by Oscar Watson
She walked forward to take the card and shook his hand in the process. It was a formal handshake but a somewhat relaxed one at that. As she walked out of the office he called after her and said, “It’s Nathaniel, by the way.” They smiled at each other and she gathered her stuff to head out of the building for the last time.
Chapter Four: The New Assistant
“It’s only too bad she couldn’t stay to train you a bit,” Nathaniel told Velma the following morning. He had requested she come in an hour earlier than what would become her regular schedule to talk over logistics and answer and last minute questions. He went on to explain he firmly believed Velma could have only been trained properly by his old assistant and even he would not do as great a job at it.
“You speak very highly of her,” Velma observed. She did not sound upset or worried about it all. It merely seemed as if she had stated a fact that was well known to most. “I can only aspire to have you speak so highly of me one day as well,” she smiled. She looked at him in a similar way to the look his previous assistant had on the evening of her final shift. It was a look he was not accustomed to receiving, especially not from women, but he truly did appreciate it. Something in him stirred and felt as if he was being appreciated in a way he would always hope for but would rarely come. Despite his grand success and how many people admired him, he rarely felt appreciated in that specific way. He always felt valued as a financial entity, as a portrait of monetary success, or as someone who was a catch even if you were just another name added to a roster. This was true for clients, contract, family, and women. But this is not how he felt with Velma and he could not ignore it. In fact, it was something his mind fixated on for the rest of the day.
“It’s almost as if I want to say she treats me like a person,” he told his friend later that evening over drinks. His friend, Ronald, simply stared at him. These were not the types of things Nathaniel would usually discuss openly and it was a first for him to even imply he felt he was not treated like a person in his daily life. It also helped that Nathaniel had consumed a few too many drinks by this point and was more prone to opening up. He went on to explain how he felt most people looked at him and why. He concluded with, “But Velma doesn’t fit into any of those categories so I’m going to have to figure her out.” He said with almost a hint of fondness in his voice, as if he were completely taken by Velma based off that one characteristic.
“Nate,” Ronald said. He was pretty much the only person who actually called him that as well as the only person Nathaniel was okay with hearing it from. It seemed too informal and far too personal for his comfort level but, for some reason, it had never bothered him from Ronald. This friend, his best friend, was the only person before Velma who had ever looked at him like a whole person. He saw and appreciated the whole picture, not just what was typically celebrated. Sometimes he felt Ronald knew him better than his own parents. “Nate,” Ronald repeated. “Just be careful.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” he paused and tapped his finger on his lips. “It just means be careful, that’s all. Don’t forget, first impressions and appearances can be very deceiving. And sometimes it’s easier for us to get lost in things without even realizing.”
Nathaniel finished off his drink. He set his glass down on the table loudly and stared Ronald down. “What are you going on about?”
Ronald simply laughed and waved him away dismissively before finishing his own drink. The two decided to call it a night and walked out to retrieve their cars. It was then that Nathaniel realized he would need to take a car service home and send for his car in the morning as he was in no state to be behind the wheel. Ronald waited with him until his car arrived before driving off. Nathaniel sat in silence in the back seat of the car as the driver made his way to his condominium complex. On the drive his mind circulated on the topic of how he was perceived and treated by others. Inevitably, his thoughts would go back to Velma. As he removed his tie and shirt before dropping down to his bed, an image of her face looking straight at him popped into his mind. As he shut his eyes, a fuzzy image of a beautiful face filled his mind before drifting off to sleep.
The following morning he could not be any more thankful it was a Saturday. He did not have a headache or an upset stomach, nothing even resembling a hangover. But he did feel dreadfully tired, so much so that he would not have been able to muster up enough energy to go to work had it been a weekday. Though he originally planned to pick up his car he decided to hire someone to do it for him. He called down to the lobby to ask if any valet drivers were free for the job and he was met with enthusiasm. He was always amiable to the staff of the condominium complex and a great tipper so they welcomed these sorts of odd jobs from him, though he did not request them often. Less than an hour later he received a call from the building’s valet service informing him his car had been retrieved and was now parked in its assigned space. He thanked them and made a mental note to tip them appropriately next time he went down.
He rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom for a shower before walking into the kitchen to fix breakfast. He sat at his table in the breakfast nook with a simple bowl of steel cut oats and fresh fruit which was accompanied by a business magazine he enjoyed reading every Saturday morning. It was a rarely disturbed routine of his to do this and he had become rather attached to it. “Now that’s the committed relationship you’re in,” one of his friends had joked with him once. Nathaniel had found the joke rather tasteless. He did not humor the friend with a fake laugh resulting in something of a tense atmosphere for the rest of that night. But that had happened quite some time ago and he felt confused as to why he found himself recalling that event so seemingly out of the blue.
