One Little Letter: A Bad Boy, Second Chance Romance (Office Escapades Book 1)

by Robin Edwards

  “Here he is,” Jamie said while she emailed Lisa several of his best images that she found.

  “Got the email. Wow, Sam is hot. Especially in the picture, you sent with him wearing the blue button down shirt. Matches his eyes. They’re blue right?” Lisa asked.

  “Yeah, they are.”

  “When did he say you were going to meet his dog?”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t really say. Besides, I highly doubt that he is going to just invite me to meet his dog and that’s it. That wouldn’t take very long, so I am sure he’d have other things planned.”

  “Did he say when he was going to call you?” Lisa asked.

  “He didn’t, we didn’t exchange numbers,” Jamie explained.

  “Well, what did he say to you exactly?”

  “He asked if I wanted to meet Owen and I said sure, and then we started talking about the Foundation and then his girlfriend stated that they had to go. That’s it.”

  “Jamie, he’s taken? That no longer seems promising at all. Don’t you think it’s weird for Sam to invite you to meet his dog when he’s taken? That’s probably why he never asked for your number, or he didn’t get the chance to because he got caught by his girlfriend. You definitely don’t want to get involved with a man like that. Plus, I wouldn’t read too much into it even if he was single, it sounds like the statement of someone who says one of those things just because it fit the situation. I do it all the time.”

  “I don’t know. I can’t help but be attracted, there’s something about Sam. I felt my heart drop when I realized he was in a relationship already. Besides, he could get my number from the country club. The committee has our contact information. He’s one of the members there, I think. I am sure he can easily get it from them or the Board of Directors, or he can get it from the dojo. I’m not worried.” Jamie lied. She started to feel depressed about the fact that she was attracted to a man she actually believed could be single. An attractive man like that was rarely ever single, especially at his age. A misstep that Jamie regretted.

  “I’m glad you met a good-looking guy, I really am. I think until we find out for sure what his situation is, I wouldn’t put all of your eggs in that basket.” Lisa consoled.

  “I’m not. It was such a great holiday event and being in Sutton Hill you don’t realize how much you lack until you finally experience the potential that is out there. This Sam thing was just icing on the cake.”

  “It’ll work out, you’ll see. Whether it’s Sam or the next guy. It’ll work out for you, I promise.” Lisa encouraged.

  Three months later

  As silly as it was she thought of Sam often. She wondered what he was up to, if he was happy, if Sam was single yet or whether he had thought about her too. Of course, there were days where she felt foolish being smitten at her age by someone she hardly knew but there was something about him and his calm and quiet nature that felt like home to Jamie. A home she belonged to. Then again, it could have been the hopeless romantic in her, but it was a feeling that nagged her regularly and a state of mind that she hadn’t experienced before. It almost felt like serendipity, but he was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn’t exactly available.

  It was only a few months ago when she saw him last. They last spoke of getting together, but she hadn’t heard from him since. Of course, she wouldn’t, Sam didn’t ask Jamie for her contact information, but she figured if she were significant enough Sam would have found a way to get it, girlfriend or not. Wouldn’t he? Everyone had insisted it was one of those noncommittal things someone said when they left their options open. They used to do the same things. Plus, she wasn’t the kind of person a guy would leave a woman for. Was she? Men did not leave sexy women for their cousin.

  Jamie prayed daily that she did not read too much in the flirting and often lectured herself on the consequences of being taken by a man already in a relationship, but she still couldn’t help it. Jamie wanted to reach out to him but didn’t want to be the first one to do so, so she waited for fate to work its magic. Three long months. To everyone, it looked like she had moved past the situation and had long forgotten about it, but Jamie was dying inside. More recently, their nagging comments about how she hoped for something that didn’t exist made its way to the forefront of her mind. Jamie did not want to accept the thought and would visit Sutton Hill often to ease her mind. Rain or shine, she was there.

