The hours passed slower than
usual, but the workload proved constant and heavy. Between two client
appointments, the filing that I had avoided the night before and the constant
flood of inquiries from both employees and clientele, five hours passed sooner
than I had expected. I hadn’t seen Maria since that morning and part of me
wondered if our lunch was still intended.
I telephoned the front desk,
“Alisa, have you gone to lunch yet?”
“No, Ms. Kelly,” she replied. “It isn’t yet noon and
we’re going together, right?”
“Yes, yes.” I assured, “I know it isn’t 12, but I
just wanted to be sure the time was set.”
“Oh yes, the time is set unequivocally at noon.”
Despite the fifteen minutes
to spare, when I hung up I powered down my laptop and searched for my
iPhone. Five missed calls and three texts were all that awaited me, a relief
considering the morning I’d had. I was actually relieved to have a moment
outside of the office and looked forward to the impromptu lunch date. After
grabbing my purse and blazer I was off to lunch with the girls.
Passing by Maria’s office, I
was surprised to see that she was less aware of the time than I was. I tapped
a polite knock on the door and she spilled in to apologies, “Ms. Kelly, I’m
sorry. I really need to get this done. Jim in marketing wanted me to gather
some testimonials to place on the website and I have all these submissions and
I’ve only made it through half since yesterday…”
She apologized once more and
exactly at the moment I knew it was coming she said, “You two go without me.
I’ll try and catch up and if not I’ll find some way to make it up to you guys.
I’m sorry.”
Lessening the disappointment I said, “Not a problem.
Sometimes things happen that we can’t anticipate.”
I was set on returning to my desk and settling for
the chips I had stowed in my desk, but Alisa caught me as I exited Maria’s
office.
“You ready?” She asked.
Smiling I replied, “Sure am.”
I typically only engaged in
business meetings, anything other than that had a tendency to spill in to my
personal life. It was my firm belief that coworkers who invited other coworkers
to lunch only wanted to gather information on how they conduct their private
affairs. They pounced on the opportunity to gather information, no matter how
minimal, so that they could spread toxic truths.
I expected the conversation
to be light and awkward. A long hour of artificial smiles and dull
conversation, yet it was not.
Alisa worked as my
receptionist from day one of my practice launch, nearly two years ago and it
was quickly brought to my attention how little I knew about her. I don’t mean
in an invasive, tell me your business way, but on a surface level.
In addition to putting in
ample hours at my practice she also mentored young girls and boys at a nonprofit
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organization outside the city. Her
golden tone emitted a profound glow when she spoke of them, almost as though
they were her own children.
She was originally from
Texas, but moved here for school six years ago and never left. She finished her
degree a year ago which prompted me to ask, “You have your degree? Why are you
still working at the practice?”
It was only after I voiced
the question that I realized the mistake in asking. I’m her boss, why would she
tell me the truth?
Her hazel eyes met mine when she replied, “Well, to
be honest Ms. Kelly. I like working for you. You trust me and I trust you. You
gave me a key to the office my first month here, you trust that I’ll do my job
and I trust you’ll keep me until I decide it’s best to pursue other
opportunities. You’re a good boss, I have no intentions on leaving.”
My smile stretched to my temples, “You know, I’ve
wanted to get involved with some community work –“
She interrupted my spoken thoughts as she beamed, broadcasting
the cutest dimple, “Ms. Kelly you have to come with me one day! Those kids need
a voice like you…”
Thankful for the compliment, my conscious focused on an element more
pressing. Cute dimple?, I thought. My analysis disturbed me. I had not once considered
anything about Alisa the least bit attractive. Not to abate her beauty, but the
opinion of her attractiveness alarmed me. It forced me to
consider my attraction to her, however minimal.
I agreed, “I will. Sometime soon.”
She continued speaking about
the teenagers she counseled and the hardships they faced , being rejected by family and society. I pretended to follow, but I
still combed through my thoughts.
As her lips coiled over her words, I realized I was
overreacting. It is beyond possible to find someone attractive and not lust
for them. Alisa was beautiful, equipped with all the physicality’s needed to satiate anyone's sexual desires. I regarded her as attractive, beautiful, yet I craved the
touch of another. The realization pulled at
the edges of my smile. I craved another woman, I craved Maria.
When the check came I
insisted on paying the bill, but in many respects whether I paid or she paid,
the funding was still coming from my bank account somewhere in the hierarchy.
***Please like this post on facebook, thanks***
-A. I. Lee
Girl just go ahead and write a novel, you have me craving for more.
ReplyDelete:) Thank you Ms. Ameena! A book is definitely in the works.
ReplyDelete"A book is definately in the works." whoop! whoop! *starts doing a happy dance* yea boi!!! so publish date???? I'm definately chomping at the bit for this one and can't wait for the HUGE climax *broad grin*
ReplyDelete@Shannon. You have me dying over here. lol. I love your energy. I DO have a publish date in mind, but I don't want to jinx it. I will keep posting excerpts until the big day (without spoiling the good stuff). This book has been a joy to write, I'm having a ball!
ReplyDelete@A.I. NOOOO you can't die! We won't get more of your awesome story! ;) I LOVE your writing and am dubbing myself your #1 fan so gotta keep supporting and encouraging so I can get more...please *grins* Considering this is your first dabble in this genre *tips hat* Tip of the hat Ms. Lee!!!...*pouts* okay don't want to jinx it fair enough *whispers this year???* Keep posting and I'll keep reading and annoying you for more *wags brows* Glad you're enjoying writing this story! I'm thoroughly enjoying reading it!
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