Chosen Heart (14 page)

“Eight.”

“You do realize it’s after
twelve, right?  Don’t you sleep?”

“Normally yes, but see there’s
this girl…”

“Doing things you don’t normally
do, huh?”

“Yes, but you need your sleep.”

Even though I don’t want to get
off the phone, I agree with a yawn.  “I guess so.  You know big
shopping trip after work.  I need to keep up my stamina.”

“Good night, Elyssa.”

“Good night, Alex,” I can’t hide
my reluctance to leave him.

“Elyssa?” he stops me.

“Yes?”

“Happy Birthday, Hart.” 
Click!  Another misuse of company resources.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

“Happy birthday to you, happy
birthday to you, happy birthday dear El (E), happy birthday to you.”  A
wide grin spreads across my face as I listen to a bad rendition of the birthday
song from two of my favorite people.  Rachel and Bryan always know how to
make my day special, almost making me forget that I have yet another day
without Alex.

Wishing I was anywhere but work,
I start in on the normal day to day routine of checking my e-mails, checking my
calendar, and finishing with my voicemails.  While finishing up a
conference call, Janice bounces towards my desk.

“Do you know what today is?” She
asks, energized about our shopping excursion. 

“Don’t worry, I haven’t
forgotten.  I’m actually looking forward to it,” I reassure her. 

It'll be fun spending time with
her tonight.  It’s been a long time since I hung out with a friend, other
than Cole.  Come to think of it, I don’t remember the last time I even
hung out with Rachel.  Before this summer, I saw Cole almost every
day.  We’d usually watch movies at my place or he’d insist on playing
video games at his.  I’d never admit it to Cole, but I actually enjoyed
playing Resident Evil 5 with him.  I got really good and playing as Sheva
made me feel like a true badass. 

Summer was busy.  With
moving into my new apartment and then starting this job, I literally had no
time to think, let alone relax.  Janice’s invitation for her shopping
excursion came at the perfect time.  Besides, it’s my birthday; it would
be nice to celebrate it somehow.  Considering that my supposed best friend
is on a time out, the guy I’m somewhat seeing is out of town, and my sister has
to work, if it wasn’t for Janice, I’d end up going home to an empty apartment,
eating a carton of ice cream and feeling bad about
myself.    

“I just wanted to remind
you.  In case you forgot.”  I smile as I roll my eyes at
Janice.  She must have OCD because she is constantly checking and
balancing everything to make sure the day goes as planned.  I can see why
Alex would have someone like Janice as his administrative assistant, she’s
completely anal retentive.  “Ok ok, I’m going.  I’ll see you
later.”  Janice backs away with her hands up in submission, as a small
giggle escapes my lips. 

“Stop slacking!” I yell. 
Janice is far from a slacker, but I like to give her a hard time. 

Considering most of upper
management is out of the office today, Janice is anything but relaxed. 
I’m sure Alex has her entire day busy with all sorts of tasks to do in his
absence, giving her less than a moment to relax.  I don’t know how she
deals with his moods, but she obviously can do it, without getting her panties
in a bunch like most of us do around him.

Come to think of it, he has my
panties in a bunch right now, and he hasn’t asked me to do anything.  I’m
slightly disappointed that I haven’t heard from him today, but I know he’s busy
being his lethal self.  Considering that, just the thought of him makes my
heart skip a beat. 
Oops, so does the vibrating in my pocket.
 
Fumbling, I try and grasp onto my phone, hoping it’s finally him.

No such luck.

*Happy Birthday
beautiful! I know you’re still mad at me, but I have to celebrate the day you
were born!*

Of course it’s from Cole, why
would I expect anyone else?  I’m starting to feel partially bad for not
calling him, but I still haven’t figured out exactly what I want to say. 
I’m so torn between my loyalty to him as my oldest friend and the fact that
he’s constantly trying to spark a fire that was never there between us to begin
with. 

“Excuse me, Ms. Hart.”  My
inner rant is interrupted by a young security guard holding a long shiny red
package. 

