Unexpected Chance (6 page)

Chapter 7

I woke up later than I usually do, but I slept like
crap. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was nervous and excited about my
interview that day or because I’d never heard from Alex last night. After
checking my phone again, I still hadn’t. Maybe I’d read something into our
weekend together that wasn’t there. I dragged my ass out of bed and started
getting ready for the day.

I was just about to eat my lunch when the buzzer to my door rang.
“Yes?”

A man’s voice bellowed, “Delivery for Aubrey Ryan.”

Who could be sending me a delivery? I hit the buzzer and let him
in. I opened the door, took the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers from the young
man, gave him a tip, and thanked him. The flowers were a mixed arrangement of
Gerber daisies, lilies, a few roses, and a white orchid in the center. They
were beautiful. I read the card.

Good luck today on your interview. You’ll do great!

Alex

So, he did get my text last night. I smiled; although, in the
back of my head, I wondered why he didn’t text me back. I decided not to dwell
on that and just enjoy the flowers.

Me: 1:05 p.m.—Thank you for the flowers. They’re
beautiful.

Alex: 1:08 p.m.—You’re welcome. They reminded me of you.

I decided not to text anything else after that. I wouldn’t even
know how to respond. I felt as though my smile was stretching from ear to ear. Did
he really think I was beautiful? I put the flowers in the center of my coffee
table, since the other bouquet he gave me sat on my kitchen table. I decided to
write in my journal. I didn’t want to lose the feeling I had.

Entry 3—Alex—A working project

If flowers are a romantic gesture, then Alex definitely is a
romantic. I’ve received flowers twice now and they keep getting more lovely. He
called me beautiful. It’s hard for me to accept. I really want to hope this is
the real him and not the player coming out. I guess time will tell. I still
need to guard my heart. Does one ever know if someone is genuine? Will I be
able to tell the difference? At this point, does it really matter? I know I’ve
fallen for Alex.

Time will tell. Until tomorrow . . .

~*~

I took the elevator to the fourth floor of an exquisite
office building and walked into Walker-Stone Marketing at three forty-five, I
had fifteen minutes before my interview to try and relax. I approached the
reception area; it was a nice, understated office. There was a comfortable
atmosphere. The walls were an inviting tan color, and the receptionist sat at a
cherry desk. She appeared to be in her early fifties and was on the phone when
I approached. She held her right index finger up to show that she wanted me to
wait. When she finished the call, she said, “I’m sorry about that. How can I
help you?”

“Hi, I’m Aubrey Ryan; I have an appointment with Brian Stone.”

“Ah, yes, Ms. Ryan. Please have a seat.” She waved toward the
sitting area. “I’ll let Mr. Stone know that you’re here. Would you like
something to drink?”

I sat down. “No, thank you.” I was afraid I would spill something
on my outfit, and I really needed this job.

A man approached me. “Ms. Ryan? I’m Mark, Mr. Stone’s assistant.”
I stood and we shook hands. Wow, he was h-o-t, HOT! I’d have to guess he was in
his mid-twenties. He had tanned skin, surfer-styled blond hair, eyes like the
ocean, and even though he was wearing a suit, he still looked beach worthy. If
I hadn’t fallen for Alex, Mark would have been just my type.

I found my voice. “Hi, Mark. It’s nice to meet you.” This was another
guy Julie had hidden from me. How many more were there? First Alex and now
Mark—two gorgeous men! We walked through the office; it wasn’t too big. There
were offices on the perimeter and desks facing each of them, which I could only
guess were for the assistants. There were cubicles with drafting tables, and
storyboards hung on the walls. It looked serene and formal at the same time,
sort of like Mark. We walked into the conference room, which had a large table
with probably about twenty chairs surrounding it.

Brian and Julie were sitting at the table chatting. Mark cleared
his throat, and Brian stood to greet me. We shook hands, and Julie just smiled
at me as she stood. “I was just leaving.” She whispered in my ear, “Good luck,”
smiled, and walked out with Mark.

My interview took about an hour. We went through the examples of
my writing and editing notes. “I know you don’t have any marketing experience,
Aubrey, but I really like what I’m seeing here, and I think you could be a
definite asset to Walker-Stone Marketing. I’d like to offer you a full-time
position.” He explained the salary and benefits. “There is also a ninety-day probation
period for all new employees.” He handed me a packet from Human Resources that
outlined everything that he mentioned.

