Unexpected Chance

by Joanne Schwehm

  The mention of Alex’s name made my insides melt, and I felt my heart rate accelerate. Was it wrong to already miss someone I just met? Ladies’ night. I wonder how many ladies would want Alex?

  “Sounds great, Julie; hopefully, we’ll be celebrating. See you tomorrow. I’m going to make sure I have something to wear to the interview and get my writing samples in order. Thanks again. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Bye.”

  The rest of my day went by in a blur. I ended up going shopping and bought a navy-blue pantsuit with a silky cream-colored top. I figured I could remove the jacket when I went to the club with Julie for drinks and it would look like a sharp outfit rather than a business suit. I was getting really excited. When I got home, I made a salad for dinner and sat down to go through my resume and the paperwork I needed for the next day. I looked at my cell phone and was a little depressed that I hadn’t heard from Alex. It was already nine o’clock, and he had to be at the club. He was probably busy. I hated to think that he was busy with other women trying to hit on him, or worse that he was dancing with someone, but I put that in the back of my mind. He was just supposed to be research. I didn’t want to fall for him, but that wasn’t working out the way I had hoped. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, so I thought I’d send him a text to tell him about my interview.

  Me: 9:16 p.m.—Hi there. I just wanted to tell you that I have an interview at Walker-Stone Marketing tomorrow afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Hope you’re having a good night.

  After I pressed send, I started having second thoughts. Should I’ve not texted him? I hadn’t heard from him all day. I honestly thought I would. I waited about thirty minutes before getting ready for bed, but didn’t receive a text. I drifted off to a restless sleep.

  Chapter 7

  I woke up later than I usually do, but I slept like crap. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was nervous and excited about my interview that day or because I’d never heard from Alex last night. After checking my phone again, I still hadn’t. Maybe I’d read something into our weekend together that wasn’t there. I dragged my ass out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

  I was just about to eat my lunch when the buzzer to my door rang. “Yes?”

  A man’s voice bellowed, “Delivery for Aubrey Ryan.”

  Who could be sending me a delivery? I hit the buzzer and let him in. I opened the door, took the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers from the young man, gave him a tip, and thanked him. The flowers were a mixed arrangement of Gerber daisies, lilies, a few roses, and a white orchid in the center. They were beautiful. I read the card.

  Good luck today on your interview. You’ll do great!

  Alex

  So, he did get my text last night. I smiled; although, in the back of my head, I wondered why he didn’t text me back. I decided not to dwell on that and just enjoy the flowers.

  Me: 1:05 p.m.—Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.

  Alex: 1:08 p.m.—You’re welcome. They reminded me of you.

  I decided not to text anything else after that. I wouldn’t even know how to respond. I felt as though my smile was stretching from ear to ear. Did he really think I was beautiful? I put the flowers in the center of my coffee table, since the other bouquet he gave me sat on my kitchen table. I decided to write in my journal. I didn’t want to lose the feeling I had.

  Entry 3—Alex—A working project

  If flowers are a romantic gesture, then Alex definitely is a romantic. I’ve received flowers twice now and they keep getting more lovely. He called me beautiful. It’s hard for me to accept. I really want to hope this is the real him and not the player coming out. I guess time will tell. I still need to guard my heart. Does one ever know if someone is genuine? Will I be able to tell the difference? At this point, does it really matter? I know I’ve fallen for Alex.

  Time will tell. Until tomorrow . . .

  ~*~

  I took the elevator to the fourth floor of an exquisite office building and walked into Walker-Stone Marketing at three forty-five, I had fifteen minutes before my interview to try and relax. I approached the reception area; it was a nice, understated office. There was a comfortable atmosphere. The walls were an inviting tan color, and the receptionist sat at a cherry desk. She appeared to be in her early fifties and was on the phone when I approached. She held her right index finger up to show that she wanted me to wait. When she finished the call, she said, “I’m sorry about that. How can I help you?”

  “Hi, I’m Aubrey Ryan; I have an appointment with Brian Stone.”

  “Ah, yes, Ms. Ryan. Please have a seat.” She waved toward the sitting area. “I’ll let Mr. Stone know that you’re here. Would you like something to drink?”

