Everything was pissing me off this morning.
The meeting went smoothly. We were in and out in less than ten minutes. They got their information and gave some lip-service about how I was doing a “superb job” and if I kept it up, I’d be “climbing the ladder in no time.”
I didn’t even know what the hell that meant. Climbing the ladder? To where? There was nowhere to climb to until I got licensed and one thing had nothing to do with the other.
I couldn’t wait to get down to the records room and lay my head on the table. The only good thing about being down there is that it was dark and lonely. Nobody ever wanted to go down there unless they absolutely had to. The most frequent visitor I got, aside from the other paralegals was Jamie. And he only came down when he felt like sexually harassing me. Last I heard he was in Hawaii with his wife, so I’d at least be saved from that scumbag…
As I was mulling over the pros and cons of life in the basement, another one hit me. Shitty phone service. If I was going to thank Luke for the flowers, I better do it now.
I sat down on the top step of the stairs to hell and pulled out my phone. Here goes nothing.
I scrolled through my contacts and found him. He had snatched my phone and taken a picture of us together in his car right before he dropped me off. It was cute. I set it as his contact photo. I spent more time than I was willing to admit staring at in when I was in Ohio.
He picked up on the first ring.
“This…is …Luke,” he said in between deep gasps for air. He was breathing hard.
“Oh, hey, it’s Bria.”
“Hi… hang on.”
I had an irrational fear I’d caught him in the middle of something inappropriate. Even after all this time, Kevin’s little extracurricular activities were coloring how I saw the world... I almost felt ashamed for even letting the thought cross my mind.
“Sorry, I just finished running up the hill. I’m a little winded.”
“Oh, no problem, take your time.” I felt like an idiot.
“No, I’m good. What’s up? How was your trip home?”
“It was a total nightmare. But I don’t want to talk about that. I called to thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”
“They’re nothing, I wanted to see you when you got in, but I thought since I couldn’t, I’d throw some flowers your way.”
“Well, I love them. Thank you.”
“Everything else good,” Luke asked. “You sound a little frazzled this morning.”
“Not much sleep, I guess. And…”
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s no big deal,” I lied.
“Is something going on?”
“Really, it’s not a big deal. Something else got under my skin this morning and it has me off my game a little bit.”
“Well, tell me. Stop beating around the bush already,” he said, impatiently.
“Ugh. Okay. It was my Ex. He called me this morning and kept giving me a hard time. I stopped answering his calls so now he keeps calling and harassing the lady who works at the front desk.”
“What did he say,” asked Luke.
“Nothing important. He’s been wanting to get back together for a while. Lately he’s been more persistent. I think he’s still drunk from last night…”
“So, he’s harassing you?”
“Yeah, a little, but it’s no big deal.”
“Listen, I know it’s not exactly any of my business, but I still don’t like it. He shouldn’t be causing you any problems at work. Maybe I should have a talk with him.”
“No! Please forget I said anything about it. It’s not anything to worry about, I promise.”
Luke sighed into the phone. I could tell he wanted to argue the point further.
“He’s just drunk,” I said. “He’ll sober up in a few hours and forget about the whole thing. I bet he’s already passed out by now. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Fine. But if he gives you any more shit, I need to know about it.”
“Okay. Deal. But really, I’m good.”
I needed to change the subject.
“So, what about us?” I asked, hesitantly.
“What about us?” There was the hint of a challenge in his voice.
“When can we see each other again? It’s been a long week.”
“I have to do this training seminar tonight. How about after?”
“Does tomorrow work,” I asked. “I’m running on fumes right now and I desperately need a good night of sleep. Something tells me that won’t be happening if I hook up with you.”
“Tomorrow’s perfect. I’ll pick you up at work. There’s something I want to ask you anyway.”