A Workplace Affair (Atlanta Affair)

by Isabella Rae

  “Guess we’re going to need a few more of those.” Handing the waiter my card to start a tab, I turn back to Nick.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” The look in his eyes tells me to take a shot, because tonight I will be singing a lot. I love to sing. I don’t however love to sing in front of people, funny thing stage fright. We always pick one song to sing as a group and usually that’s as far as it goes, but tonight was going to be about cheering Nick up, which meant a lot of stage time. The next round of shots arrives and I take mine before Nick has a chance to steal it. Around the time my pitcher is half full, the announcer calls our names, it’s time to perform. My legs are just numb enough from the alcohol so that they don’t shake as I step up on stage.

  Chapter 3

  Claiming a seat at the bar Leland had just enough time to order a drink before the next singers took the stage. The emcee had announced that the song would be “Forget You”, a song that weighed heavily on his nerves. He settled in and prepared to suffer through what promised to be the most painful version of the song. First to the stage was an attractive little redhead, Leland appreciated the view of her backside in the tight black dress as a man joined her on stage. The woman turned and started waving for someone else to join them, oh great, three horrible voices to massacre an already irritating song. The woman who joined them on stage made his glass pause on the way to his mouth. She was beautiful, her cheeks were slightly flushed from alcohol and her eyes shone bright in contrast to her dark hair that fell straight and long down her back. Clearly she was the most nervous of the three. He thanked God that he at least had some visual entertainment, and found himself disappointed when the song ended and the trio departed the stage. He followed her movement to the left of the stage but lost them in the crowd. He made a mental note to find her table.

  As the night went on, the beautiful brunette and her friends took the stage at least five more times, each time singing songs about broken hearts and revenge, with the exception of “Wanna Be” by the Spice Girls. Each time they took the stage their level of intoxication visibly increased, and each time she got sexier. As they departed the stage the emcee announced last call, it was almost 2 am. Cursing, he signaled the bartender and paid his tab. He would have to leave it up to chance if he saw her again, he had an early morning breakfast date with his mother. Leaving the bar, he caught a cab back to the hotel, and passed out on the sofa.

  Chapter 4

  After we leave the bar, we grab a taxi and head back to my house to crash. Nick passes out on the sofa, and Sage and I help each other up the stairs and into my bed. We fall asleep quickly and wake up Saturday with horrible hangovers. Heading downstairs, I search for some Advil in my kitchen.

  “Morning.” I almost jump out of my skin, when Nick steps in the doorway.

  “Ugh.” I can’t manage much of a response until I find Advil and coffee. Sage shuffles in and takes care of the second one while I continue my search for headache relief. Finally finding some in the back of my cabinet I take a seat at the breakfast bar and wait for the coffee to finish brewing. “So Nick, you going to tell us what happened?” Sage and I both knew that something was wrong with him last night, but neither of us wanted to push him so soon. Now that he’s had at least twelve hours to deal with it, we are ready for some answers.

  “Shayla broke up with me before work yesterday.” Figures, I never liked her to begin with. “Then, when I got to work, I could tell something was going on, but couldn’t figure it out. Just as I’m about to leave for the day my boss called me into his office and let me go.” Damn, didn’t see that one coming.

  “Ok, so today is about you then, what do you want to do?”

  “I know! He’s going to spend the day cuddled up between two sexy bitches and watch action movies all day.” Leave it to Sage to come up with Nick’s idea of a perfect day.

  “Sounds good to me.” Nick smiles for the first time since arriving at the bar.

  “I’ll make the popcorn.” Nick and Sage leave me in the kitchen, and as they walk away I laugh at how perfect we all are for each other.

  Monday morning came faster than usual, but I had a great weekend with my friends. Saturday night and most of Sunday was spent watching movies and the three of us cuddling on the sofa. Now, as my alarm sounded the arrival of Monday morning, I desperately yearned for a shower. Starting the shower, I pick out business clothes for the boss’s first day in the Atlanta office. I have no intentions of flaunting myself for him, but I definitely want to make a good impression. My shower feels so good that I take a little longer than necessary under its warm spray. Luckily I have given myself plenty of time this morning to get ready for work.

