice to have her as a friend.
"I'll text you tomorrow." She turned to walk away and I watched her as she crossed the street, toward the two men at the suburban. One of the men, the one that always wore black slacks and a black collared shirt, opened the back door for her while the other man, the one who was usually dressed more causal in khakis and a polo shirt, jumped in the driver's seat.
As I watched the suburban drive away, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever find out what happened to her.
THE NEXT morning my alarm clock rang out, but it didn't wake me; my eyes were already open. In the few months I had been in New York, there were only a few nights when I slept the entire night without waking from a nightmare.
Throwing off the covers, I got up and jumped in the shower, eager to get to work. Actually, the best part of my day was knowing I had a job to go to. I wanted to cherish the feeling as long as I could.
"Morning, Isabel." I smiled at our receptionist as I walked in the front door of our small office. Her jet-black hair was pulled to the right side, braided, and hung over her right shoulder. Her brilliant white teeth stood out against her dark olive skin and striking green eyes. She was not only beautiful and exotic looking, she was also really sweet and my favorite person in the office.
"It is a good morning." She smiled back at me. "Have you heard who's coming in this morning?"
I shook my head. "No, who?"
"Oh, just wait. You'll see." She smiled wider and gave me a wink as I walked past her.
Confused, I made my way back to my office, the one I shared with Christine—the girl who, for some reason, had hated me since the day I started working there. It was only a few days ago that she even spoke to me when I asked her a question. Before, it was like I didn’t even exist. She was a couple years older than me, maybe twenty-five or so. The strangest thing was that we looked so similar she could have been my sister. Our hair color was the same except hers was cut to her shoulders while mine hung closer to the middle of my back. Our builds were similar, although she was a lot more endowed in the chest area than me.
When I walked in, Christine was sitting in her chair facing me as she talked on the phone. She gave me a quick, wry smile before turning around to her computer. Her degree from New York University hung on the wall above her monitor along with many other awards and accomplishments. At least we had separate desks. Christine faced the wall and I faced the door, having a clear view of the lobby and Isabel's desk. I think I got the better deal out of the two spots. I couldn't imagine staring at a wall all day.
When I sat down, I saw a pink stinky note stuck to my monitor.
PLEASE COME SEE ME. — SHARON
Great. This couldn't be good. Sharon was my boss. If she was going to fire me, couldn't she have at least waited until the end of the day? I sighed, my tired eyes suddenly feeling heavier. I had to keep telling myself that whatever happened, I could get through it. In the past few years, I had gotten through worse. I had dug myself out of deeper holes than this. I could find a new job. I would be okay.
Standing up, I prepared myself to face my fate, when something stopped me dead in my tracks. A guy in a fancy suit walked into our office. I couldn't help but stare at him. I'd like to say it was something else that stilled me. Regardless, it was his good looks and how amazingly sexy he looked in that blue pinstriped suit. His sandy-brown hair was styled perfectly and I swear the clothes he wore were made for him. They fit him perfectly.
When he approached Isabel's desk, it looked like she was about to faint right there in front of him. I wondered if this was the mystery guest she spoke of just a few minutes ago.
Isabel leaned forward on her desk, practically drooling as she stared up at the gorgeous man who stood in front of her. The two of them chatted for a few seconds before Isabel picked up the phone and then pointed him toward Sharon's office. He gave her another dazzling smile before making his way down the hall.
I hadn't even realized I was following his every move until Christine said something.
"Don't even think about that one. That guy is T-R-O-U-B-L-E." I tore my eyes away from him to glance over at Christine, who was shaking her head. "I guess all the rumors were true. He is back in town."
"Who is he?"
She looked at me like I was crazy and then laughed. "I forget you're not from the city. That"—she looked toward Sharon's office, where the gorgeous guy disappeared—"is Reed Alexander. He's been gone for a few years now. He had some crazy family stuff go down. I heard he was back, but I didn't believe it, not until right now."
My eyes drifted back to Sharon's closed office door. I guessed I wouldn't be going in there now.
Taking a seat again, I tried not to stare at the door, but I secretly wanted to see him again. When a few minutes passed and the door opened, I quickly looked away.
Keeping my head down, I reached my eyes towards the front desk where I saw Sharon and the gorgeous guy talking. They looked friendly; Sharon was smiling, maybe even drooling a little herself, even though she was twice his age. Then Sharon looked in my direction and her eyes locked with mine. Crap, I was caught staring. Before I could turn away, I saw Sharon pointing to me, causing Reed to turn around and look in my direction, too. I could feel my eyes grow wide and my mouth drop open a little. Sharon raised her hand up and waved at me to come over. Oh God. She couldn't mean me... could she? I gulped loudly and just continued to sit there, frozen, not sure what to do.
"Um, Emily. I think Sharon needs you," Christine's voice snapped me back into reality.
"Uh, yeah, I'll go see what she wants." I stood up and pulled my skirt down, smoothing it out as I made my way towards them.