  I sat down. “No, thank you.” I was afraid I would spill something on my outfit, and I really needed this job.

  A man approached me. “Ms. Ryan? I’m Mark, Mr. Stone’s assistant.” I stood and we shook hands. Wow, he was h-o-t, HOT! I’d have to guess he was in his mid-twenties. He had tanned skin, surfer-styled blond hair, eyes like the ocean, and even though he was wearing a suit, he still looked beach worthy. If I hadn’t fallen for Alex, Mark would have been just my type.

  I found my voice. “Hi, Mark. It’s nice to meet you.” This was another guy Julie had hidden from me. How many more were there? First Alex and now Mark—two gorgeous men! We walked through the office; it wasn’t too big. There were offices on the perimeter and desks facing each of them, which I could only guess were for the assistants. There were cubicles with drafting tables, and storyboards hung on the walls. It looked serene and formal at the same time, sort of like Mark. We walked into the conference room, which had a large table with probably about twenty chairs surrounding it.

  Brian and Julie were sitting at the table chatting. Mark cleared his throat, and Brian stood to greet me. We shook hands, and Julie just smiled at me as she stood. “I was just leaving.” She whispered in my ear, “Good luck,” smiled, and walked out with Mark.

  My interview took about an hour. We went through the examples of my writing and editing notes. “I know you don’t have any marketing experience, Aubrey, but I really like what I’m seeing here, and I think you could be a definite asset to Walker-Stone Marketing. I’d like to offer you a full-time position.” He explained the salary and benefits. “There is also a ninety-day probation period for all new employees.” He handed me a packet from Human Resources that outlined everything that he mentioned.

  I was happily surprised and tried to hide my shocked expression. “I would love to accept your offer. I really appreciate this opportunity.”

  “Great. How soon can you start?”

  “I can start as soon as tomorrow.” I tried not to sound overly anxious, but I was excited.

  Brian smiled. “That’s great. We can use the rest of this week to get you acclimated to our office and our procedures. I’ll have Mark make sure to leave you a badge at reception.” We shook hands, and he walked me to Mark’s desk. Mark stood and smiled. “Mark, will you escort, Ms. Ryan to reception and then come and see me in my office?”

  Mark nodded to Brian and walked next to me through the hall to reception. “So, Ms. Ryan, how did it go?”

  “Please call me Aubrey, and it went well. I start tomorrow.” I wasn’t able to hold back my excitement. I knew he could tell that I was really happy.

  We made it back to reception, and Mark shook my hand. “Welcome to Walker-Stone.” I noticed that when my hand was in Mark’s I didn’t feel anything, not like when Alex touched me.

  “Thank you, Mark, see you in the morning.” He turned and left. I couldn’t help but look at him; he was just as delicious walking away. I wonder if he’s a romantic. I’d have to ask Julie, who was running up to me.

  “Congratulations, Aubrey! Brian told me the news. I am so excited! It is going to be so cool working with you! We must go celebrate. The White Orchid, here we come!” I remembered it was ladies’ night, and I imagined the women
who’d be there. I took off my blazer, making my appearance look more appropriate for drinks than business.

  I was suddenly very nervous. We headed over to the club. “Julie, did you tell Brett we were coming?”

  “No, but I should text him and tell him to get out a bottle of champagne!” She went to get her phone out of her purse.

  I grabbed her hand. “No, don’t!”

  “What’s wrong, Aubrey?”

  “Please don’t text him; I don’t want to be expected.” My heart was beating, and I swear it was going to jump out of my chest. “I want to see how Alex acts when I’m not around.” I hung my head. I couldn’t help but think what an awful person I was.

  “Seriously? You need to reconsider your research; just let this be what it is. If you feel like writing about it after that, then come clean with Alex and tell him.”

  “What happened to my carefree friend? Where is the Julie who hates players and warned me off Alex?”

  “All I am saying is that you could have something with him. I jumped to judgment. Even Brett said he saw a difference in him since he’s met you. Let’s just have fun tonight, okay? We’re celebrating you. Let’s do it!”