Stunned, I push back my chair,
standing to greet him.  “Yes, sorry.  How can I help you?”  Not
wanting to press my luck that he’s actually here for me, internally I’m
bouncing up and down, hoping he really is.  And, even more that the
package is from
him
. 

“Package for you.”  Handing
over my gift, I can barely contain my excitement, as the guard retreats. 
Gently prying open the box with shaking hands, I peel away the transparent
tissue paper, and reveal two dozen long stemmed chocolate covered
strawberries.  Each one is individually decorated with a red heart that
surrounds a personalized message.  My chest tightens as my eyes graze the
words, “I miss you” sitting within the crimson center. 

As dew reaches my eyes, I reach
down to pick up the card:  “Happy 26
^th
Birthday, Hart. 
May our beginnings be as sweet as these strawberries.  Constantly thinking
of you.” 

I bite my bottom lip, holding the
card against my chest.  Looking in every which direction, Janice scurries
over to my desk and quickly surveys my package.  “Are those
Strawberries?  I’ve never seen them like that before.  How
sweet!”  She stands in awe.  “What’s the special occasion?”

“It’s my birthday,” I whisper,
not wanting the whole office to know.  I’ve never been someone who wanted
tons of attention on my birthday.  I’m more content celebrating it on a
much smaller scale.  Previous birthdays were usually just Rachel and I, or
Cole would take me out for our yearly dinner.  But this…this is something
entirely out of the ordinary for me.

“Oh my gosh, Happy
Birthday!  Who sent them?”

This is special and I can’t help
my giddiness.  “Must be my secret admirer because no one signed the
card.” 
Definitely a secret.
 

“You should have told me it was
your Birthday.  We have to go out to dinner to celebrate, unless you have
plans?  I would totally understand if you need to cancel our shopping
trip.” 

Janice is unbelievably sweet and
I can’t imagine having a better person to spend my birthday with.  Having
known each other for such a short amount of time, I’m completely comfortable
with her and would like to think of her as a friend.  “Stop!  I only
have plans with you and dinner sounds perfect.” 

“It’s on me!” Janice exclaims as
she turns to run away before I can protest.  I would normally follow her
and argue my point, but I’m in total shock as I take in Alex’s gesture.  I
wish I could say thank you in person, but a text with have to suffice.

**I just got the
most amazing display of chocolate covered strawberries. Thank you for making my
day special!**

Shortly after, I receive a
response.

*You’re welcome.
I’m not there, but I am thinking of you. Still no plans tonight?*

**Well, I just got
asked out to dinner, so I guess you could call that plans.**

I smile at the thought of his
reaction.  I hope he has a sense of humor
.  Shit!
  What
if he doesn’t?  Panicking, I search my phone for the non-existent recall
button.

*Who are you
going with? Not with your ex, right?!*

**No, with
Janice**

*I thought I was
going to have to get on a plane and crash a dinner date. Off to another
meeting. Have fun, but not too much! Happy Birthday!*

