A Trade For Good

by Bria Daly

  What she did gather from the little she heard about Lydia, was that if she and Jeff were not an item, the loss wasn't too great.

  Jeff's love life was not her concern right now. The only thing she should be concerned with were all of the outstanding accounts and bills, and paying off her own debt. Still, she hoped this Lydia or whomever Jeff ended up with turned out to be a nice girl. Jeff was a really nice guy and would someday make someone very, very happy.

  Jeff actually slept in on Monday and didn’t make it into the office until after ten o’clock that morning. He came in all smiles after sleeping better than he had in ages and didn't see Sera at her desk, but knew she was somewhere in the office, because her desk had all the signs of someone who had been at work for a reasonably long time. Besides, he smelled her. She always smelled like something fresh out of the clothes dryer — clean and fresh.

  Walking past their offices, Jeff waved to Mitch and Alan, and found Sera going through some papers in his office and pulling out some of the files from the file cabinet that only a few weeks ago had been storing dust.

  Sera had her nose in the files and turned as she heard him come in. Once again, Jeff was taken off guard as he looked at her fresh and clean look. Even on a Monday morning she looked beautiful. He didn't know how she did it. He had had a glimpse of what her life was like after meeting her four children, and knew only too well through the lives of his siblings and friends, and the nieces and nephews he spent so much time with, how exhausting children could be.

  “Good morning Sera. Did you decide you didn't want those files in the cabinet after all?" Jeff asked her with a smile. There were three stacks of manila folders on the desk that had been clear of papers for at least two weeks now.

  "Oh hi Jeff, I'll clear this mess up. I'm sorry, I didn't know when you'd be in. If you just give me a couple of minutes?"

  “That's all right. I'll go and make us some coffee in the meantime. Don't worry, take your time."

  "The coffee is made already." Then smiling, "Don't you remember that was one of my duties?"

  Jeff smiled, "Indeed it was. I'm glad that's clear, but what I don't know is how you take your coffee."

  "I'm not drinking coffee these days. I decided this weekend that I'd go easy on it for a while. I need to be alert, but I need to get my cat naps whenever Emma allows me to sleep."

  Jeff smiled and turned to leave, but then turned around again. "I enjoyed Friday night. It was great meeting your family. The kids are great," and then as an afterthought, "you're very lucky to have them. I had a great time with you on Friday night. Thanks."

  Neither Jeff nor Sera had noticed Mitch walk in and overhear the latter part of the conversation. Mitch raised an eyebrow and gave Jeff a quizzical look as he followed Jeff to the office kitchen.

  “Shit,” Jeff muttered. He hadn’t seen Mitch and didn’t want his sister to get her claws into that conversation. Surprisingly, Trish hadn’t been by since hearing they had a new hire.

  "Friday night? You guys go out on a date or something?"

  "Not that it's any of your business, but no, we didn't."

  "Okay, not that it's any of my business, but did I hear dinner and meeting the family, or are my ears playing tricks on me."

  "All right, damn you," Jeff looked to make sure nobody was in earshot. Then, lowering his voice he told his brother-in-law, "I went to that Italian restaurant I always go to, the one I take the kids to sometimes, and Sera and her husband's brother and wife were there. They asked me to join them. They're a really nice couple. You’d like them, and we may get some business from them soon.

  “Anyway, I ran into them and they asked me to join them. Chad and Deb, Sera's in-laws, were called home by the babysitter so I stayed at the restaurant with Sera. I had to drive her to her mother-in-law’s house to pick up the baby, and then to Chad and Deb's, because she had left her car there. We had coffee, said our goodbyes, and that was it. Is there anything else you need to know?"

  "Yeah, if there's nothing to hide, than why are we whispering?"

  Jeff opened his mouth to say something when Sera chose that time to come in.

  "I think I will have that coffee after all. That was a very big and brave statement I made earlier, but I think I do need some caffeine. By the way," Sera winked at Jeff before adding, "I like it hot, strong, and just a little sweet."

