Romantic Moments - 5 Romantic Short Stories

by Peters, Norah C.

  Julie moved her hands closer to Merlin. "Oh don't mind me, the curiosity is killing me, go on, please."

  Merlin looked down at Julie's hands and resumed the reading. "Very well. Let's take a look. Hmm, it appears that you are coming to the end of a period of reflection, a time when you needed to pause, to reevaluate who you are and what you really want. This is good and very necessary. When this consolidation period comes to an end, shortly, you will meet someone special but where you least expect it. At first, he will not be what you're looking for and sparks will fly. In fact, you may dislike this person intensely before love eventually blooms. If you both choose, this will become true love."

  Julie giggled, "Really? I hope you're right."

  Linda whispered, "He's always right, trust me."

  Merlin laughed, "It's not me, I'm just telling you what 's already in your mind, your intentions that are out of view, and the path you are currently on. Anyway, it was great to meet you. Julie, your future is bright, enjoy every minute of it."

  * * *

  Julie had finished rearranged her wardrobe with Linda's help. She now had a new look, stylish new clothes, a new hair style and a wonderful array of new shoes to choose from. She bagged up the old clothes and sang along to the music pumping out of the TV. She was so excited she could barely contain herself.

  She'd made other changes too. Reluctantly, at first, she'd tried speed dating, on Linda's insistence, and even enjoyed it. It was a blast sizing up a guy in seconds and doing your best to impress with a ticking clock counting down. She had met one nice guy, or so she thought, but he'd turned out to be a pervert. One date and she ended up storming out of the restaurant because of his lewd comments.

  Still, she was unperturbed. She'd sort through the chaff and she would eventually find a good man, it was just a matter of time. She knew that.

  Then of course there was always Merlin's Blind Dating Service, that had proved to be very interesting. From time to time Merlin would email her a profile that he felt would be a good match. He never provided a photo only a nickname and an email address. Merlin explained that he could tell which couples were a good potential match. Julie had dismissed the idea as hocus pocus until Linda revealed that it was Merlin's Blind Dating Service that had introduced her to her future husband. Once she heard that, Julie signed up on the spot. Within days, Merlin had emailed her what he called her perfect match, a guy she only knew as, FastDriver.

  A daily email exchange between FastDriver and her, BlueCat, quickly became the highlight of the day. He was witty, smart and very sophisticated. Later they would exchange photos if the dialogue moved along and they both felt they had a connection. Hopefully soon. The only issue with FastDriver was his location, based in Cardiff, he was a long way from London. Still, if they clicked they'd find a way to make it work.

  For the first time in longer than she could remember Julie was optimistic about the future. Her weekends were full with horse riding, volleyball and tennis. She was fitter and happier, she'd lost those extra 11 lbs that had stubbornly clung to her for years. Everyone said she looked fabulous and she felt even better than she looked.

  The funny thing was, she didn't know if she even had time to have a man in her life. Where would she fit him in? Linda assured her there'd be space somewhere, "You can always find room for the good stuff," she'd laugh when Julie insisted she was quite happy without someone. For the first time Julie understood those women who were radiantly happy, successful and not looking for a man to make things better. She had at last become successfully single. Even the expression made her laugh.

  Julie finished tidying up her clothes and grabbed her briefcase to put away the papers she'd reviewed earlier. Tomorrow was a big day in the office. A new manager was taking over her department and he had a reputation for being a stickler for detail. He was known to be one of the up and coming stars in the company, new to the London office, and not someone to get on the wrong side of. Julie was determined to make a good first impression, she'd make sure he noticed her and impress him with her ability to answer all his questions with the numbers to back up her recommendations. This would be a meeting he wouldn't forget. She'd make sure of it.

  * * *

  Julie walked into the meeting room and joined the 11 nervous members of her department sat around the long glass table. Everyone looked up when the new department manager burst into the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Julie looked up and saw a tall, handsome 30 year old man with short jet black hair in an expensive black pin strip suit. He wore a red tie with a white silk shirt and fashionable black leather shoes. He looked too young to be a manager but he was hot. She felt her pulse quicken and she wondered what he looked like without his shirt.

