Note: For Part 1, you will need to scroll back though the past few posts because I am too lazy to pingback. I had only planned on posting Part 1 as a one-off but quite a few of you DM’ed me so here I am posting the old original Part 2 because sometimes it’s hard for me to say no. LOL

-Part 2-

“Hey! This place is pretty crowded. Would you mind if I sit with you?”

She graced me with the warmest of warm dark brown eyes and her smile could have lit up the entire coffee shop.

“Be my guest. But you might regret it…”

She motioned for me to sit and I promptly accepted.

“With a smile that beautiful, regret would be impossible.”

I expected her to avert her eyes shyly or at least blush at my compliment but I got neither. She didn’t even flinched.

I watched as she smoothed out the crinkles out of the newspaper before folding it neatly into four. As she did, she continued smiling and her eyes never left mine.

“So tell me, why would I regret sitting with you?”

“Well, I’m not that much of a conversationalist this early in the morning. And those girls over there seemed more than ready and willing to entertain a good-looking guy like you.”

She gestured behind me and when I turned, the three women were looking in our direction.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I was impressed that she had observed that subtle exchange because it meant that she had been looking at me. Then, there was the fact that she had called me “good-looking”. Things were looking up so I cranked up the charm.

“So…you’ve been watching me? I’m flattered.”

“No, I wasn’t watching you. Let’s just say that I’m very aware of my surroundings and the people around me.”

She grinned and slipped the newspaper into her bag.

I laughed at how she skillfully skirted around my shameless flirtation.

“Being someone so observant, maybe you should be a cop.”

“Who says that I’m not?”

I leaned in towards her across the table and whispered, “You’re too pretty to be a cop.”

She leaned in to match my action and whispered back, “That’s a bit of a sexist thing to say and a little insulting to all the female police officers in the world. Maybe…I’m very aware of my surroundings because I’m…a psychic.”

There was a long quiet moment as we simply looked at each other. This was getting more and more interesting by the second. I was enjoying this little banter between us, chatting like we already knew each other. At this rate and if I wasn’t careful, I would quickly go from being early for work to being late.

I studied her pretty face and wondered how her skin could look so smooth when she seemed to have absolutely no make-up on.  Her “Au Naturelle” T-shirt was definitely on point. There was a sense of familiarity about her which was a bit odd because we had just met.

“A psychic, you say? Okay then, “read” me. Tell me all about me.”

She took a long sip from her coffee mug. I, on the other hand, had completely forgotten that I’d even bought myself a coffee. I took a quick swig of mine and waited for her volley back. She outstretched her hand and showed me her palm. I frowned, a little confused.

“What? What are you doing?”

She wiggled the fingers of her outstretched hand.

“Give me your hand. I’ll give you a “reading”.

I laughed again as I gave her my hand.

“How much will it cost me?”

I had started this game and she wasn’t afraid to play. I was already hooked on her.

“Not one penny.”

Her hand was smooth and soft as she slid her palm across mine. When she simply held it in hers, I no longer cared about being late for work.

“Okay Ms. Psychic?” I teased, “Tell me about my future because I could definitely see you in it.”

[Should I repost the original Part 3?]

©2016 Marquessa Matthews. All Rights Reserved.

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[For the previous installments, please scroll back]

When I felt a presence next to me, I stood up and turned around.

“Delaney, meet Tyler Jordan. Tyler, meet Delaney Davenport.”

We both just stood there and stared at each other in shock for a long moment. A very, very long moment.

The shock on his face transformed into a slow and wicked smile but I couldn’t do the same.

I was beyond mortified.

I was busted.

“Delaney is joining Legal on a contractual basis. I’m looking forward to her working the same “magic” she did with that Toronto file we had last year,” Mr. Bernstein told him.

I was frozen.

What the hell was Tyler doing here? 

The last thing I pictured him doing was “working”. He came from money.

The confusion must have shown on my face. Or maybe my mouth was still open because I could see how thoroughly amused he was. I didn’t even notice that his hand was extended to shake mine. I quickly took it before Mr. Bernstein realized that something was wrong.

“Nice to see you again Delaney.” Tyler enunciated all three syllables of my name as he shook my hand. My mind raced.

Oh God, he wasn’t going to play us off as strangers!

I braced myself for the total embarrassment I was about to feel when he recounted the coffee shop incident. I could hear the flush of the toilet where my professional credibility would soon find itself.

Mr. Bernstein raised his eyebrows curiously as he looked from Tyler, to me, and then back to Tyler.

