MELANIE
"I miss you," I sighed, as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror chatting with Emily on the phone. She had been selected as one of the employees who would embark on a two-week business trip at her company. I was happy for her of course. But two weeks without anyone to talk to was hell. It was draining me, literally.
But distance didn't stop us though. I called her at every chance I could, for example during working hours like right now.
Yes, I was that lonely, don't judge me.
"I miss you too, Mel. I hope your boss is treating you well though."
"Ugh, not that one again." Working around him for two weeks had been frustrating. My workload had increased dramatically. It was almost like he was trying to punish me or something. Loads of things that weren't even in my job description were piled up on me. "I mean, I knew he was a stuck-up arrogant bastard. But it's almost like he gets worse as the days go by."
Emily let out a high pitched laugh. "I still can't believe any one would say these things about Christopher Smith. It's crazy."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well usually, women are always too busy cooking up a plan to get into his bed. And girl, if I had a chance to be close to him I probably would too."
I shook my head in confusion, joining Em as she burst out laughing. "I don't think there's anything attractive about him."
"Mm hmm," She replied, her tone telling me clearly that she didn't believe me.
"Seriously, Em. He's a dick. Forget how the media sings his praises. If you met him too I'm sure you'd see it too."
"So you don't have a crush on him?" I could hear the mischief in her voice.
"Idiot."
Her laughter filled my ears for a while. "We'll talk about this when I get back. I'll be able to see the truth in your eyes."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, Queen Mother."
"Bye!"
"By—"
"Hey wait!"
I groaned. "What?"
"Since you're obviously in close proximity with the most eligible bachelor in town, could you perhaps sneakily take x-rated pictures of him in the bathroom? Maybe when he's changing? Shirtless?"
I hung up to the sound of her contagious laughter.
Sighing, I rinsed my hands in the sink for no reason in particular and dried them on a paper towel. I had some files to deliver to the marketing department. Walking back to my table, I grabbed the files and proceeded to the elevator. One benefit of being the CEO's secretary was that I was permitted to use the personal elevator and so I was completely alone. I sighed in relief, running the list of things I needed to do in my head.
The elevator beep roused me, and quickly I struggled to balance the files that were beginning to escape my grip. They all fell to the floor as I bumped into someone.
"I'm so sorry!" I muttered as I bent to pick the files, mentally cursing both myself and my boss.
"It's okay." I looked up to see the talk figure of a man. To my surprise he smiled, bending to help me pick up the files.
When we were done, I stood up still embarrassed. "I should really watch where I'm going. I was distracted for a minute there," I laughed.
"That's fine it can happen to anyone. Where are you headed?"
"Well uh, the managing director's office."
He studied me for a few seconds and I couldn't help but subtlely observe his features. And boy, was he one hot piece of existence.
"You new here?" He asked.
"Yep," I said wondering what sold me out.
He smiled again. "I asked because everyone knows the managing director's office."
"Unlucky me, then."
Laughing, he pointed straight ahead. "I could take you."
I stopped my mind from racing to decide if I should accept his offer or not. Shrugging, I matched his stride as we made our way there."
"I'm Ryan Goldberg, by the way."
"Melanie," I offered.
"We're here," He announced as he gestured to a door by the left.
"Thank you so much. And I'm sorry, again."
"Sure, anytime."
"Melanie?" I heard him call out as I placed my hand on the doorknob. I turned to face him.
"Think you'll be free at lunch? Some company would be nice."
I was about to turn down his offer, but then he was the closest thing to an acquaintance I had since I started working here. Apart from Tamara, of course. It wouldn't hurt to have a friend at the office. So I nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you then," He grinned, walking away and leaving me staring at his very nice butt.
Two hours later I walked over to where Ryan was seated at the cafeteria. He had waved me over as soon as I walked in. And it wasn't very difficult to sight his platinum blonde hair from afar.
"Hey," I greeted as I placed the plate of pasta and chicken I had gotten. He looked over at my plate with a questioning glance and I couldn't help but snicker when I saw the salad he was eating.
"Is that gonna sustain you for the day?" I asked.
He looked down at his plate in confusion. "Of course. It's healthy and filling."
I grimaced, digging into my food. "If you say so. With the slavery they're putting me through here, I need the energy."
I smiled as I watched Ryan choke on his yogurt, laughing. "You're something, I'll tell you that."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
He laughed. "How's work treating you?" He asked after a while.
I groaned. "Not great, I'll tell you that."
As he began to laugh, the cafeteria fell into silence. I looked up in confusion but realized what had happened. Christopher Smith had just walked in.
I could see the eyes of all the women in the room turn to him, thirst evident in them.
I rolled my eyes. I have no idea what they were seeing.
A laugh from Ryan turned my attention back to him. "What was that? A female who's immune to Christopher's charms. I thought the day would never come."
I decided there and then that I quite liked Ryan.
"I find it baffling how the entire population is literally striving just to get his attention. I've thought about it and honestly, I really don't get it."
"I guess we'll never find out," He joked, as we plunged into the tales and happenings at work. It turns out Ryan had been the kick I'd been waiting for, and I decided that today was the best day I'd had at work.