  They saw her turn around to leave with a big smile on her face and Mitch started laughing. "Boy are you in trouble ..."

  Jeff brought Sera her coffee, just the way she wanted it, and watched as she took her first sip closing her eyes and sipping the hot drink as if it were an aphrodisiac.

  "Mm. That's good Jeff, just the way I like it."

  Jeff could tell Sera had no idea how sexy she looked and sounded hugging her mug of coffee. He started back to his office and found that she was following him.

  His desk had been cleared with the exception of one stack of manila folders, which sat right in the middle of the desk.

  He looked down and smiled. “In the olden days this would have been an extremely tidy desk, but this pile of files is making me nervous.”

  "Oh yeah, when you get a chance can we go over some of these accounts? I went over most of the files from this year this morning, and then I found these. Most are completed jobs, but they haven’t been paid yet. And these," she held up a stack that she was carrying, “these look like decent prospects.”

  Sera came around the desk to where he was standing and leaned closer to show him what she was talking about. She smelled absolutely great, and Jeff only heard half of what she was saying.

  He couldn't believe how flustered he was by her getting close. It was like being in high school with a beautiful girl again and feeling awkward about his next move. Except that he wasn't in high school, she wasn't a girl, she was the mother of four children, and she was married. No this wasn't the same. This just meant he definitely had to start dating again.

  Jeff walked away abruptly from her, realizing she had just asked him something and was waiting for a reply, to which he answered. “Fine, talk to Mitch about this.” And off he went.

  Sera was left standing in his office with the two stacks of files and not knowing what to do. Jeff was a really nice guy, but she wondered if he was bipolar. What had that been all about?

  Maybe he wasn't ready for her to get so involved in money matters. Maybe he thought she was questioning his effectiveness as a business owner.

  Once again, he had acted as if he wanted nothing to do with her. It was confusing. He said he had a good time on Friday and enjoyed meeting her family, and then she starts talking business and he storms off. Men!

  Maybe the thought of unpaid accounts reminded him she was hired only to settle a debt.

  Sera knew she was a little sensitive to that. Sera felt awkward and resented the fact that a debt had been the only qualification that had landed her the job. At least now, she was proving herself. She hoped.

  Yes, she was. She told herself. Even she knew the changes she had made in the office were all good ones. She didn’t need the guys to tell her that, even though they always did. Mitch, Alan, and Todd were constantly praising the changes she had made. “Now I can find the files without having to search the entire building,” and “Alphabetical order? Why didn’t I think of that?” Maybe she just rubbed Jeff the wrong way. These mood swings were way too confusing.

  Confused she was. There had been a couple of moments when she thought Jeff really liked her and felt at ease with her, like at the restaurant. They had joked around, he had complimented her, and he even praised her work.

  Fine, whatever. She'd talk to Mitch. Mitch was easy to talk to and never avoided her.

  Chapter 14

  Sera's meeting with Mitch went well, even though Mitch seemed even more clueless, or at least oblivious, to what was going on with the business side of it all. He told her to drive on with what she was doing to find all delinquent accounts, and to make sure t
hey actually hadn't been paid and not that they were just not recorded. He suggested she match numbers against bank statements, which she had already done.

  Sera had been through bank deposits and hadn't seen any of the outstanding amounts, but Mitch said he'd check with Jeff himself on this while Sera looked through more papers to make sure.

  Mitch was confused. This was Jeff’s thing. Why did he pawn it off and send Sera his way, and told Sera just as much.

  So Sera wasn’t the only one who was confused by the way Jeff acted.

  On Tuesday morning, Sera was typing a draft for a letter that was going to all past due account customers. She had drafted two letters so far. One was very nice and just a simple reminder, while the other threatened with legal action. She opted to write a third and would have the partners make any changes they saw fit.

  A letter was the first step. After that, they’d have to figure out how to proceed once they heard back from the different clients. Should they offer payment plans? Did the contract state they had a designated number of days to pay back? What if the client didn’t respond?

  It was close to noon and Sera was actually thinking of stepping out today to buy a couple of things she needed for her house, when she heard the door to the office open. She knew there were no appointments scheduled for today.