“The two of you know each other?”

Here we go…

I almost closed my eyes and held my breath, bracing myself for his words.

“You could say that,” Tyler’s eyes were steeled on mine.

When he hesitated to explain, Mr. Bernstein gave him an odd look and then looked down at our hands. That’s when I realized that Tyler hadn’t let go. I extricated my hand from his but he held on for a moment longer and then gave it a soft squeeze.

It was a silent reminder of what I had done to him in the coffee shop.

Touché.

“We went to the same high school.”

He remembered.

I didn’t know if I was more relieved that he hadn’t outted me or surprised that he had remembered our connection.

“And yes Bernie, Delaney can definitely work magic with these hands of hers. She has a way of knowing what people are thinking. Sometimes it’s almost as if she’s psychic.”

Touché. He was on a roll.

When Tyler finally let go, all I wanted to do was slap that arrogant grin off his face.

“What a small world!” Mr. Bernstein was amazed.

“It sure is.” Tyler finally took his eyes off me and turned to Mr. Bernstein. “Didn’t you need this file for your meeting in a few minutes in Patterson’s office?”

Mr. Bernstein looked at his watch and grabbed the file from him.

“You are absolutely right. I almost forgot.”

He turned to me and shook my hand. “Looking forward to seeing you next week.” Then he turned back to Tyler. “Be sure to be a gentleman and escort Delaney on her way out.”

“When am I not a gentleman Bernie? Ms. Davenport and I may even catch up over a coffee first. You still love coffee, right?”

Touché.

This time I gave him the evil eye. I’d had enough. It was time to snap out of my fog.

When Mr. Bernstein left us alone in his office, Tyler followed after him and shut the door.

“What are you doing? Why are you closing the door?”

“Making sure that you can’t run like this morning,” he teased. “And just giving us a little privacy.”

“I didn’t run.” The lie didn’t roll off my lips as well as I would have liked.

Tyler laughed and made his way back over to me. He stood about a foot away and looked down at me.

“You know that’s not true.”

I’d almost forgotten how tall Tyler was. Close enough for me to inhale his cologne, he was purposely creeping into my personal space to see how I’d react.

I stood my shaky ground. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“You said it, not me. What I will say is that you play dirty.” His voice was a deep whisper as he studied me. “Very dirty.”

“How so?” I whispered back.

Why were we whispering? The door was closed.

“That day we met, you really had me going. You even had me up part of the night,” Tyler admitted.

If this was going to be a battle of double entendres, he was going to lose.

“Really? I can’t believe that. I’d think that a guy like you would have much more interesting things keeping you up at night, Mr. Jordan.”

What in the hell was wrong with me? Playing with fire like this at my new job?

He inched a little closer and flashed me a bigger smile. I could easily see how Tyler used his arrogant charm to disarm and disrobe women.

“A guy like me? That sounds a little sinister. You are interesting. But now that we’ve been “officially” introduced, you won’t be keeping me up at night anymore, that is, unless you want to Ms. Davenport.”

There was already almost no room left between us but I stepped forward defiantly anyways.

“Is that some kind of veiled invitation Mr. Jordan?”

I could see that he was fighting the urge to respond.

“Is this the way you always try to impress women?”

“Always. Isn’t it working?”

As we stood there in a silent stand-off, I tried not to notice his blue eyes and how the corners crinkled when he grinned.

“Not at all,” I shot back but feeling a little ashamed at the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that argued otherwise.

“Something tells me that’s not necessarily true Ms. Davenport,” he challenged as I felt his eyes slowly travel the contours of my face.

I took a deep breath in and challenged him right back even though my body was enjoying the proximity of his.

“I’ll just have to prove you wrong, won’t I?”

Next installment: February 21

©2016 Marquessa Matthews. All Rights Reserved.

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[For the previous installments, please scroll back]

I was early and didn’t mind waiting on the HR agent in the lobby of Phoenix Enterprises after the taxi dropped me off. It gave me time to clear my head of that “near miss” with Tyler. It had to be karma boomeranging back in my face for pulling my little stunt on him.

“Ms. Davenport?”

I turned to face a short older woman dressed in a Hillary Clintonesque black pant-suit. Her mousy brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she peered at me over the rim of her glasses that almost hung off of her nose. She offered me a weak smile and extended her hand.

“I’m Mrs. Smith from HR. Nice to meet you. Let’s go upstairs to my office.”