I was happily surprised and tried to hide my shocked expression. “I
would love to accept your offer. I really appreciate this opportunity.”

“Great. How soon can you start?”

“I can start as soon as tomorrow.” I tried not to sound overly
anxious, but I was excited.

Brian smiled. “That’s great. We can use the rest of this week to
get you acclimated to our office and our procedures. I’ll have Mark make sure
to leave you a badge at reception.” We shook hands, and he walked me to Mark’s
desk. Mark stood and smiled. “Mark, will you escort, Ms. Ryan to reception and
then come and see me in my office?”

Mark nodded to Brian and walked next to me through the hall to
reception. “So, Ms. Ryan, how did it go?”

“Please call me Aubrey, and it went well. I start tomorrow.” I wasn’t
able to hold back my excitement. I knew he could tell that I was really happy.

We made it back to reception, and Mark shook my hand. “Welcome to
Walker-Stone.” I noticed that when my hand was in Mark’s I didn’t feel
anything, not like when Alex touched me.

“Thank you, Mark, see you in the morning.” He turned and left. I
couldn’t help but look at him; he was just as delicious walking away.
I
wonder if he’s a romantic.
I’d have to ask Julie, who was running up to me.

“Congratulations, Aubrey! Brian told me the news. I am so
excited! It is going to be so cool working with you! We must go celebrate. The White
Orchid, here we come!” I remembered it was ladies’ night, and I imagined the
women who’d be there. I took off my blazer, making my appearance look more
appropriate for drinks than business.

I was suddenly very nervous. We headed over to the club. “Julie,
did you tell Brett we were coming?”

“No, but I should text him and tell him to get out a bottle of champagne!”
She went to get her phone out of her purse.

I grabbed her hand. “No, don’t!”

“What’s wrong, Aubrey?”

“Please don’t text him; I don’t want to be expected.” My heart
was beating, and I swear it was going to jump out of my chest. “I want to see
how Alex acts when I’m not around.” I hung my head. I couldn’t help but think
what an awful person I was.

“Seriously? You need to reconsider your research; just let this
be what it is. If you feel like writing about it after that, then come clean
with Alex and tell him.”

“What happened to my carefree friend? Where is the Julie who
hates players and warned me off Alex?”

“All I am saying is that you could have something with him. I
jumped to judgment. Even Brett said he saw a difference in him since he’s met
you. Let’s just have fun tonight, okay? We’re celebrating you. Let’s do it!”

I smiled. “Okay. I’m sorry, Julie. If you want to text Brett, go
ahead.”

“No need. We’re here.”

Looking out the window, I spotted Alex’s car. My hands shook as I
grabbed the door handle. I paused and took a deep breath; I stepped out of the
car. I straightened my outfit and put some clear gloss on my lips. Julie and I
walked into the club. The atmosphere was different. There weren’t too many
people, but it was still early. I spotted Tyler right away. He was behind the
bar. I looked around but didn’t see Brett or Alex. Julie and I walked up to the
bar, and Tyler smiled at us. “Ladies, what will be your pleasure this evening?”
God, the way he said that, I could have ordered an orgasm, and it wouldn’t have
been in a shot glass.

Julie smiled, “Hi, Tyler, we’re celebrating tonight. Aubrey here
is now part of the work force; we’d like two champagnes please.”

“Congratulations!” His smile could bring you to your knees. “Two champagnes
coming up.” He turned to go get our drinks.

Julie looked around. I knew who she was looking for. A smile grew
across her face, and then it dropped instantly. “Why don’t we go get a table,
Aubrey?” She was pointing to an area to our right.

I looked to the left, where her eyes had just been. I saw Brett
sitting at a table and across from him was Alex and Leah. As soon as I spotted them,
she looked at me and gave me a sympathetic grin. I felt a little angry and
slightly jealous—no very jealous and very pissed. I wasn’t going to show
emotion in front of her or Alex.
Once a player always a player, right?

I had an idea. “Hey, Julie, do you have Mark’s number?”

Julie just looked at me; she knew that I’d seen Alex. “Yeah, I
have it, why?”