  She was in the back room and knew it wasn't one of the guys since they told her they'd be out on a job site and might not even return before the day was over, so she felt a little uneasy and kicked herself for not locking the front door.

  Jeff had told her repeatedly to lock it when she was alone. The neighborhood was pretty safe, but they didn't like her staying alone at the office when anyone could walk in on her thinking there was money, or worse, knowing there was a pretty woman and no one else around.

  Sera made sure she had her cell phone in hand just in case she had to call 911, but didn't think she'd need to after she snuck a peak of the intruder, and relaxed.

  A tall, thin, and perfectly groomed woman had come into the office. She seemed like the type of person who waltzed in, not walked.

  She didn't look like she belonged here, but maybe she was a rich client and wanted to speak to somebody about a job she wanted done.

  This would be Sera's first experience talking to a client face-to-face, and she wished the client hadn't looked so stunning in a business suit and high heels, next to Sera’s most professional looking jeans, t-shirt, and bleached-out sneakers.

  This woman was also tall. Sera didn’t like tall women who looked down on her. This woman was at least a head taller than Sera.

  "Hi, I'm Sera. May I help you?”

  "Do you work here?"

  Sera immediately noticed the woman's condescending tone, and decided her first face-to-face was not going to be fun.

  "Yes, I'm Mr. Mason's personal assistant." Sera wasn't exactly sure what her job title was, but the one she had used sounded pretty good and put her in a good position directly under Jeff, which was not a bad place to be ...

  "I bet you are," the woman said and took a seat behind Sera's desk.

  "I'm sorry, I hate to be rude, but is there anything I can do for you? If you need to talk to someone, I can take your name down and ..."

  "Is Jeff in?" the woman purred.

  "No, he's out. He's at a site."

  "Oh yes, he loves getting his hands dirty, doesn't he?" The woman asked with a shudder.

  "He's the best there is at what he does, and making himself available at the different sites is definitely a part of his success. Have you seen his work?"

  The woman looked down at her nails as if extremely bored by the question, and answered, "Yes honey, I know what he does and I know how well he does it.

  “You probably know how much he likes getting down and dirty." She fluttered her eyelashes, trying to act as if she was very coy and Sera realized they weren't just talking landscaping here. However, why this woman felt the need to push her way in and make a point was beyond Sera.

  "I'm sorry Miss ... You see, you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am, because I introduced myself, but I don't know who you are." Sera smiled sweetly and silently congratulated herself on the fact that she could be as phony and coy as any woman in stilettos.

  "I am sorry. You said your name is Cynthia?"

  "Sera."

  "Oopsies," she said with a very fake giggle, "Sera then, I thought you'd know, I'm Mr. Mason's fiancée. I thought everyone knew."

  Sera took a step back. That one caught her off guard. Sera hesitated before responding in the hope that the truth would sting a little along the way. Then, looking at the well-dressed ice queen in front of her, she answered, "No, in fact, Jeff never once mentioned you."

  "Interesting ...” the woman said as she picked up her purse and left without as much as a wave, a name, or even a goodbye.

  The rest of Sera's day went without any major incidents. She managed to polish up a couple of drafts for her letter and left them on Jeff's desk for review. Today she hadn't seen Jeff at all, but with the quiet of the office, she felt she had actually accomplished less. Sera was used to noise, activity, and chaos. Those were everyday occurrences in her life and in her home. The quiet of the office had not helped, nor had the visit from Jeff's fiancée.

  She should be happy for Jeff. If he was engaged and thinking of getting married, she knew he'd make a great husband and an awesome father someday, but somehow, she didn't see his fiancée as a Donna Reed type, and she seemed too high-maintenance for the Jeff’s of this world.

  But what did she know anyway? And why did it bother her?

  She spent too much time that afternoon being bothered by the thought of Jeff engaged to that woman, or was it just Jeff engaged, period? It nagged at her that Jeff was engaged to that frigid bitch. He was a nice guy, and he deserved better. Yes, that must be it, or ... Was it really just the fact that he was engaged period? Ugh! She didn't want to think about that.