"Watch out. He's been known to bring girls to their knees with just one look." I could hear Christine laugh the entire way to the front desk. I tried to ignore her, focusing on the gorgeous man, Sharon and Isabel. They all stared at me as I approached.
"Emily, I'd like you to meet Mr. Alexander. Mr. Alexander, this is Emily Anderson."
His hazel eyes stared into mine and I’m not sure I breathed for a few seconds. My eyes roamed across his face, taking in his beautiful features. His lips were full, matching perfectly with his wide, square jaw. A little bit of stubble was on his face, giving his sophisticated suit and refined demeanor a little more roughness.
"Please call me Reed." He smiled as he held out his hand. I could feel the weakness in my knees, just like Christine had said. He was gorgeous and he smelled even better. Pull it together, Emily, act professional for God sakes.
"It's nice to meet you," he continued. I took his hand, feeling warmth radiate through me. He gave me a crazy sexy smile... or maybe it was just a smile that I thought was crazy sexy.
"Nice to meet you, too," I muttered as I stared up into his hazel colored eyes. I felt thankful that the words made it out of my mouth
"Reed is planning a charity event and he would like to hire us to organize it," Sharon said, pulling my attention back to her.
"Really?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. Great, that sounded professional.
"We are so honored to do this for you and your family, Mr. Alexander." Sharon smiled and then looked between the two of
us, finally settling her eyes back on Reed. "Well, I'll let you get going. I know you're a busy man. I'll go over a few things with Emily and we'll be in touch."
My stomach twisted. What did she just say? Go over a few things with me?
Sharon and Reed shook hands and then he looked over to me again.
"I look forward to working with you, Emily."
Working with me? Had I just heard him correctly? That's not possible.
He walked away and every girl in the office, including me, followed him until he was out the door.
"Wow, he is so yummy," Isabel swooned when he was finally out of sight.
Sharon looked towards Isabel and laughed. "I have to say that he is a very attractive young man, but Mr. Alexander has just hired this office to put together the Black and White event for him and we need to act professional."
Isabel shrieked. "No way. Are you serious?"
I must have been missing something. What was the Black and White event?
"We all know who Reed Alexander is and how important this event can be for us, so let's not screw this up, okay?" Sharon gave Isabel a pointed look and then turned to me. "Emily, may I see you for a minute?" She started to walk towards her office as I followed close behind her.
"Take a seat," Sharon said, shutting her office door behind me. She sat down at her desk and stared at me for a long moment. "Do you know who Reed Alexander is?" she finally asked.
I shook my head.
"You've never met him before?"
I shook my head again. "No, not until a few minutes ago."
She sat back in her seat, looking puzzled. "I didn't think so. I know you just moved here a few months ago and I believe he's been living in London for the past two years. That just makes this even stranger." She clasped her hands together and laid them on top of her desk. "This morning I got a phone call from Mr. Alexander's assistant. She said that he wanted to come see me this morning to talk about hiring our company for an event. He not only wants to hire us to coordinate the Black and White event this year, but Mr. Alexander specifically requested that you be involved in organizing it."
My stomach dropped. What? Me? He wanted me? But, he didn't even know me.
"He did?" I talked around the lump in my throat. "I'm not really sure what to say." A strange feeling crept up inside me and paranoia oozed its way in. Could Jake have found me? Could he have something to do with this? Was the man in the suit working for him? It sounded ridiculous because I knew if Jake had found me, I'd probably be dead, yet I couldn't help wondering the worst.
"It really doesn't matter. I'm glad he came to our company," Sharon said, breaking into my thoughts. "This is one of the biggest events of the year. Or it was until a couple years ago." Her eyes glazed over and, for a moment, she looked upset, like she was remembering something very disturbing. Shaking her head, as if she were trying to remove a memory from her mind, she continued. "Now, I know this is going to be a lot for you to take on, but you've done such a great job this past month. I think you’ll be just fine. This type of event can overload even the most experienced event coordinator." She paused, hesitating. "So I'd like you and Christine to work on this together."
My stomach turned. Work with Christine? Didn’t she just get through telling me this was the biggest event of the year? I wasn’t sure I was ready for this.
"Are you sure you even want me on this event? I've only had a few small jobs. I'm not certain I'm ready for this."
"Well, Mr. Alexander requested you and I couldn't exactly tell him no. Don't worry about it. I'll be here to help you along the way and so will Christine. We'll hold a meeting first thing tomorrow morning and go over the details."
I nodded and swallowed hard, still feeling uneasy about all of this.
"Don't look so worried, Emily. You should be happy. This could be a great opportunity for you."
"Thank you." The words came out of my mouth sounding more like a question. It was just this morning I thought I might not have a job tomorrow.