“Text him and tell him to meet us here to celebrate.” I knew it
was the immature thing to do, but I didn’t care.

Julie just looked at me. She knew I would protect myself by
getting mad rather than cry. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“It’s the best idea I’ve had all week.” It really wasn’t, but I
was in the two-can-play-at-this-game frame of mind.

Fifteen minutes later, Mark came over to our table with a beer. “Hi,
ladies, thanks for the text, Julie; I was around the corner when I got it.” He
raised his beer to me. “Congrats co-worker.”

We all smiled and clinked our glasses with Mark’s bottle. I
noticed that Tyler wasn’t at the bar anymore and that he’d been replaced with
Brett. Julie got up and went over to say hello. I couldn’t believe she’d waited
this long. I knew it was for my benefit. Brett must have sensed her. He looked
over and smiled at her. I was happy for her.

Brett leaned over the bar and gave Julie a kiss. I saw them
talking but didn’t know what about. Then Julie nodded in the direction of our
table, and Brett looked over. His eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at me
and then Mark.
Good
.

“So are you excited to start working?” Mark had no clue what was
going on around us, and I wasn’t going to point anything out.

Mark got me out of my daze. “Yes, I am. It’s going to be so nice to
finally put my brain and education to good use.” I was smiling now. Mark was
really good company. I thought he could be a friend. He told me about the people
in the office. Someone named Lisa in accounting wore clothes too small for her
and thought she was the next Miss USA. Andrea in advertising made a play for
all the new hires. He winked at me and I laughed. He told me about his
girlfriend, Jessica. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. I suddenly felt
horrible for asking him to come out tonight. I didn’t want Jessica to be upset.

“Mark, I hope Jessica doesn’t mind your being out with us
tonight.”

“No worries, I told her. She doesn’t mind; she has class tonight.
She’s studying for her Master’s. She’s almost done actually.”

How nice would that be to have that kind of trust? “She sounds
great, Mark. I hope to meet her someday.”

He smiled and nodded. He continued giving me the 411 on the
office staff. He was hilarious. I was in tears with laughter. And suddenly, there
he was; I could smell him before I could see him. I looked up and saw Alex. Was
he glaring at me?

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Aubrey?” The
sarcastic way he said “friend” almost made me laugh, but the tone in his voice
begged me to do otherwise.

I swallowed hard.
Was he mad? What right did he have to be mad
at me?
I smiled. “Alex, this is my friend, Mark. Mark, this is my friend, Alex.”
I made sure to stress “friend” when I introduced Alex. He nodded and they shook
hands. I hope he noticed that I referred to him just as my friend.

Alex spoke to me. “So have you two known each other long?” Mark
looked at me. Knowing he could sense something was off, he excused himself and
walked over towards the bar.

I looked at that gorgeous face that I’d dreamed about. “No, we
just met today, actually.”

“You seem very comfortable with him.” Alex glanced toward Mark at
the bar.

The nerve of him really! “How’s Leah?” I looked around at the bar
where Julie, Brett, and now Mark were . . . Hmm, no Tyler. “I don’t see Tyler. Maybe
he’s now the lucky recipient of her affections.” I couldn’t keep the sarcastic
tone out of my voice. He looked at me as if he just realized that I’d seen him
with her. I swear the color on his face changed, not to mention his expression.
“Look, Alex, not that I owe you an explanation or that you deserve one, but
Mark works for Walker-Stone. He has a girlfriend and is very happy with her. We’re
just friends.” I couldn’t do this anymore. I got up to leave.

He didn’t let me get far. He held my elbow. “Aubrey, there is
nothing going on with Leah. Sometimes it’s easier to just ignore her advances
than acknowledge them. She was just sitting next to me.”

“Whatever, Alex, I honestly don’t care.” That was a blatant lie. Of
course I cared. I pulled my arm away and walked toward my friends to tell them
I was leaving. Julie saw my expression when I approached them and could totally
sense that I was going to lose it in one form or another.

She walked up to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to get out of here.” I was going to burst. I hated feeling
this way. I looked at Brett sitting behind Julie. “Good-bye, Brett.” Turning
toward Mark, I said, “Thanks for coming out tonight, Mark. Next time, bring
Jessica.” I smiled the best I could and walked away.