Forever Together

by Naughty Aphrodite

  Erin cleared her throat and her anxious voice cut through the silence, “I also completed some volunteer work in Haiti, and I have more than enough professional references that I can write down for you and-”

  Roger held up one of his leathery, tanned hands. His glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose and he said, “Andrea couldn’t run out of good things to say about you, we won’t need to double check any references.”

  Erin nodded and her eyes darted around the room as she rocked back and forth in her chair. After a moment, Roger set her resume down on his desk, and took a long sip of water.

  Erin fidgeted while Roger leaned forward and said, “Well, I absolutely love you. I think you’d make a fantastic fit here, we could really use someone like you on our listing team.”

  “I’m so happy to hear that!” Erin extended her hand towards Roger. He chuckled, and shook her hand.

  “You can report back Monday, and we’ll get you into orientation.” Roger rose to his feet and gestured towards the glass door. “I’ll talk to you then.”

  “Absolutely. Thank you so much, Mr. Johnson.” Erin turned her back and headed towards the door to the main office. She grinned and rubbed her hands against her skirt, the navy colored fabric hugging her hips more tightly than she remembered it doing before. It had been three months since she last wore it, it had been her last day as an intern at the magazine she worked under in New York. When she moved to Boston after breaking up with her ex, Porter, she reunited with her college roommate, Andrea, and decided to take her advice on going into real estate.

  The commission from selling my first house alone will help pay off half of my student debt. Erin grinned and strolled through the hallways of the building, her dark ponytail swished along her shoulders and she nodded at her future coworkers as she made her way towards the elevators.

  Her eyes were stuck on a red framed photo that sat on the edge of one woman’s desk. Erin threw her arms out and braced herself against the muscular chest of the man that she’d just run into.

  Erin gasped and said, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and my thoughts were on a million other thing-”

  The man smirked and held up his hand. He rolled his eyes and spoke, “Then, watch where you’re going next time. You’re not the only one in the hallway.”

  Erin narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me, I made a mistake. No need to be rude.”

  The man’s eyes ran over her before he said, “Are you here for the internship? That would explain how ditzy you seem.” He shook his head. “Try not to kill anyone.”

  Erin sighed, “Look, I’m going to start working here on Monday, let’s just start over.” She extended her hand to him and twiddled her red painted fingertips. “I’m Erin, nice to meet you. Your name is?”

  He accepted her hand. “Callum. I work in the listing department.”

  Erin’s heart sank into her stomach but she kept her smile in place. “Looks like we’ll be working together.”

  Callum twisted his handsome features into a sneer and said, “Hopefully you’ll work a lot better than you walk,” he smirked, “I’ll see you Monday, Erin.”

  Erin shook herself out of her thoughts, her eyes had fallen to Callum’s lips as he spoke. There was a light blonde stubble around his cheeks, and when her eyes traveled up his face and his chiseled jaw, a pair of emerald green eyes stared back at her.

  Erin nodded and said, “Have a good weekend.” She straightened her back and hustled towards the elevator. She was confident that she could feel Callum’s lingering gaze on her back as she stepped inside of the box.

  ***

  Erin grinned as she spotted Andrea at the other end of the restaurant. Her blonde haired friend was scanning the menu of the diner that they’d agreed on for lunch, and didn’t lift her eyes once Erin eased into the booth across from her.

  “Ahem,” Erin said, “You have the pleasure of having lunch with Johnson Realties’ brand new listing agent.”

  Andrea grinned and set the menu down onto the table. “Roger actually listened to me for once? Maybe I can get him to fire the cleaning crew now that he’s open to suggestions,” she chuckled and unwrapped her silverware. Then she set her napkin on top of her lap.

  Andrea had been working for Roger Johnson for over three years, she’d moved back to Boston once she graduated from college in New York because her father had fallen ill. Once he began to recover after a long three years of battling cancer, Andrea learned the news of Erin’s breakup and that she intended to start over somewhere new.

  Erin reached across the table and set her hand on top of Andrea’s. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you, and yes, maybe he’ll finally fire the cleaning crew because you told him to.”

  The young waitress came over and introduced herself, and both women ordered the same lunch reubenspecial.

  Andrea slid her straw out of it’s pouch and placed it in her water glass. “I mean, it’s about time that he listens to his executive assistant, I’ve only been working for him forever. But whatever, I’m so happy that I’ll be working with you. What did you think of the place when you went in?”

  Erin shrugged and leaned back against the booth seat. The ripped, red leather was cool against her skin. “It seemed like a pretty standard office environment, women in dresses, men in suits… Roger seems nice.”

  Andrea nodded and grabbed her plate from the waitress. She stabbed her fork into the center of her sandwich and dragged her knife along the outside of the bun. “That’s great, as long as you feel good about everything.”