  Jamie knew that it was a long shot, but since Sutton Hill was a small town, she hoped she would run into Sam as well. He did say he was an avid surfer, but they didn’t surf when the weather was cold. Not usually. She still had to try. Everyone suggested to her that she should give up and chalk it up to small talk from a nice man, but Jamie was convinced that serendipitous small talk doesn’t occur like that. It just didn’t.

  Jamie would often ask herself why it happened to her and why did he take an interest in who she was. Also, why did it happen to her again during the fireworks display where he invited her to meet his best friend and dog that he loved so dearly? She wanted to ask him these same things. Sam could have spoken to anyone else at the celebration, but he approached her at the refreshment table of all places as well as after the celebration. Jamie was convinced he did it deliberately and didn’t know why but she spent the past few weeks trying to figure it out. She had to know.

  The following week, Jamie performed her routine task of looking for job opportunities and resume editing. She wanted to leave the corporate world and get into what she was really passionate about non-profit work.

  “You will never guess what I found online!” Lisa said excitedly over the receiver. She had called that Saturday afternoon frantically and called Jamie repeatedly.

  “What?” Jamie asked curiously. By this time, Jamie resigned to the notion that everyone was right and it was one of those moments that happen in life that never meant anything and was never going to continue being anything more than what it actually was.

  “They are hiring!”

  “Who is hiring?” Jamie asked confused.

  “The Ellis Foundation! They posted a job ad on Jobs4U for a Project Coordinator. This position will be involved in their branded men’s cologne as well as their liquor brand. It says that the individual would need business experience as well as non-profit experience! That’s you! It also says that the person would be reporting to the VP of the corporation as well as to the Director of the Foundation. That’s him, isn’t it?”

  Looking at the ad, it stated that it was posted back in July, they surely have hired someone by now. “Lisa, I don’t have non-profit experience, besides this job was posted a long time ago. It’s too late.” Jamie said dejectedly.

  “So what if you haven’t worked for a non-profit before, but the work you did was assisting non-profits in growing their organization plus you have business experience with for-profits as well. It’s the perfect job for you. You should still apply.”

  “What would be the point, the job was listed a couple of months ago.”

  “It can’t be too late, the job ad is still up. You never know what could happen, besides didn’t you say that the Sam guy was the Director? If you got the job, you’d be working directly for him, and can somehow create the opportunity to tell him how you feel. Maybe he will leave you for her, stranger things have happened.”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. You should have seen how beautiful the woman was, Lisa. There is no way I could compete with her.” Jamie declined. She started to feel uneasy.

  “Why not? It will give you a chance to confront him.” Lisa urged.

  “Lisa, it’s awkward. What if I tell him and he starts avoiding me.”

  “Oh geez, why would he do that? Why would he avoid you an amazing girl like you? I think you are severely overanalyzing the situation.” Lisa laughed. Lisa was the only one out of her friends who tried to be positive and supportive about the situation, even if it was a foolish one.

  “If he was interested enough, wouldn’t he have found a way to call me.” Jamie urg
ed.

  “Oh my god you are so insane. You didn’t even find a way to call him either so how can you expect him to find a way to call you.” Lisa chuckled. “You are definitely romantic. Didn’t your friends think that it was just an insignificant moment that just happens? This job ad is something significant. This is a real chance to get yourself immersed in his life. To have a considerable impact on his day-to-day activities and work things in your favor from the inside out. If anything, you get to work for a non-profit like you have been wanting to do for a long time!”

  “I do not want to take the chance. I would rather settle on the notion of not knowing and move on with my life. Applying for a job that is more than likely filled is just going to get my hopes up again and then become a disappointment. Besides, finding out what the truth is will only leave me humiliated for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Jamie sighed.

  “Since when did Jamie Winters become a quitter? That’s not the woman I know. What if it is not what you think? What if he’s just a stupid and single man that forgot or what if it was something else that prevented him from contacting you? What if he thought he had called you which didn’t happen but in his mind, he did and didn’t hear from you and decided to give up? That could happen.” Lisa offered.

