A familiar face came around a corner, startling me, and I stumbled upon my short heels. I stuck a hand out against a nearby desk and balanced myself, cursing under my breath for perpetuating the crappy opinion Sadie must already have of me. God, I could only imagine how many of my unredeeming qualities Harvey might have shared with her during their time together.
“Hi,” I said, sounding a little out of breath.
Standing close to Harvey’s girlfriend, in her shadow, I righted myself and sent a quick, almost apologetic smile at the blonde-haired vision, yanking anxiously at the hem of my cardi.
“Hi,” Sadie answered, though her voice betrayed confusion. She was staring at me as if I’d suddenly grown a pair of horns. “What are you doing here? Are you here to see Harvey?”
“You could say that,” I said with a smile.
“He’s in a meeting at the moment,” she replied, “but maybe I could help?”
“Um, I’m here for the job,” I said.
Sadie frowned. “Here? What job? We aren’t hiring at this point.”
My lips parted and my mouth fell into a small O. Hadn’t Harvey said for me to come on Monday morning and he would settle me in? Did I get something mixed up? But I shook my head. No, I was definitely in the right place and at the right time. I’d made sure to write down the building’s address as well as the date and time he wanted me to start.
“He’s offered me a job as his secretary. He said for me to come on Monday, so here I am.”
“What did you say?” Sadie asked, her voice a little aghast. Her eyes blazed. She was pissed. “He’s looking for someone to replace me?”
Oh, shit.
“I…” I trailed, “I don’t know what to say. Maybe there’s a misunderstanding?” I said with a vague hint of optimism. Sadie did not seem to be the kind of person you’d want as an enemy.
“Maybe,” she repeated, her hands on her hips, “I’m going to kill him. But he isn’t looking for a new secretary, so I think it’s best if you leave now.” She walked towards me and started to steer me towards the elevators, clearly wanting me gone.
I put up a hand and said, “Wait! I’m not leaving till I speak with Harvey.” I stood firm; I wasn’t going to let her railroad me, no matter who she was in Harvey’s life.
She paused and sighed.
“Look, he’s just helping me out. I didn’t mean to cause you or anyone else any trouble. I don’t have a job at the moment, and he offered me one the other day, as his secretary, that is. I honestly didn’t know the position was already filled. But I need this job—any job—to pay off my missed mortgage payments, Sadie.” I hated the fact that my voice sounded whiny or needy, but I didn’t want her thinking I was a terrible person, coming and trying to take her job.
“Shit, this is fucked-up,” she cursed under her breath. A strand of glossy blonde hair draped across her face, blocking her vision; she pushed at it and tucked it roughly by her ear. “I don’t know anything about this arrangement you have with him. But we’ll get it sorted. Come on, follow me,” she said and steered me around.
I followed and said quietly, “Thanks, I appreciate it. And I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine what you must’ve thought of me, just barging in here, trying to take your job.”
We walked down a long corridor edged with ferns. “Oh, honey. It’s not your fault. And I’m not mad at you… but Harvey won’t know what hit him when I get my hands on him.”
Pushing through a pair of glass doors, we arrived at an alcove. A wide desk, covered with all the things you’d expect to find in an office, was positioned directly outside a large corner office farther beyond. The engraved plaque on the door read Harvey Guyer.
Sadie waved a hand over to the far wall, pointing to a smaller and less burdened desk.
“For the time being, that can be yours. I wouldn’t mind having an assistant myself until we sort everything out. I’ve got plenty of filing, photocopying and other mind-numbing tasks to keep you busy with,” Sadie announced with a half-smile.
“Really? That would be awesome! Well, you know what I mean.”
She nodded and her smile broadened. Maybe she was warming up to me. And I had to admit she wasn’t all that bad, either. First impressions notwithstanding, the icy exterior seemed to be melting away.
I made myself comfortable at the small industrial desk as Sadie busied herself collecting items I would need. “You’ll have to make do with my old laptop, I’m afraid.” She placed a monstrosity of a machine down with a clunk. “If you stay, and we figure out a more permanent solution, IT will issue you your own.”
Sadie showed me how to log on and gave me some data entry work to get on with. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be, and as the minutes progressed I found my fingers getting used to the keys, dancing over them accurately.
After a while, Sadie left the room, and my mind started to wander. I wondered if Harvey made a habit of dating his employees, never mind his own secretary. I wondered what she made of all the other women in his life, how she tolerated it. Perhaps, though, they had an open relationship. It was the twenty-first century after all. Not everyone found the need to shackle themselves to another for the rest of their lives. And though I knew was being nosy, I resolved to ask him more about himself. Whenever we spent time together, everything always seemed to be about me and my troubles. I wanted to know more about him, even if it wasn’t something I wanted to hear… but that’s what friends were for—no judging—and it was high time I supported him in how he ran his life.
By the time the clock that sat on Sadie’s desk hit twelve, I stopped typing and wiggled my cramping fingers. The time had flown by, and sometime in the last hour I’d completely zoned out. It’d been nice to get out of my head for a bit; who knew data entry work could be so restorative? It was akin to meditation. This was what I’d been missing out on for the last three years. The experience of working again was freeing, and I knew the task wasn’t glamorous or anyone’s dream job, and it might even be temporary, but I’d take it with both hands in a heartbeat.
My stomach growled, and I wondered if I should wait for Sadie to return, but after it emitted another loud roar, I thought it best to go calm the beast.
I stretched my spine as I got up; I pushed at the heavy doors and stepped out into the main area of the office. It was a lot nosier out there, what with the lunch crowd anxiously waiting for the lifts to arrive. I took my place in the queue, off to one side, away from the little clusters of people. I was just about to step forward towards the waiting lift when a deep, sensual and familiar voice called out to me.
“Sara!”
I turned around and saw Harvey make his way through the crowd towards me, his employees immediately parting to let him pass. He was dressed, as always, in a fine grey suit, his tall and muscular build hidden but still detectable under the fabric. A bolt of electricity shot down my back as he came closer, his crystal-blue eyes staring at me.
“Oh, there you are,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “You’re in so much trouble!”
“Really? What have I done now?”
“Maybe I should let Sadie—you know, your secretary—have the honours of ripping you a new one?”
He closed the window on his sultry blue eyes and let out a breath. “Ah, yeah. I forgot to tell her… God, she is going to kill me, isn’t she?”