  Erin slapped her hand against the table, “Well, you know, there was this one guy. He was so weird and rude, I bumped into him and he lost it for a second until I told him that I was going to be working there. I could have sworn that he was checking me out as I walked away.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Like an underwear model if I’m being honest, he had perfect skin, short, blonde hair-”

  “Gorgeous green eyes?” Andrea smirked and popped one of her fries into her mouth.

  Erin nodded, “Yes, his eyes were gorgeous, do you know him?”

  “Oh, I know him. He’s Callum Grant, he’s worked for the company for a little over five years now and he’s the sexiest piece of ass I’ve ever seen in a work environment. I had the biggest crush on him for a couple of years, but that faded once I spent a little time around him.

  Erin frowned and took a bite of her sandwich. “Is he rude?”

  Andrea shook her head, “No, just intense. He can be extremely imposing, and he’s not the kind of guy that you really want to disappoint.”

  Erin grinned and said, “Well, he’s going to be disappointed if he thinks he’s going to push me around just because he’s accomplished there and a little sexy.”

  “A little?” Andrea scoffed, “He literally looks like he just stepped off of a magazine cover.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Erin took a long sip of her cola and sprayed ketchup all over her fries. “It’s not like I’m looking for that sort of thing anyway, walking past Porter lying on my couch for the last three years has kind of spoiled my appetite for men.”

  Andrea chuckled and ate a piece of her sandwich. “Well, don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself feeling a little hungry.”

  Chapter 2

  Erin sighed as she swiped her finger across the screen on her phone. A message from Porter was at the top of her inbox and in bold letters, the first few lines of it read:

  I miss you. Let me know when you’re going to come to town.

  She shook her head and looked straight forward at the numbers on the elevator; it seemed to move up each floor with lightning speed. I can’t let Porter’s drama distract me.

  Her ex-boyfriend, Porter, had been trying to wedge his way back into her life for the last few weeks, he left voicemails and sent text messages about how he’d ran into her mother at the store, and
that he missed being apart of her family.

  Erin had decided that she was done with Porter’s excuses the day that she threw him out of her apartment; if she listened to any of them, it would be too easy to invite him back into her life and she’d be back in New York before she knew it. And she didn’t want that.

  Erin had completely fallen in love with Boston over the last six months.She loved the feel of being in a city that wasn’t quite as big as New York. She loved having lunch with Andrea every day and feeling free to do whatever she chose now that her mother, sister, and cousins weren’t just a few miles away.

  As the doors to the elevator slid open, Erin blinked and pulled her lips into a smile. She twisted her head and did a quick check of the dark red skirt and blazer that she wore, and when she didn’t find any smudges that someone could knit pick, she stepped out of the elevator.

  A young woman with her arms wrapped around three sets of binders hustled past her. Erin moved throughout the office, her eyes fell onto the various projects that were scattered on her coworkers’ desks. She stopped just outside of Roger’s door and pushed her knuckles against the glass in a timid knock.

  Roger looked up from behind his computer screen and when he noticed Erin, he stood up and pulled the door open. He grinned, “Good Morning, Erin!” He stepped out into the hall and shut the door to his office behind him.

  He slipped his arm around Erin’s shoulders and said, “Alright, let’s get a few things out of the way.” The two of them took a sharp left down the hall and they entered a section of the floor that Erin hadn’t remembered seeing last time.

  The hallway was dimly lit, but a faint glow spilled out of the windows of each office on either side of her. Roger stopped just before the third door coming up on the right and said, “This will be your office. This is the listing agent wing.”

  Erin nodded and followed Roger inside. The office was a significant upgrade over the desk setup that she’d had when she was interning for magazines back in New York. She was accustomed to a small desk in rooms with little to no light, and bumping elbows with the person next to her.

  This office offered ample space, with a full sized, L-shaped desk on one end of the room, and a sofa and bookcase on the other. Erin clapped her hands together and said, “This is perfect, thank you!”

  Roger nodded, “I’m glad you like it. There’s a listing team meeting going on right now and I’d love for you to sit in on it and get a feel for what your colleagues has been up to this quarter. You’ll find them in the conference room down the hall.”

  “I’ll make my way there now,” Erin grinned and stepped out of the office. She strolled down the hall, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor bounced off of the walls.

  She slowed her steps just outside of the only room with a five foot wide window. The blinds were shut, and a faint light emanated from behind them. Erin took a deep breath and wrapped her hands around the doorknob. She pushed it open and stepped inside.

  Several faces diverted their attention from the man at the front of the room and set their eyes on her.

  Erin shifted uncomfortably and smiled, “Hello, everyone. I’m the new listing agent, I’ll be sitting in on this meeting.”