  “That is silly; he wouldn’t think something like that. We never exchanged telephone numbers nor mentioned it. We weren’t even holding our phones, he couldn’t possibly believe that. I just can’t do it.”

  “Jamie, come on. You have been incredibly mopey these past several weeks. You cannot continue to be this way. It’s absurd and silly. The only way you will ever truly move on with this insane situation is knowing the truth instead of letting your mind run wild. Just apply and see so you can give yourself the opportunity to heal and moved on. If anything, you would have a great job.” Lisa pressed.

  “I guess you’re right.” Jamie gave in.

  “Of course I am right. Can I be brutally honest?”

  “Sure go ahead.”

  “I do agree with your friends, I think you are overthinking the actions of a man you barely know and are obsessing about it to the point where it has you sad and depressed about it. He is just a man that is it. This isn’t a movie or a love story in a best-selling novel that’s going to end happily ever after. Things like that do not exist, but what does exist is the opportunity for you to get level headed about this and apply for the job, not because of him. Although, that is an added benefit, because of you wanting a job or hopefully a career that seems to suit what you are looking for regarding position, growth and working environment.” Lisa said.

  “I know. I get it. I have been crazy about this whole situation, it’s so unlike me, but I can’t help it. I have always been overly emotional and analytical about everything. I am too reflective about everything. Everyone is right, Sam is just a guy, and I do need a better job.” Jamie smiled to herself.

  JAMIE WINTERS. Her name in big, bold letters at the top of the resume she submitted online several weeks ago for the Project Coordinator position. It was posted previously, and she told Lisa that she highly doubted the position was still open when Lisa alerted Jamie to it but was encouraged to still try. Jamie wanted to still believe in a thing as fate and miracles, but the rest of the world seemed convinced that believing in such a concept wasn’t realistic; her life wasn’t a movie or a book. Serendipity wasn’t real, so Jamie wasn’t surprised she didn’t hear a peep from Sam or the Foundation about her application. They had hired someone already.

  The longer time passed, the more she was at peace with it being an insignificant moment in time and she wasn’t disappointed as she thought she was going to be if they hadn’t responded. Jamie kept busy finding potential job opportunities and celebrating holidays, but there had been a surge in requests for Plus One to perform at various charity events, a country club member’s wedding, a birthday and once in a while it was a celebration that was televised. Things got so busy, there hadn’t been time to think about anything at all.

  They were performing at the club’s Winter Wonderland Celebration and Christmas was only three weeks away, and they were so excited, Jamie especially. It was her favorite time of the year, and she loved everything about Christmas. She enjoyed buying and decorating the tree, putting up lights outside, Christmas Carolers, wrapping gifts and the overall good cheer. During the holidays, everyone was happier and nicer to each other.

  With the club’s permission, Plus One decided to perform covers of holiday songs, so they had been brushing up on some of the old classics as well as mainstream covers of holiday-themed songs.

  The country club banquet hall was beautiful; even more so than before. The volunteers who had contributed to the work of decorating the room did a fantastic job. The centerpiece of the hall was the tall Christmas tree in the middle of the room decorated with tinsel, ornaments, and colorful lights and topped with an amazing gold star. It was magnificent, and Jamie was in awe when she had first walked into the building with equipment in tow. It felt like home.

  “Jamie, come on. We do not have much time to set up. We are already running behind, traffic set us back.” Lily reminded when Jamie took the time to stare at the beautiful tree.

  “Sorry, I just had to take the time to appreciate beauty when I see it,” Jamie explained.

  “We all would like to, Jamie, but we have to start on time. Let’s admire it together when we’re done with the gig, alright?”

  “Okay.” she smiled.