  I smiled. “Okay. I’m sorry, Julie. If you want to text Brett, go ahead.”

  “No need. We’re here.”

  Looking out the window, I spotted Alex’s car. My hands shook as I grabbed the door handle. I paused and took a deep breath; I stepped out of the car. I straightened my outfit and put some clear gloss on my lips. Julie and I walked into the club. The atmosphere was different. There weren’t too many people, but it was still early. I spotted Tyler right away. He was behind the bar. I looked around but didn’t see Brett or Alex. Julie and I walked up to the bar, and Tyler smiled at us. “Ladies, what will be your pleasure this evening?” God, the way he said that, I could have ordered an orgasm, and it wouldn’t have been in a shot glass.

  Julie smiled, “Hi, Tyler, we’re celebrating tonight. Aubrey here is now part of the work force; we’d like two champagnes please.”

  “Congratulations!” His smile could bring you to your knees. “Two champagnes coming up.” He turned to go get our drinks.

  Julie looked around. I knew who she was looking for. A smile grew across her face, and then it dropped instantly. “Why don’t we go get a table, Aubrey?” She was pointing to an area to our right.

  I looked to the left, where her eyes had just been. I saw Brett sitting at a table and across from him was Alex and Leah. As soon as I spotted them, she looked at me and gave me a sympathetic grin. I felt a little angry and slightly jealous—no very jealous and very pissed. I wasn’t going to show emotion in front of her or Alex. Once a player always a player, right?

  I had an idea. “Hey, Julie, do you have Mark’s number?”

  Julie just looked at me; she knew that I’d seen Alex. “Yeah, I have it, why?”

  “Text him and tell him to meet us here to celebrate.” I knew it was the immature thing to do, but I didn’t care.

  Julie just looked at me. She knew I would protect myself by getting mad rather than cry. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “It’s the best idea I’ve had all week.” It really wasn’t, but I was in the two-can-play-at-this-game frame of mind.

  Fifteen minutes later, Mark came over to our table with a beer. “Hi, ladies, thanks for the text, Julie; I was around the corner when I got it.” He raised his beer to me. “Congrats co-worker.”

  We all smiled and clinked our glasses with Mark’s bottle. I noticed that Tyler wasn’t at the bar anymore and that he’d been replaced with Brett. Julie got up and went over to say hello. I couldn’t believe she’d waited this long. I knew it was for my benefit. Brett must have sensed her. He looked over and smiled at her. I was happy for her.

  Brett leaned over the bar and gave Julie a kiss. I saw them talking but didn’t know what about. Then Julie nodded in the direction of our table, and Brett looked over. His eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at me and then Mark. Good.

  “So are you excited to start working?” Mark had no clue what was going on around us, and I wasn’t going to point anything out.

  Mark got me out of my daze. “Yes, I am. It’s going to be so nice to finally put my brain and education to good use.” I was smiling now. Mark was really good company. I thought he could be a friend. He told me about the people in the office. Someone named Lisa in accounting wore clothes too small for her and thought she was the next Miss USA. Andrea in advertising made a play for all the new hires. He winked at me and I laughed. He told me about his girlfriend, Jessica. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. I suddenly felt horrible for asking him to come out tonight. I didn’t want Jessica to be upset.

  “Mark, I hope Jessica doesn’t mind your being out with us tonight.”

  “No worries, I told her. She doesn’t mind; she has class tonight. She’s studying for her Master’s. She’s almost done actually.”

  How nice would that be to have that kind of trust? “She sounds great, Mark. I hope to meet her someday.”

  He smiled and nodded. He continued giving me the 411 on the office staff. He was hilarious. I was in tears with laughter. And suddenly, there he was; I could smell him before I could see him. I looked up and saw Alex. Was he glaring at me?

  “Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Aubrey?” The sarcastic way he said “friend” almost made me laugh, but the tone in his voice begged me to do otherwise.

  I swallowed hard. Was he mad? What right did he have to be mad at me? I smiled. “Alex, this is my friend, Mark. Mark, this is my friend, Alex.” I made sure to stress “friend” when I introduced Alex. He nodded and they shook hands. I hope he noticed that I referred to him just as my friend.