Dodged a bullet there!  He
apparently can take a little teasing.  I’ll have to remember that for
later.  But really, how much trouble can I get in with Janice?  I
giggle at the idea of sweet, quirky Janice letting loose.  So far her idea
of a good time is shopping and dinner.  I really hope this new guy shows
her how to live a little. 

~~~~~

“You ready to go?”  Janice
is prompt at five, standing at my desk with her purse slung over her shoulder.

“Just packing up my stuff.” 
During lunch, Janice and I went back and forth about who should drive.  I
won of course after I pointed out she drove last time and I had to play dirty
teasing her about leaving me last time. 

After making a pit stop at my
apartment, we head off towards the Fashion Show Mall.  I wanted to stop by
my place to drop off my gift.  Today is especially hot and they would
surely melt before I even had the chance to taste them, which is a moment that
I want to sit, savor, and fantasize about the man who sent them to me.

The moment the car starts moving
Janice jumps right into her frustrations with certain people at the
office.  She has integrity, so she doesn’t mention names, but when she
does mention a certain someone and his odd behavior lately, my ears perk up
hoping to learn something new. 

“I’ve noticed little
things.” 
That’s it?  That’s all you’re giving me?

“Like what?” I snap, a little too
eager.

“Well, like normally he’s in his
office the majority of the day, except for when he’s tied up in meetings. 
But lately, I’ve seen him out on the floor a lot more, making his own copies,
even asking if
I
want coffee.  Do you know when the last time he’s
fetched me coffee?”  I shake my head. 

“Never!  I swear if it
wasn’t for the fact that he’s still his same old workaholic self, I’d put money
on it that he was on drugs or something.  He refuses to let me help him
with menial tasks and just shrugs it off saying he can do it himself.  He
says he finds it stimulating to send his own faxes.” 

“I didn’t know mindless office
work was so stimulating.” 
Hmm…no…it can’t be about me, can it?!

“Right!  Don’t get me wrong,
I’m not complaining.  I’m just surprised by this change in him.  I
love my job and Mr. James has been an amazing boss.  He’s young and has
moved up quickly, but he’s so freaking smart and super talented.  I’m sure
he could sell ice to an Eskimo.”

“What do you think it could
be…that’s caused such a shift in character?”  I hold my breath waiting for
her feedback. 
Could it really be the budding office romance he has
going on?

“I have no clue, but then again
he’s always been hot and cold at times.  Usually with the Sales Associates
he’s very stern and to the point, always expecting 120% from them.  But,
then he has moments of tenderness too.”  My mind automatically shifts
towards his grandmother.  I’ve seen his softer side, but I’ve also been on
the receiving end of his wrath.  So, I’m completely aware of how
capricious he can be. 

“When my Mom got sick a year ago,
I didn’t have enough money to buy a ticket home.  Next thing I know,
there’s a round trip ticket on my desk the next day.  I didn’t even tell
him directly, he must have overheard me complaining to Autumn.”  Janice
pauses, deep in thought staring out the passenger side window.  She looks
like she wants to say something, but decides against it, instead shaking her
head. 

“But, just like in any office,
there’s always gossip.  And it’s usually about how Mr. James got his
position.  Some think he has a relative high in the corporation.” 
She pauses, smiling slyly.  “But, these are the same people who think he’s
slept with everything that walks.  All I know is, he hasn’t slept with me
and I’m the one who works closest with him,” she states as a matter of fact.

Janice is on a roll, and trust
me, I am not the one that’s going to stop her.

“Autumn is probably one of the
worst offenders.  She’s constantly bugging me, asking where he is, if I’ve
seen him with any women lately.  I’ve told her time and time again that
his business is his business and I’m not going to get involved with office
gossip.  But, she doesn’t listen to me.” 
Aren’t you gossiping
right now, Janice?
 

Just the thought of him sleeping
his way to the top, being sexually promiscuous, makes me nauseous.  I know
he said he wasn’t currently seeing anyone, but maybe his definition of seeing
someone doesn’t include people who he occasionally has sex with.  Not to
mention, Autumn.  She’s like a damn praying mantis, just waiting for her
chance to fornicate and bite his head off.   

“I really don’t know a lot about
him outside of work, but I’m sure the rumors aren’t true.” 
Janice, always
the optimist. 
“He’s just a good guy with a bad rap.”

I almost consider taking the
wrong turn in order to give us more time to talk, but the heat from the sun
beating down through the windshield is almost unbearable.  The past day
has been extremely humid and the news said there’s a possibility of rain,
making the weather even more excruciatingly hot.  The comfort of air
conditioning is calling my name. 

In order to appease my aching
desire for the cold, I pull into the parking garage closest to Victoria’s
Secret.  Perfect place to start.  “Did you want to get
lingerie?  Panties?  Bras?  Garter belts?  Stockings? 
What did you have in mind, Janice?”