  At the office everyone was in a fuss. Women who normally dress in drab colors seem to have gone out and bought brand new outfits trying to outdo each other. The boardroom is set up with an assortment of pastries, fruits, bagels and muffins. Coffee, juices, and water are set up along the wall. My morning starts off by picking up presentation folders, answering e-mails, and placing a folder at each chair for the meeting. Around nine, Mr. Marks calls me into his office.

  “You’ve been working for me for a while now, and you’ve proven to be very knowledgeable in this business. You work hard, you’re never late, and you pay attention. I’d like to invite you to sit in on the meeting today.” He catches me off guard with his invitation.

  “I’d love to!” I guess my excitement was a little obvious, because he quickly corrected me.

  “In a secretarial capacity, of course. I want you to take notes during the meeting so I can review them afterward.” Well it is not what I was hoping for, but at least it is a start. One day I’ll have a chance to prove that I am more valuable than as a secretary.

  The meeting is set for ten o’clock so I take the time to read over the presentation packet and familiarize myself with the contents. The more prior knowledge I have, the more detailed notes I can take. Mr. Marks comes out of his office at 9:45 and signals for me to walk with him to the meeting; I take my place and wait for the meeting to start. As more people start filing in, I realize that I am the only secretary in attendance. At 9:59, Leland Ambrose walks through the door, my God he is beautiful. Beautiful, and I’m certain, arrogant, shallow, and vain. He catches my eye and his crystal blue eyes appear to be looking right through me. I smile at him politely, he hesitates and then shakes his head as if confused.

  He takes his place at the head of the table and takes a look through the packet while everyone prepares for the presentation. As Mr. Marks stands to make his portion of the speeches, I swear I see Mr. Ambrose look right at me, brushing it off I give my attention back to Mr. Marks. His speech takes about twenty minutes and is straight to the point, the facts are clear and Mr. Ambrose looks as if he agrees. Next up is the new executive from accounting, Mrs. Stratford. Her speech drags on for forty minutes, during which time, I feel Mr. Ambrose’s eyes burning into me. I do my best to ignore the nerves I feel as his keep returning to me, but I can feel the flush rising to my cheeks. The meeting goes on with an endless stream of executive and executive wannabes, but each time a speech gets boring I can look over and make eye contact with those piercing blue eyes. Finally, the meeting comes to an end and I feel relief when I escape his searching gaze, it’s almost as if he was trying to connect my face to one in his memory.

  Mr. Marks gives me ten minutes to get my notes in order before asking me into his office for a review. We go over the financial benefits of the investment into small local businesses verses the benefits of re-purposing the spaces for development. Near the end of our meeting there is knock on the door, Mr. Ambrose pushes the door open and stops short.

  “Robert,” He pauses having a seemingly hard time remember what he wanted. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.” He turns to leave the room but Mr. Marks stops him.

  “We were just finishing up. Leland, this is my secretary, Victoria Bryant.” At the introduction I extend my hand to shake his, he lightly grazes my palm as he
pulls his hand back. The electricity that runs up my arm surprises me and I pull my hand back a little too quickly. He’s a lot more handsome than the women give him credit for.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Bryant.” His smile is warm, his eyes bright as he holds my gaze. Embarrassed by the flush that rushes to my cheeks, I quickly turn back to Mr. Marks. Trying to sound normal, but sure they can hear the nerves that have entered my voice I excuse myself.

  “I’ll leave you to it, gentlemen.” I rise to leave and feel the same electricity run through me as I brush passed Mr. Ambrose. Damn, I need to get out of here. Never in my life did I expect to be so attracted to someone who, by all accounts, is a playboy. I usually have no reaction to those types of men, even when they are drop dead gorgeous, not that they ever pay me any attention.