  Alex spoke to me. “So have you two known each other long?” Mark looked at me. Knowing he could sense something was off, he excused himself and walked over towards the bar.

  I looked at that gorgeous face that I’d dreamed about. “No, we just met today, actually.”

  “You seem very comfortable with him.” Alex glanced toward Mark at the bar.

  The nerve of him really! “How’s Leah?” I looked around at the bar where Julie, Brett, and now Mark were . . . Hmm, no Tyler. “I don’t see Tyler. Maybe he’s now the lucky recipient of her affections.” I couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone out of my voice. He looked at me as if he just realized that I’d seen him with her. I swear the color on his face changed, not to mention his expression. “Look, Alex, not that I owe you an explanation or that you deserve one, but Mark works for Walker-Stone. He has a girlfriend and is very happy with her. We’re just friends.” I couldn’t do this anymore. I got up to leave.

  He didn’t let me get far. He held my elbow. “Aubrey, there is nothing going on with Leah. Sometimes it’s easier to just ignore her advances than acknowledge them. She was just sitting next to me.”

  “Whatever, Alex, I honestly don’t care.” That was a blatant lie. Of course I cared. I pulled my arm away and walked toward my friends to tell them I was leaving. Julie saw my expression when I approached them and could totally sense that I was going to lose it in one form or another.

  She walked up to me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I need to get out of here.” I was going to burst. I hated feeling this way. I looked at Brett sitting behind Julie. “Good-bye, Brett.” Turning toward Mark, I said, “Thanks for coming out tonight, Mark. Next time, bring Jessica.” I smiled the best I could and walked away.

  Mark jogged over to me. “Wait, do you need a ride?”

  “Thanks, Mark, but stay and have fun.” I knew that Alex was behind me, but I didn’t care. I felt nothing but confusion and hurt. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be research. He was supposed to be research. Why did I feel this way?

  “No, really, I was just leaving, and Julie told me she drove here.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure, that would be great.”

  Alex spoke up. “I’ll take her home.”


  I looked at Alex. “No, thank you. You should stay here and service your customers.” I made sure to sarcastically emphasize the word “service.”

  I turned away from him and looked at Mark. “Ready?”

  Chapter 8

  There’d been no word from Alex. So much for my research. Oh well. I had nothing to add to my journal about him. I didn’t think his dismissing my feelings toward Leah was a romantic gesture, nor was not contacting me at all. Julie was going strong with Brett. I didn’t bother to ask her about Alex, and she didn’t volunteer any information. She knew me well enough to know that if I didn’t ask she shouldn’t tell. Maybe I’ll ask Mark what he thinks is romantic or see if Brett does anything like that for Julie. I couldn’t deny that my heart felt broken. To say that I was disappointed would have been the understatement of the year . . . no, the century!

  I’d been at Walker-Stone two weeks now, and I’d settled into my chair and drowned myself in work. Brian was pleased with our new clients marketing requests and then told Julie that there was another marketing event for The White Orchid. Julie and I just looked at each other. I wasn’t sure how I felt. On one hand, I was excited, but on the other, I was apprehensive. What if he acted distant with me? Did I misinterpret everything? I doubted everything: his feelings for me and mine for him. Was there even an “us”?

  Brian was going through the papers on his desk and handed some to Julie. “Julie, you’re the lead on this account. I want you to meet with Mr. Logan at ten tomorrow morning, see what he has in mind, and have him review the updated contract terms. Aubrey, you’re to accompany Julie. I want you to see our marketing approach firsthand, and this is one of our largest accounts. Mr. Logan asked for you by name; apparently, he’s heard of you. He spends a lot of money on marketing, so we give him the red carpet treatment.” I looked at Julie and then to Mark, who took notes.

  Back at my desk, I put my head in my hands. I hadn’t stopped thinking about Alex, and I couldn’t let my personal life interfere with my new job. I was also thinking about my writing. I kept repeating the word “research” over and over in my head. I decided to text Alex.