  The other agents that sat at the long, boardroom table were silent. Callum’s voice was the first to break the silence from the front of the room. He leaned against the whiteboard behind him and said, “Well, try to be on time next time. We only have these meetings once every quarter, take your seat.”

  Shit. It’s my first day on the job and I’ve already irritated Callum. Erin smiled and sat in a seat at the edge of the table. She folded her hands and directed her gaze towards Callum and the other gentleman at the front of the room.

  “Well, everybody, this is our new hire, Erin Kahn. We’re happy to have you, Erin.”

  The other agents turned their curious gazes towards Erin and Erin fiddled with the ends of her sable colored hair.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled.

  Callum smirked and stepped forward, “Now let’s go over these numbers, I want to address our For Sale By Owner conversion rate. Does anyone have any suggestions?”

  A couple of the agents leaned back in their chairs uncomfortably and glanced between one another. Erin crossed one leg over the other and lowered her eyes to the floor.

  Callum sighed and asked, “Is it everyone else’s first day too? Is everyone just as clueless as Erin?”

  The muscles tightened in Erin’s jaws, and she clenched her fingers around the edge of the table. A redhead at the other end of the table tentatively raised her hand and Erin’s assured voice cut through the low chatter that had begun at the other end of table.

  “According to research, you’ll convert more For Sale By Owner properties if you pursue cold calling and continue to check up on the owner until they agree on a meeting with you,” Erin smirked and sat up straight in her chair. “Persistence is key.”

  Callum raised his eyebrows and uncapped his dry erase marker. His hand flew across the whiteboard behind him and the word PERSISTENCEappeared on the whiteboard.

  He nodded at Erin and then turned his intense gaze on the rest of the listing team. “Persistence. Does anyone else have anything to add?”

  ***

  Erin’s thighs were stuck to the chair and she turned her eyes towards the analog clock that hung on the wall. What kind of meeting lasts two and half hours? She shook her head. It’s fine, this is what you signed up for. I may not even have to attend these things in a year.

  Callum set his dry erase marker onto the edge of the whiteboard and announced, “And that’s all for today. If anyone else has any ideas, they’re more than welcome to stop by my office.”

  The other agents pushed their chairs back and began to file out of the room. Erin swiped her hand across the back of her neck and frowned at the sweat that had collected in between her blazer and skin. Her thick curtain of dark hair was to blame as well, and she swung it over to the other side of her head.

  She headed towards the door of the conference room and fell in line behind a man that shuffled towards the exit with his shoulders slumped and his eyes to the floor.

  Erin gasped when she felt a muscular hand on her shoulder. She craned her neck and frowned when her eyes landed on Callum.

  Callum grinned and said, “You did great today. Most people don’t even speak in these meetings for their first six months.”

  Erin shrugged and replied, “I’m not most people. I figured that you’d learn that sooner or later.”

  He chuckled, “Oh, you’re still upset about before? Listen, I’m sorry for giving you a little shit when you sat down, I do it to everyone that’s late.”

  Erin rolled her eyes and rested her hand on top of the door handle. “And are you also rude to people that you’ve just met in the hallway? Is this going to end with you admitting that you’re just rude?”

  A low whistle slid past Callum’s lips, “Someone likes to hold a grudge.” He pressed his hand on the small of her back and whispered into her ear, “I’d be happy to make it up to you, let me take you out to lunch.”

  A chill ran up Erin’s spine and she tried her best to ignore the warm feeling that spread throughout her cheeks.

  Erin scoffed and stepped into the hallway, “I’ll let you know if I need anything, Callum.” She pumped her legs down the hall and kept her eyes low to the ground. Erin pushed open the door to her office and fell back against the door.

  The cold metal of the door was an instant relief for the heat that was traveling throughout her body. What’s wrong with me? It’s like I’ve never seen a drop dead sexy man before.

  Erin’s mind wandered to what Callum’s body might look like underneath his suit, and how it might feel to slide her hands along his sweat-soaked chest.

  Erin exhaled, and lifted herself off of the door. Maybe I just need to get laid.

  Chapter 3

  Andrea held a bottle of red w
ine over her head as she stepped into Erin’s apartment. She waved it out in front of her as she walked across the hardwood floors. “Erin! I brought wine and I’m ready to hear all about your first day!”She walked around the corner to where Erin hovered over a pot on the stove. Erin’s fingers were tightly wrapped around the worn handle of the pot, and her hair had been scooped into a thick bun that sat at the base of her neck.

  Erin lifted her eyes towards Andrea and welcomed her friend, “Hey, thanks for the wine.” Without looking up from the pot, she pulled the wine bottle out of Andrea’s hands and set it onto the counter beside her.