  Chapter 5

  The office seems to be abuzz as I get off the elevator, must be the anticipation of the big boss’s arrival. Chuckling to myself, I make my way back to the boardroom, I really should have left earlier, but I had no way of knowing that it would take me fifteen minutes to make it four blocks. Damn Atlanta traffic was hell. Coming around the corner I can see the boardroom full of waiting executives and employees. It’s like a high knowing how nervous some of them were to meet the boss. As I enter the room I scan the faces, faces that keep this office going, and ensure its success. There are a few people I recognize, some have made the transfer from New York to Atlanta when we decided to open up this branch.

  As I finish scanning the faces, I see her, the sexy brunette from Friday night. At least I think it is her. This woman definitely looks different in her gray suit, and glasses, and hair pulled tightly up, but I am almost certain it is her. She smiles at me, and I think for a moment she may recognize me, but I don’t remember her ever looking at me at the bar. I shake my head to clear it and continue to my seat. Robert Marks is the first to stand, and he’s so close to this woman that I can’t help but look at her. She avoids eye contact and I think I can see a blush come to her cheeks. My gaze continues to drift back to her during the two-hour meeting, each time I have to pull my focus back to the person speaking. I will find out who she is, and if she’s the same woman I saw at the bar.

  Ten minutes is all it takes me to discover that the brunette in the meeting is Robert’s secretary, and another fifteen to break away and go in search of her. She’s not at her desk when I arrive, so I knock on Robert’s office door, prepared to catch up with him until her return. At his response, I push open the door and stop dead. Despite the tight bun, and boring suit, she’s just as beautiful as I remember.

  “Robert,” this is definitely the woman from Friday night. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.” I make to leave the room knowing my old friend will stop me.

  “We were just finishing up. Leland, this is my secretary, Victoria Bryant.” I take the hand she extends to me and enjoy the flash of electricity I feel as I pull away. This should prove to be an interesting visit to Atlanta.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Bryant.” I smile, remembering how cute she looked when she was embarrassed, much like she looked now. I hold her gaze for a moment knowing, maybe hoping, it’s because of me that she’s embarrassed, and watch as the flush builds in her cheeks. She quickly looks away from me back to Robert.

  “I’ll leave you to it, gentlemen.” Her voice is a little shaky as she speaks. When she rises to leave and I shift slightly, making sure she has to touch me as she passes. My hand still tingles where her skin had touched mine.

  “Hired you some eye candy, huh old man?” I smile at him wickedly as I sit across from him; the chair is still warm from where she sat. Robert chuckles and sits back in his chair.

  “Eh, she does a good job, so I keep her around.” At 58, Robert is old enough to be my dad. In fact that’s how I met him, through my dad. When I started working for my dad at 20, Robert was the one who taught me what I needed to know, the things textbooks couldn’t teach me. If it wasn’t for him I never would have taken the risk of opening my own business four years later. Now, ten years later, he runs the southern division of United Real Estate Investments.

  “How have you been? I’m so sorry about your divorce.” Pain flashes on his face for an instance and then quickly disappears.

  “It was only 30 years,” he says like it’s nothing, “I’ve been doing ok, and things are finally starting to get easier.”

  “I’m glad to hear it, old friend.” We catch up for a little longer with him giving me hell about my most recent failed relationship. I glance at my watch and realize we’ve been talking for an hour.

  “I’m sure you have work to do, Leland. Why don’t we get together before you leave Atlanta and have a few drinks.” I wasn’t trying to be rude by looking at my watch, but my old friend understands my position.

  “The first round is on me.” Robert treats me to a rare father-like hug before I go. Leaving his office, I’m disappointed to find Victoria is not at her desk. I sit down and write a message for her on her notepad, It was very nice meeting you today, please stop by my office before you leave for the day. -Leland Ambrose. Satisfied, I make my way to my office on the other side of the building to wait.