Mrs. Smith? The bland name matched perfectly with her looks, demeanor and outfit. Even her handshake was sweaty.

Once inside the elevator, she punched the 15th floor and I could feel her trying to figure out what kind of small talk to make.

“So…” Mrs. Smith started, “You were referred by Mr. Bernstein. How do the two of you know each other?”

I could read between her lines.

What you really want to know is why and how Mr. Bernstein personally offered me a job…

“I handled the mediation side of a file for one of the Phoenix subsidiaries when I was working in Toronto. After the file was settled, Mr. Bernstein told me that if I was ever looking for a job in Montreal, I should give him a call.”

I followed her down the hall to her office where I took a seat in front of her desk. I quickly noticed that her office was spotless. Nothing was out of place and everything was neatly organized, even down to the color-coded old-school file folders behind her desk. There were no personal pictures of herself with family or friends, no cute little trinkets and nothing that spoke to who she was as a person. Mrs. Smith was all business.

She flashed me a well-practiced smile and pulled out a file from her desk.

“Senior executives like Mr. Bernstein never get involved with hiring. Actually, in the 7 years I’ve been in charge of HR, I’ve never gotten a call from above telling me to prepare a contract, especially like the one that you have.”

She was being very careful with her words and I could tell that she was intrigued at what I had negotiated. The poor woman was dying from curiosity and I wouldn’t be quick to save her.

“He must have been impressed with your skills…during that case.” There was a specific edge to that word – skill.

I could see the thoughts in her head.

She’s probably thinking that I did something “unladylike” to get here – potential mistress, gold digger…

“Well, I did manage to avoid months of costly litigation for both parties.”

Mrs. Smith didn’t look convinced but that wasn’t my problem.

She handed me the contract and paperwork and I was glad to be saved from small talk as I reviewed and signed off on everything. I didn’t wait for her to give me my copies – I took mine, folded them neatly and placed them in my purse.

“Well,” I pushed myself up and extended my hand, “Thank you Mrs. Smith. I’m looking forward to starting on Monday.”

“You can’t leave just yet. Mr. Bernstein requested that you drop by his office before you go. Let me call upstairs and let his receptionist know that you’re on your way up.”

Why does he want to see me?

Mrs. Smith made the call and shook my hand.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Davenport. Welcome to Phoenix Enterprises.”

“Likewise Mrs. Smith.”

I found myself on the 25th floor, all the while hoping that Mr. Bernstein’s kindness wasn’t about to turn into requests of a sexual nature. I hadn’t gotten that vibe when he’d made the offer but then again, you could never be 100% sure.

The receptionist greeted me right away with a cute and genuine smile. Before I could even open my mouth, she tossed her long blond hair and greeted me.

“You must be Ms. Davenport. It’s nice to meet you. Go right in. Mr. Bernstein’s expecting you.”

I knocked and nervously opened the door.

Mr. Bernstein was pacing the room and speaking into thin air. Then I realized that he was on a conference call, hands-free.

“Delaney,” he shook my hand and ushered me in. “Glad to have you finally on board. I’m on the line with Abe and Demetrius.”

From the research I had done, Abe Goldstein and Demetrius Kojenco were the other executives.

“Abe, Demetrius, this is the young woman who saved us from all that useless litigation with that Toronto company last year. I still have no idea how she did it, but we were definitely the better for it. The next time you are in the office, be sure to stop by Legal to meet her in person.”

“Nice to meet you Delaney,” they chimed over the speakerphone.

“We need a pair of fresh eyes in Legal. Our current legal staff is still of the litigation mindset and we need to start taking a different approach when we hit bumps in the road. Bernie’s has spoken quite highly of you.” I wasn’t sure which one of them was speaking

“Thank you,” was about all I could muster under the compliments.

“If things work out, maybe she’ll decide that she’d like to work for us permanently instead of just on contract.”

Mr. Bernstein smiled at me.

No, there were no undertones of anything but business with him. I felt relieved.

Mr. Bernstein ended his call and gestured for me to sit down. His chair was definitely much more comfortable than Mrs. Smith. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Mrs. Smith had probably chosen an uncomfortable chair on purpose so that employees wouldn’t linger too long in her office.

“I’m serious about what I said. I’m hoping that you will end up with us long term.”

Just as I was about to thank him for the opportunity, there was a knock at the door. It would have been too much of a stretch to turn around so I didn’t bother attempting it.

“Wonderful! You brought the report. Come in, come in. Let me introduce you to someone.”