Once finished eating breakfast, he closed the magazine and immediately picked up and washed his dishes. He placed the magazine at the center of the coffee table and slumped on to the couch debating what to do with his day. He was not the type of person who enjoyed remaining idle even on his days off but he thought today might just be the kind of day to stay in and relax. There was absolutely nothing wrong with doing that from time to time, especially not when someone had a schedule and life such as his own. So he turned on the television and began to look through the guide, settling on a mindless action movie. Less than thirty minutes into the movie, he found his attention slipping in and out. When he was not actually watching his mind would, on some way, go back to thinking about Velma.
Most of the thoughts were not about her directly but rather they were strongly related to her or connected by the way she made him feel. It was at this moment the fuzzy image of a beautiful face that had materialized in his mind just before falling asleep popped into his mind again. He paused, hand suspended over the remote mid-air, and focused on it. No matter how hard he tried, the image itself did not get any clearer. But he could not stop from thinking about it and wondering who it was and why he was thinking about it. What had caused him to conjure up such an image? What was the purpose of it? He turned to lie down on his side on the couch and space out while looking at the images flash across the television screen. There had to have been a reason for him to imagine it but who was the woman? And if the image was not clear, how was it he knew the woman was beautiful?
Suddenly, his phone rang making him jump slightly in his seat. He leaned forward and was taken aback when he saw Velma’s name on the screen of his phone. He picked up the phone and greeted her. “Is everything okay?” This was his default question given he had no idea why she might have possibly been calling him on a Saturday afternoon. Nothing was pending so there should have not been any reason for her to call aside from some kind of urgent matter. “Yes,” she responded. “I’m sorry, this was a mistake. I’m not quite sure why I called. Please, forgive me Mr. Gates.”
He was quiet on the lone trying to process what was going on. She called him out of the blue and then apologized for doing so. He could not understand the purpose of it. The situation was enti
rely perplexing to him and he immediately had a sinking feeling he may have gotten carried away by the first impression she gave. And that is when he remembered Ronald’s words about being careful. He started thinking about what he could be getting carried away with even if he did not realize it and he started forming the notion in his mind it was regarding his strange interest in the way Velma made him feel.
“Velma,” he said quietly. He could practically hear her hold her breath on the other end of the line. “This doesn’t make sense,” he told her. He really did not have anything else to say because that one simple statement just about summed up his thoughts on the strange interaction.
“I know,” she admitted feebly. It was the first time since he had met her she used this tone. Though he was aware he had not interacted with her nearly enough to make a sure call on it, one could not deny it was an odd thing coming from her. She made such a strong impression on everyone around her none of this made any sense at all. For a second, Nathaniel wondered if he was perhaps dreaming but then he concluded that would also be nonsensical. “Is there any way we could forget this, Mr. Gates? I’m terribly sorry to bother you in this way.” She almost sounded like she was pleading but something in Nathaniel knew better. Despite how little he knew her or of her, he could tell she was not the type of person to beg no matter the situation. She was far too strong willed and minded for that.
“It’s fine,” he said more dismissively than he had intended. Though he registered it he did not bother trying to fix it. “Thank you,” she whispered before the line went dead. Even that was uncommon. While most people who have been mortified to place such a strange personal call to their new boss, especially on a weekend, Velma seemed only somewhat uneasy about it. Most people would not have been able to just hang up the way she did. But he had noticed from the very start Velma was not like most people. And Nathaniel, well, he had never been like most people either. And it was perhaps this commonality that allowed her to see him, as he put it, like a real person.
Chapter Five: Would You Like to Go Back to My Place?
Monday came soon enough and the moment he entered the office he could see Velma was a bit more tense than usual. He greeted her in his normal manner before stepping into his private office and pulling up the rundown of the daily schedule on his computer. It was of note she actually did seem more troubled by her strange phone call than she originally let on. He, however, had decided that same day to forget it and continue to behave with her in the same manner he had since she had started working for him. When she entered a few minutes later with his daily agenda, he flashed her his charming smile that made most people fall for him in whatever sense he needed them to. What he did not expect was for her to return his smile so weakly before turning on her heel and walking promptly out of his private office. It was the first time, to his recollection, that had ever happened to him. His dazzling smile had never failed him in any situation.
“She’s very different,” Nathaniel mused out loud over happy hour at a local business bar. Ronald made a hmph sound before taking a drink from his glass. Nathaniel could not help but wonder if his best friend was tired of hearing about Velma, the intriguing new executive assistant, or if he had some opinions he was holding back on discussing. The two sat in silence for the next few minutes as they slowly sipped on their drinks until there was no more liquid left in the glasses. “Time for me to go,” Nathaniel said before pulling out some cash and placing it on the table for payment. He waved good-bye to his friend and walked out, handing the valet ticket to the driver.