  Chapter 6

  Returning from lunch I have a full stomach and a huge smile on my face, Sage always seems to have that effect on me. Of course, my smile may also have something to do with the tiramisu I had at her bakery. Sage is the best baker in Atlanta, in my opinion, and she owns a small shop just off of Peachtree Street. I always seem to be her guinea pig for new recipes, it’s no small feat staying my size when I have Sage’s awesome desserts all the time. I slide my cupcakes, which Sage insisted I take before they go bad, into my desk drawer and almost miss seeing the note written on my notepad. Mr. Ambrose wants to see me before I leave for the day. Crap, this can’t be good. I’m still buzzing from the electricity I felt before. I’m not sure how I’ll handle being alone in his office. I still have some filing to do and I need to type up my notes from the meeting, so I occupy myself with those things until 4:30 rolls around. Hoping whatever he needs won’t take more than half an hour, but wanting to give him the respect of arriving early. I shut down my computer, and point myself in the direction of his office.

  The girl outside his office doesn’t even notice when I walk up, she’s clearly a temp bored with the job. “Excuse me,” even at direct contact she barely acknowledges me, “I’m here to see Mr. Ambrose, he’s expecting me.” She plasters on a fake smile and adjusts herself in her chair.

  “What’s your name?” She asks in a voice only a mother could love. It’s a wonder they didn’t have her vocal chords clipped like they do for dogs that won’t stop barking. Choking back laughter, more out of nervousness than malice, I answer her, “Victoria Bryant.” I wait a moment while she picks up her phone to let him know I’m here. With a jerk of her head she signals me to go in.

  “Will you tell him I’m leaving for the day?” Without waiting for me to respond she picks up her purse and walks away, leaving her computer on for anyone to access. I take a moment to shut it down before going through the door. Stalling at its finest.

  Inside, his office is different from the other executive offices. While the other offices are drab with their white walls and metal filing cabinets, this office is done in a slate blue with a large mahogany desk and filing cabinets that match. The expanse between the door and his desk is occupied by a brown leather sofa across from two brown leather armchairs with a low mahogany coffee table between them. The wall behind his desk is made entirely of windows treating all who enter with a breathtaking view of the city and all its busy energy.

  “Victoria, I’m glad to see you got my note. Please have a seat.” As I enter, he comes around his desk to greet me, motioning for me to sit on the sofa. I smile, unsure how to feel, and take a seat as requested. He sits in the chair directly across from me, propping the ankle of one lean leg on the knee of the other. “I’m sure you’re curious why I asked you to come see me,�
� it’s more a statement than a question so I allow him to continue. “I have a slight problem and I need your help.”

  “What can I possibly help you with, Mr. Ambrose?” I look at him questioning, searching for a sense of what kind of man he is. Remembering the way he kept looking at me in the meeting, part of me, the inappropriate part, is hoping it’s something slightly unprofessional.

  “I need a secretary. Amber is, well to be honest, she is underwhelming when it comes to her enthusiasm and job performance.” I smile; anyone could see that she didn’t want to be here.

  “Of course. I’ll look through some applications and have a couple of them come in tomorrow to interview with you.”

  “I am quite capable of doing that myself,” he lets out a whoop of laughter, confusing me.

  “But you said you needed a new secretary.”

  “Yes, I did, but I don’t need you to hire me a new one, I need you to be my secretary.” Sitting back he throws one arm over the back of the chair, waiting. Immediately, a string of very unprofessional thoughts runs through my head. Pushing them aside, I search for a response.

  “I, um, I work for Mr. Marks.”

  “Yes, I know, but I’ve spoken to him and he’s agreed to allow me to steal you away while I’m here.” He gets a strange look in his eyes when he says he is stealing me away, but it passes quickly. “Don’t worry; your job with him is safe.” I consider for a moment before answering him. Every woman in the office would die for this opportunity, and who better to show my worth to than the boss, right? Plus, he is nice to look at.

  “When do I start?” The strange look comes back into his eyes at my answer.

  “Right now. There is a lot that I need to go over to catch up, get your things and meet me downstairs in five minutes.” I hesitate for a second before seeing myself out; I head to my desk and grab my purse and my cupcakes. Mr. Marks has already left for the day so with nothing else to do I head for the elevator. I remind myself that he is my boss, and that, although he is wildly attractive, nothing can happen between us. If I’m going to prove myself, I have to be completely blind to his looks and charm. He’s not even attracted to me though, so there’s nothing to worry about.