When I felt a presence next to me, I stood up and turned around.

“Delaney, meet Tyler Jordan. Tyler, meet Delaney Davenport.”

We both just stood there and stared at each in shock for a long moment. A very, very long moment.

The shock on his face transformed into a slow and wicked smile but I couldn’t do the same.

I was beyond mortified.

I was busted.

Next installment: February 14

©2016 Marquessa Matthews. All Rights Reserved.

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[For the previous installments, please scroll back]

My cell rang just as I was heading out the front door. I already knew who it was.

Ella was not an early-riser but I wasn’t surprised that she was calling. There was absolutely no way she would let me leave for the day without wishing me luck.

“Are you nervous?” I could tell that she had just opened her eyes. “I got up early just for you, girl. You should feel so special,” she teased.

I made my way to the elevators and punched the call button. “Nope, I’m not nervous. I’m really looking forward to this. It feels good to have a fresh start.”

“It’s good to hear you sound happy. And settled. Didn’t I tell you that moving back would do you a world of good? New digs, new gig, new you…”

“Hold on now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say “new you,” I laughed as I stepped into the elevator. “I’m still the same me.”

“Yeah, but the feisty old Delaney I knew back in the day is resurfacing little by little every single day.”

“Feisty? Only little old ladies use that word, Ella.”

“Okay then let’s replace the “new you” shit with “new man.”

“No way! I don’t want or need any men in my life right now. I need a long break from the male species.”

Now that I was starting to feel relatively “normal” again, I had no interest in dating.

I made my way through the lobby, nodding to the security guard as I did. He gave me an approving once over and smiled.

Yes, that’s the reaction I’m aiming for.

I was dressed to impress for my first day. I’d worn my comfortable heels and took my time as I walked the few blocks over to the Holiday Inn hotel where I could easily grab a taxi. The streets were already bustling with people out, about and on their way to work. The smell of coffee and sugary doughnuts were in the air, making me hungry even though I’d taken the time to have a healthy breakfast.

“So I guess that includes the hottie from the coffee shop a few weeks ago?”

I laughed. “Who? Tyler Jordan? Definitely! Random meeting in a random coffee shop in a big city like this? I highly doubt that I’ll run into him again. And anyways, I don’t play well with players.”

“From what you told me, sounds like the two of you play quite well together. Do you think that he remembered you?”

“Of course not. Why would he? He had a reputation back then and from what I saw, he’s still on the prowl. “

“Player or not, that was quite a dirty and flirty little trick you played on him. That psychic shit sounded hilarious!” Ella was laughing her head off. “On a different note, have you heard from your mother or Simon?”

I really didn’t want to talk about them this morning. It would just ruin my good mood.

“She’s still royally pissed off so I haven’t heard from her. And Simon has called me at least a dozen times asking me to come back.”

“I guess it’s hitting both of them hard that they’ve got to act like adults all on their own.”

“I guess so. But I’m not dealing with any of that drama anymore, right?”

“Good for you Delaney. Finally putting yourself first.”

I went to the beginning of the taxi line in front of the hotel and just as I opened the taxi door, I noticed a familiar face waiting at the traffic light across the street. He had a coffee cup in one hand, a small brown paper bag in the other and a huge grin on his face.

And he was staring right at me.

With full hands, he tried to gesture for me to stay put, wanting me to wait until the light turned green so he could get to me.

“Shit,” I said under my breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s him.”

“Him who?” Ella’s voice perked up excitedly. “Tyler? Well, well, well, how about that? Speak of the devil and the devil appears.”

“Oh God! He’s waving at me. Of all the days for this to happen…I really don’t need this right now.”

I had one foot in the taxi and the other one still on the sidewalk. I lingered for a moment, trying to figure out what to do but there was only one choice.

I ducked into the taxi and told the driver where I needed to go. When I looked through the taxi’s window, I could see the disappointed look on face as we sped away.

“What were you saying a minute ago about a random meeting in a random coffee shop in a big city where you probably wouldn’t run into him again? God’s laughing at you!” Ella couldn’t contain herself. “Did you have breakfast?”

“What? What does that have to do with any of this?”

“You must be starving ’cause you just ate all your words.”

Next installment: February 7

©2016 Marquessa Matthews. All Rights Reserved.

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If you have enjoyed my writing, feel free to sign up for my mailing list here. I’ve been neglecting it and trying to get it up and running again. If you have any issues signing up, you can email me at simplymarquessa@gmail.com .