"You should thank Mr. Alexander, but I'd wait until we pull this event off first. I think we will all be going full speed until it's over. I've got a ton of phone calls to make. You should be getting the details of the event by tomorrow morning. I'll let you break the news to Christine. Just remember, don't let her push you around. She's a fabulous coordinator, but sometimes she thinks she runs this place." She smiled reassuringly.
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, I'll tell her."
Isabel was on the phone when I walked past her desk, her eyes growing wide with curiosity when she saw me. She mouthed, "What was that about?" as I walked by.
Shaking my head, I tried to play down the situation, even though I knew she would be begging me later to tell her what happened.
Christine turned her chair around when I walked into our office. She stared at me, waiting for me to say something, but I said nothing as I made my way over to my desk. I think I was still in shock.
"Okay, so you're not going to say anything?" She waited a few seconds for me to answer. I still remained silent. "What was Reed Alexander doing here?" she asked, annoyed.
"He hired us to coordinate the Black and White event."
Her mouth dropped open. "No way! Holy shit! This event is huge. Sharon must be freaking out."
I nodded. "Yeah, she seemed pretty excited that we got it."
"Uh, yeah, that's because most companies have to fight to get this event. I mean, it's usually a long, drawn-out process that goes through bidding wars and all that. Actually, I didn't think another Black and White event would happen again… I mean, not since what happened to his parents and sister."
"What happened to his parents and sister?" I asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know about that either."
For the first time in months, I actually saw Christine's face soften, like she was remembering something horrible. It was similar to the face Sharon had made. "I think you need to read up on it, just so you're not completely shocked when it’s all over the press. With Reed back in town, and the Black and White event happening again, the press will surely be all over it."
"Okay." I started to turn back around and then stopped. "Oh…" I swallowed hard. "Sharon wanted me to tell you that you and I will be working together on it."
"Working on what together?" The bitchiness and bitter tone in her voice was back.
My shoulders fell. This was going to be miserable. "You know what."
"That's why Sharon wanted to see you? To give you the job?"
"She's giving us the job," I corrected her. "We'll get the details on it tomorrow."
"No way. She's letting you work this? This is bullshit." I couldn't ignore the distaste in her voice when she said you. If I actually thought of Christine as a friend, I probably would've shared with her my shock with this whole thing, but she was far from ever being considered a friend.
I wondered how we were ever going to work together.
"I've been here for two years. Two years of working my butt off for that woman. This event should be mine. Mine alone."
"Let's just try our best to work together, okay? It could be really good for the both of us."
She rolled her eyes at me and then turned to face her computer again.
Great, this was going to be fun.
I TOOK a seat at the bar to wait for Lexi. She texted me after lunch, asking if I still wanted to meet her for dinner. With the craziness that had happened at work this morning, I welcomed a distraction.
"What can I get for you?" the bartender asked as he set a napkin down in front of me.
"A glass of Cabernet, please."
He nodded, but then he just stood there, narrowing his eyes as he looked curiously at me.
"You look really familiar," he finally said.
"I've been in once before. My friend lives in the building next door." I pointed toward Lexi's building.
He shook his head. "No, it's from somewhere else." He tapped his finger on his chin.
"I know. You work with Christine, don't you?"
Unease filled me. Just the sound of her name gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Yes," I answered and tried my hardest to smile.
"Thought so. I stopped by her office a few weeks ago and we met. I guess I didn't make a lasting impression."
Now that he’d said something, he did kind of look familiar.
"I'm Ben, in case you don't remember." He gave me a quick wink and smiled.
"Emily." I smiled apologetically.
"I'll go get you that wine."
He stepped away as I looked around the restaurant, wishing Lexi would hurry up and get here. She was already ten minutes late.
Ben returned a minute later, placing the wine down in front of me.
"So are you meeting someone?" He leaned against the bar, coming only a few inches from my face, way too close for my comfort. I slowly leaned away, hoping I wasn't being too obvious.
"Yeah, my friend, Lexi."
"Oh, okay, just let me know if I can get you anything else." He winked again and then turned his attention toward the customer a few seats down from me.
My fingertips tapped nervously on the wine glass as I prayed for Lexi to get here soon.
"Mr. Alexander, it's so nice to see you again." A man with a deep voice spoke behind me. The name Alexander immediately caught my attention.
Turning around, I saw Mr. Alexander standing there shaking hands with a shorter, gray-haired man at the host stand near the front of the restaurant.
"It's very nice to see you, too, Paul. It's been a long time."
"I'm glad you're back, sir. We've all missed you."
"It's nice to be back in the city."
I knew it was rude to eavesdrop on their conversation, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't even look away from him. Earlier today, when Mr. Alexander had come into the office, I hadn't gotten a great look at him because I couldn't necessarily gawk at him in front of Sharon. Seeing him now, he was very attractive. Okay, if I were being honest, Isabel was right. He was pretty yummy looking. He was dressed more casual than earlier, now wearing dark jeans, a white shirt with a navy-blue sports jacket, and brown boots.
The Hardest Part Page 3