  "Morning everyone, my name is Max Ferton, I'm the new department manager. Effective immediately you will all report to me. This will be a very short meeting. I don't beat about the bush as you'll all discover in the weeks ahead.

  "I've looked over the revenue numbers and I'm not impressed by what I saw. In fact, I was shocked. If things don't change here and quickly, heads will roll. I guarantee it." Max looked around the room, "Do I make myself clear?"

  Around the table not one person made eye contact with Max. Julie stared straight ahead and she wished she could slide under the table and quietly disappear. This guy was an animal. She wasn't looking forward to working with him.

  "I said, do I make myself clear?" Max thundered, his face and neck going red over his tight shirt collar.

  A subdued "Yes" reverberated around the room as the group reluctantly looked up to acknowledge their new, and clearly deranged, leader.

  Max looked around the table and barked. "Meeting closed. Get back to your desks, I'll talk to you all individually throughout the day. Which one of you is Julie? I want you to stay behind, whoever you are."

  Julie squirmed in her seat, "I'm Julie," she croaked and sank further into her seat. She watched her team members leave the room and close the door behind them, leaving her alone with her new boss. She hoped she wasn't about to be fired.

  "Now that those idiots are out of here I want to talk to you. I've reviewed the performance reports for everyone in the department and you're the only one kicking butt here. Your results are very impressive. Keep going like that and you have a very bright future in this company. As for the rest of the morons working here. Let's just say they won't all be here for the Christmas party," Max snarled.

  Julie sat upright and faced Max, "Thank you, I'm committed to doing a good job. I won't disappoint you."

  Max looked Julie in the eye. "Good stuff. Look I need you to work with me on a new project. It'll mean long hours and at times the work will be very difficult. I won't lie to you. Still, if you do a good job it'll be very good for your career. Are you in?"

  "Yes, I am!" Julie wondered what she was letting herself in for you but knew she couldn't say no. She wanted to make a good first impression and she never refused anything that could lead to a promotion.

  Max slammed the desk with his hand and stood up. "Good. I'll reassign your work to one of those jokers and your primary focus will be the Insight Tech project. They want us to redesign their software design process to speed up their product development cycle."

  Julie averted her gaze from Max's brown eyes and tried to focus on the discussion at hand. She found him very attractive but annoying, manly but way over the top. She attempted to sound professional. "Sounds interesting, I've worked on projects like that before. I look forward to it."

  Max grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door. "I know you have, that's why I picked you. Tell you what, meet me back here at 5 sharp and we'll get started."

  "Thank you. See you at 5." Julie made her way to her office and stared blankly at her computer screen. What was she letting herself in for? Max was a maniac and she had already started to dislike him. He was arrogant, bad tempered and very pushy. In fact, he displayed most of the traits she most disliked in men. Still, she found him intri
guing, he was good looking and well built, he was certainly easy on the eye, maybe as she got to know him better he'd reveal he also had some attractive personality traits.

  The day flew by and Julie dreaded the meeting with Max. She took a seat in the meeting room at 4:59. At 5 on the dot, Max rushed into the room, slamming the door shut behind him before grabbing the seat at the head of the table.

  "Good, you're here already, let's get started. I've gathered all the data you need to get up to speed. Here, take this folder and report back to me with your recommendations by 8 tomorrow morning," Max pushed a huge folder over to Julie.

  Julie felt her temper rising. "What? You really expect me to review all of that and make an informed recommendation by first thing tomorrow?"

  "Yes, that's what I just said. Do I have to repeat everything twice?" Max scowled.

  Taken aback, Julie hesitated, "It's just that there's no way I can be thorough and get through all of this that quickly," she pointed at the bulging folder.

  Max glared at her, "Julie, either you're in or your're out. What's it going to be?"