As he waited he heard the faint clicking of heels and, for some reason, found himself turning to the right in order to find the source. Much to his surprise, it was none other than Velma heading his way. He waved at her and she stopped in her tracks looking completely shocked. Though she had been looking in his direction, she had not actually seen him until he waved. She cleared her throat and returned the wave before continuing to stand there just gaping at him. He noticed she was still in her work clothes but the difference was her blazer was off and likely tucked into her large purse while her shirt was not tucked in and the top couple of buttons were undone. “What brings you out here?”
She continued to gape at him before clearing her throat before answering his question. “I met with a friend,” she explained. Her ease of answering questions was as present as ever but he could tell she was not nearly as relaxed as he usually thought she was. She looked around as if trying to find whoever had accompanied to the bar and her eyes looked at him almost quizzically when she could not locate anybody.
“I came with a friend but he isn’t ready to go home yet,” he responded the question she did not voice out loud but he could tell she was forming. Right at that moment the valet driver arrived with his car and walked over to Nathaniel to receive his tip. “Well, it was nice running into you. Have a good night,” he told her before stepping off the curb to walk over to the driver’s side of the car. She nodded and wished him a good night as well and began to walk off in the direction she had been heading in before he startled her. Just as he was about slip into his car a thought popped into his head. He did not even allow time for questions to form as to why he had such a thought to begin with. Instead, he acted right away. “Velma,” he called out loud enough to get her attention but not so loud it would be simultaneously disturbing and embarrassing. She stopped waking and slowly turned to face him. As her face came into view and the light from the lamps lining the street fell over it, he recognized an image he had unsuccessfully placed until now. That fuzzy image of a beautiful face was Velma. He fought making any face or noise of surprise so as to avoid attention but he was feeling somewhat panicked inside.
As she slowly started walking toward him, he instantly regretted calling out her name. Now all he could do was wish he had let her continue walking. Now he could not even remember what he had planned on telling her. The only thoughts filling his mind were the images of a fuzzy but beautiful face slowly becoming clearer as well as tons of questions as to why he was even thinking of her. She finally stopped a couple feet away from him and stared, waiting on what it was he wanted to say. He came up empty. They stared at each other in silence for what felt like hours. As he opened his mouth in hopes something, anything would come out, a thought practically slapped him in the face. Perhaps she had some kind of similar thought or feeling she simply could not understand and had, as an act of impulsive, called him that one night. Perhaps she had found herself just as choked up as he now was. “Why did you call me the other night?” That was the anything that had finally manage to come out of his mouth but he figured it was for good reason.
Her eyes opened slightly, as if horrified he was asking, but she quickly forced her face back into looking calm and composed. She shook her head slightly but that would not be a satisfactory answer for Nathaniel. He doubted if it would be a satisfactory for anybody. So he asked her again, this time a bit more firmly. She gaped at him and he could see her mind racing to figure out what to tell him. She was trying to think of an answer that would both satisfy his curiosity while not leaving her to feel like a complete fool. But it quickly became evident she would have to be honest. “I wanted to sincerely thank you for hiring me. But when you picked up the phone it made no sense for me to have done that. It was something I did in the moment. But when you answered the call I figured it was stupid and should have waited to tell you personally at the office. IT’s just that I had been thinking about the job and you and something came over me.”
“You were thinking about me?”
“Yes, because I had been thinking about the job,” she clarified. She finally answered one of his questions in the manner he was most used to hearing from her. It seemed she was finally regaining some of the confidence he had noticed and appreciated in her right away. As he stood there staring at her and processing what she said, he did notice she was indeed beautiful. He felt a slight twisting in his stomach but he tried to shake it off. It did not matter if he
looked strange suddenly pacing around.
“Sometimes I need to do this,” he explained quietly as he continued. But he averted her gaze or even looking in her direction the entire time. Ronald’s words than struck him hard and he shook his head vigorously. He had never crossed that line between professional and personal and that was something he believed very strongly in maintaining. He had also never had such a strong temptation as now to cross it. When he finally stopped pacing and turned to look at Velma, something in him fell. No matter what, she seemed to get more beautiful as he continued looking at her. No matter what, it was her personality that had won him over so strongly from the interview. She stood out in every respect and that was something he simply could not ignore. And these feelings were not the type he often experienced. This was not his usual desire. This was something else, something more entirely. When he looked into her eyes he could see that expression behind them he very rarely saw directed at him. She still looked at him, she saw him as a whole person and not some kind of admirable portrait. And he instantly knew that was the greatest weakness he had in this situation. That would be what would drag him down. The words his best friend had shared about control and being careful were about this. Ronald knew Nathaniel well enough to have the foresight of something like this happening. And as Nathaniel stood there trying to fight it all, it only became stronger.