  It took Plus One more time than usual to set up; anything that could happen did happen. Murphy’s Law seemed to be in full effect. Wires were missing at first or so tangled it took a lot of time to free them up. The amps didn’t want to turn on at first, and the mics would screech when they performed mic check. It didn’t matter. However, they were still in good spirits, and Jamie was ready. They all were. They did similar types of events a million times before, but that particular event was different. They couldn’t explain it other than they almost felt like rock stars.

  The committee didn’t want Plus One to begin until after pre-celebration announcements were made, so Jamie took the time to grab a bottled water from the refreshment table. The President of the country club started his announcement about the charity toy drive, and upcoming meetings and Jamie knew it was going to be a long speech, so she leaned against the wall in wait until she felt a presence behind her.

  It was Sam.

  “Oh, you scared me. I didn’t see you there.” She gasped.

  “My apologies. Jamie, right? Jamie Winters?” Sam chuckled slightly revealing his endearing toothy grin.

  “Yeah, you remembered!” Jamie smiled back.

  “How are you doing? Nervous?”

  “Me? No more than usual, I guess.” She shrugged.

  Jamie couldn’t help but notice that while he remembered her name he did not even mention her application, not that she assumed he even saw it. She did not know who was part of his hiring committee and if he was even the one that looked at the applications. For all Jamie knew, one of his staff members did it. She couldn’t make assumptions but was curious to see if he would mention it at all. If he did, it might have turned into an awkward conversation. Jamie hoped not.

  “Ah, confidence. What a life saver.” He joked.

  “Hey, Sam?” that same beautiful, blonde woman called to him. “Chuck Overstreet is over there. He might have an excellent candidate for the coordinator position.” She then gave Jamie a suspicious and dirty look before subtly grabbing Sam’s hand.

  “We just hired Tobias, why are we still looking at candidates?” Sam said to the mystery woman.

  “Because I am still swamped and so are you. I think Tobias should just stick with supporting you and we need to hire another one to support projects I am currently working on. Or they both can support both of us, either way, Sam if we don’t hire a second person we will never catch up. Partnership volume is increasing, and we cannot continue to maintain of staff of just n
ine people.”

  “Alright, Amy. Tell Chuck I’ll be right there.”

  “Great,” Amy said before walking away, eyeing Jamie one last time.

  “That’s Amy Wolfmann. She’s our Vice President. We’ve been looking at candidates to assist with new projects. We’ve just hired one already but looks like we need another.” Sam stated as he nodded at the blonde woman walking away.

  Just a colleague? What a relief!

  “Sounds like you guys do by the way she described how busy you both are,” Jamie said sounding more enthusiastic.

  “Definitely busy.” Sam chuckled as he walked away. “I’ll talk you later.”

  “See you later.” Jamie waved goodbye. He didn’t even acknowledge that she had applied, maybe he didn’t see my application. It could have gotten lost in the mix, but at least she definitely knew that the beautiful woman wasn’t his girlfriend but his colleague!

  By this time, the announcements were made, and Plus One was announced as the evening for the holiday celebration. Applause could be heard, and all eyes were on them. Jamie gazed around the room and caught Sam glancing in their direction. He raised his champagne glass in cheer and good luck before returning to the conversation he was in. Throughout the night they played a mix of classic holiday songs and mainstream music by big name artists. The attendees loved it and got everyone more into the holiday spirit as they sang along. It was then that Jamie decided that no matter what happened, she was going to be happy and have fun anyway.

  Several hours later, the celebration was over. Despite having a couple of scheduled intermissions, they were too busy to take breaks and relax. Other than the occasional refreshment breaks, during intermissions, they were regularly approached with questions and compliments. All Jamie wanted to do was approach Sam, but it looked like he was busy as well.

  The entire night, whenever Jamie managed to glance his way, Sam seemed to be active in conversation with someone of influence or was networking. He was far into the crowd for Jamie to be able to hear what he talked about, not by a long shot. It did not look like it was anything but professional and there were no hearty laughs nor authentic smiles that she could see. Everything seemed fake and forced.