  "If you're going to expect miracles then I'm out," Julie snapped back as her temper started to boil over. Max was really starting to get on her nerves.

  Max furrowed his brow. "What? Are you turning down the opportunity of a lifetime?"

  "Let's not be so dramatic, Max. I can do this and I can do it to a high standard. Give me two days and you'll see what I can do. And I guarantee you the client will be impressed. Or get someone else to do this and you'll spend the next 2 weeks cleaning up the mess."

  Max stood up, "You're way out of line with your tone of voice. I'm your manager, and don't you forget it," he screamed.

  Julie stood up and stared him down, "Don't you ever raise your voice like that with me again or I'll have you in so much trouble with the H.R. department you won't know what hit you. Got it, Mister?" Julie grabbed the folder, left the meeting room and slammed the door behind her.

  Max stared at the door and grunted under his breath, "I'll show her who the boss is here, she won't get away with this."

  * * *

  Two days later Max looked up from the report on his desk and smiled, "Julie, this is excellent work. I'm very impressed with what you've come up with. Some of these ideas are pure genius. Well done!"

  "Thanks, Max. Like I said, I just need enough time and you'll never be disappointed with my work."

  Max smiled and rolled up his shirt sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms. "Sorry, I lost it the other day. I'm used to working with idiots so I get stressed out at times. I can see now I don't have to worry when it comes to you. It's a huge weight off my shoulders. Thank you."

  "It's nothing, forget about it. So, what do you want me to prioritize going forward?" Julie smiled back and tried not to stare at his well toned arms.

  "Julie, I need you to get your bags packed. We'll be working out of the client's office in Brussels for the next 4 weeks. We leave tomorrow."

  "What? You expect me to drop everything to go to Brussels just like that? No warning, nothing. I take it this is some kind of bad joke." Julie glared and tried to control her temper.

  "Not at all, calm down will you, Julie. What difference does it make? Work here or work over there, it's all the same."

  Julie gritted her teeth and knew this was one argument she wasn't going to win. "Ok then, you win, I'm not happy about this but I'll go along with it. In future I expect more notice, ok?"

  "Sure, no problem, they sprung it on me this morning, I didn't see it coming either. I would normally never do this, seriously. I'm not as bad as you think I am. Look, I'm flying over there tonight for a meeting but we already have the booking confirmations for your flight and hotel room. I told them to get you a room at the back overlooking the gardens, I thought you'd like that. I'm at the front, I can't sleep if it's too quiet, the traffic noise helps put me to sleep." Max handed Julie the tickets and watched her wide eyed expression as she noticed the booking was for the best hotel in Brussels.

  "Oh, thanks, that was kind of you. I'll see you tomorrow in Brussels in that case." Julie hurried back to her desk. She couldn't make her mind up about Max, she found him extremely annoying but at the same time there was a part of him that could be considerate and thoughtful when she least expected it, plus he really appreciated all her hard work. And she still wondered what he'd look like without a shirt.

  To be honest she was missing nothing by leaving London for a few weeks. She had planned to meet her online friend but FastDriver hadn't replied to her in weeks. He had mentioned he would be on the road a lot but so what? He could still stay in touch. She missed their playful banter, he could be very funny and his messages always made her smile. For weeks now she'd checked her messages 3 times a day but he had disappeared. She missed him. Maybe he'd lost his password and he'd turn up again one day out of the blue. And then they'd finally get to meet. Then, at last, she'd get to see what he was really like. You never know, he might turn out to be her ideal man: talk, dark and handsome, intelligent yet considerate and great company. She reread his last message where he had talked about dancing with her in the light of the full Moon. He was so romantic, she couldn't wait to hear from him again.