  If truth be told, and she had just recently accepted this as a reality, Sera knew she was somewhat, maybe a little, and sort of – kind of, slightly attracted to Jeff.

  There, she said it. However, who wouldn't be. As her sister-in-law, Deb had said, that guy is sizzlin hot!

  Anyway, she tried to tell herself “Good for him.” However, if he had to be with someone, that woman was not what Sera would have ever imagined for Jeff. Maybe that was his type of woman ... Well then, so much for Sera ever standing a chance!

  Today had truly taken a toll on her. She looked up at the new ‘older’ clock she had recently unearthed from the storage room and decided it was time to pack up and go home.

  Sera was tired and didn't like the way her mind wandered. It was taking her to places where she didn't wish to go and in all honesty, she couldn't afford - literally or figuratively - to go there.

  Her life was too much of a mess already, and she didn’t need some romantic notion of starting fresh and being madly in love, not to mention being loved, by a sizzlin hot, really nice guy.

  She turned the coffee pot off, the copier off, shut down her computer, turned off all of the lights, and left.

  Today sucked.

  Chapter 15

  Sera came in earlier the next morning to make up for the twenty minutes or so she had taken off early the day before. Yesterday, when she left early, it was knowing that no matter how long she stayed, she wouldn't have gotten anything else done, but today would be better, and any thoughts about Jeff would just have to go away.

  Smiling and singing to herself, she went to unlock the door and found that it was already unlocked. Funny, she didn't recognize any of the cars outside.

  Then, walking in slowly, Sera entered the office and saw her. Tall, thin, and gorgeous, but this time, the woman was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and sneakers that looked a lot like the ones Sera always wore; only these sneakers were probably at least three sizes larger than Sera's.

  Sera shuddered. Another one of Jeff�
�s women? At least this one looked normal, although maybe too pretty. Sera wasn’t sure if she was ready to retract her claws quite yet.

  "Hi, you must be Sera." A beautiful woman who looked slightly familiar came to her in quick strides with her hand out and a genuine, welcoming smile to greet Sera.

  It was hard to hate her, but Sera did.

  "Yes. I mean hi. Yes, I’m Sera."

  "I've heard so much about you, and I wanted to check you out myself.” The young woman laughed and quickly added, “I meant to say meet you personally.” And then with another chuckle, she kept talking while silencing Sera who was trying harder to hate this woman, and not really following the conversation all that well. “You see, I'm supposed to be jealous of you, and quite honestly, I should be, because you’re absolutely beautiful."

  This woman was making it really hard for Sera to hate her. Still, she could play the bitch game. Two days of gorgeous women invading her turf was all she needed to play rough.

  Today wasn’t looking as good as she hoped it would.

  "And you are…?" Sera asked with her nose up in the air, which rather put her at a disadvantage since it barely reached the woman’s neck…

  "Oh damn, sorry. Don't even look at me, by the way! I'm on my way to the gym and I’m a mess. I should have at least worn some makeup to come and meet you."

  Sera laughed at her and blushed. Fine, she had to admit it was actually impossible to hate this woman.

  "I meant,” Sera chuckled, “No, not I am beautiful, and you are ... something else,” she smiled and saw the meaning of it finally dawned on the tall girl, “And you are ... as in do I know you?"

  The young woman started laughing, a very inelegant laugh with a slight snort to it that was very contagious. "Shit. I should have started there,” she laughed again. “I’m Trish. I'm Mitch’s wife, Jeff’s older sister."

  Sera relaxed. She really relaxed. Whoa. Yes, that felt better, but not wanting to analyze why she was so relieved and feeling like a total ass, she told the tall girl, "By the way, and before I stick my foot in my mouth again, you are gorgeous. That part was coming next. You kind of startled me when I first walked in. I didn't expect to see anyone, and yesterday this woman came in and ... Sorry," Sera extended her hand as a sign of peace and a form of greeting. “Nice to finally meet you Trish.”