  If only Max could be more like him. Max? Now there was an interesting man. Great body, very driven but just a little too driven. Although she had fought it Julie couldn't deny it. She liked Max, she would never admit it to anyone in the office but she did like him. It was exciting working with him and he seemed to like working with her. Sometimes when he moved close to her at his desk, she'd smell his after shave and get distracted. She'd for a fleeting moment imagine him stepping out of a sun drenched swimming pool, water dripping from his muscular body, his wet thick black hair swept back. She wondered if he had a hairy chest. Then, she'd snap out of it and block those feelings. Thinking like that was most unprofessional. Any anyhow, a good looking man like Max must have women chasing him around town. He'd never go for a girl like her in a million years.

  Why was she even thinking about Max in these terms? That's what got to her. She'd never had such intense feelings for someone she'd worked with. Max either infuriated her or impressed her greatly, he either made her weak at the knees or he made her want to slap him. It was never neutral. He somehow knew how to press her buttons. He aroused strong feelings in her.

  Maybe Brussels would be fun after all. Maybe she'd finally figure out what Max was all about. That was, if she wasn't working day and night. Well, either way she was determined to keep everything strictly professional. No meeting for drinks in the hotel bar at the end of the day, no going out for dinner, just the two of them. It could get awkward very quickly especially if there was drink involved. No, she had decided, Max and her were colleagues, and it was best to keep it like that. She knew she couldn't trust herself with him if she let her true feelings express themselves. She might do something she'd later regret.

  So many of her friends said to trust your heart and not your head but that was not very practical. If she did that, who knows what would happen?

  * * *

  By the end of the second week in Brussels, Max had relaxed a lot, the project was ahead of schedule and he hadn't lost his temper in over a week. Julie was enjoying the work and she loved her room with the private terrace looking out over the gardens. Some time away from London was doing her the world of good.

  It was just after 2 on a Friday afternoon when Max announced they were so well ahead of schedule that they both deserved a break until Monday. "I'm heading over to the art gallery this afternoon, you're welcome to join me or you can do your own thing, whatever you like. Please do whatever suits you, you've earned it."

  "Really? I mean we can wrap up at 2, and, you're going to an art gallery," Julie laughed. "Wonders will never cease as my grandmother used to say."

  "Come on, Julie, it's not that strange. I did n't tell you this but I'm an amateur painter, I've even put on my own exhibitions."

  "No way! You
, the big shot business man are a painter?" Julie giggled, "Forgive me while I laugh."

  "I'm serious, Julie. I studied art in University but after a few lean years I moved into the business world. My two brothers wanted to go to University, they're much younger than me, and by the time it was their turn my parents didn't have the money to pay for it so I had to get earning real money."

  "That's so sweet, Max. I never knew that about you. And there's something I haven't told you. In my free time I paint, I have a small studio or garden shed as most people call it."

  "Well, there's a surprise, we do have something in common after all," Max laughed and led the way out of the office. "Come on then, let's get moving and get over to the gallery."

  Max hailed a taxi and Julie watched a thunder storm move over the city as they made their way through the streets. When they hopped out of the car, the heavens opened.

  "Here, take my jacket," Max took off his jacket and draped it over Julie's shoulders as they scurried up the steps and into the gallery. Julie rearranged her hair while Max got the tickets.

  "It's lovely and warm in this jacket. Thank you, Max."

  "Hold onto it, Julie. It's cool in here and you need it more than I do. Although I would like a hot drink, let's grab a quick coffee before we go any further." They walked over to the gallery cafe. "Julie, take a seat, I'll get you your usual."

  Max returned with the drinks and laughed, "You look like a little girl with that big jacket on."

  Julie picked up her drink, looked into Max's brown eyes and smiled, "This is almost like a date, not quite, but almost."

  "That's what I was thinking. I like you, Julie. As I've got to know you over the few weeks I can see there's much more to you than meets the eye. You're bright, hard working and very creative.

  "You saved my bacon yesterday at the final hour during the client meeting. That was a serious error in my report, I should have spotted it, but I didn't. You could have sat back and let me get lambasted for that one but you didn't. You stepped up when the pressure was on and dealt with the problem head on. The way you got us out of that jam was pure brilliance. Thank you. I won't forgot that."