Chapter 5

On Monday morning, she woke up early and took a long, hot shower before setting out the outfit she would be wearing for her first day at work. She decided on the business suit look: a navy skirt and a matching jacket with a plain white blouse. It was what is considered professional wear for a high-end business. Checking herself in the mirror and satisfied with how she looked, she headed out and drove to Thatcher’s Real Estate.

When she got there and parked the car, she looked up at the glass building. She really wasn’t expecting such a large place. Taking a deep breath, she entered the building and was in awe of how expensive and beautifully it was decorated. Going up to the receptionist at the front desk, she gave the woman her sweetest smile. “I’m Rosalee Keller. I’ve been hired as Mr. Thatcher’s personal assistant. Can you direct me to his office?”

The woman looked up and smiled at her. “Just take the elevator to the top floor.”

“Thank you,” she said and walked towards the elevator. So far so good, she said quietly to herself. When she got to the top floor and stepped out of the elevator, she saw several cubicles and people working away on their computers. She looked around, wondering where in the world she was supposed to go now. Then when she noticed an elderly woman sitting behind the desk answering phones, she walked over to her and waited for the woman to get off the phone.

“Hi, how can I help you?”

“My name is Rosalee Keller. I believe Mr. Thatcher is expecting me.”

The woman checked her notes that were laying on the desk and looked up at Rosalee. “Ah, Miss Keller, welcome to Thatcher’s Real Estate. I’m Bonnie Kramer. Mr. Thatcher isn’t in at the moment, but let me show you where you will be working.”

Rosalee followed her down a hallway, and then they entered through a door into a large office area. There was a desk with a computer and other office equipment. On her left, there was what appeared to be another office, but it was all glass, and she could see inside. It was huge with a large desk. There was also a sofa and what appeared to be a minibar. She did see another door off to the side and assumed it was her boss’s private bathroom.

Bonnie walked over to the desk and turned around to look at her. “This is where you will be working from. I know you received the package that was sent to you, but we should go over a few things. The first thing you should know is not to bother Mr. Thatcher if he is on the phone or if the blinds are pulled down. As soon as he comes, you must take him a coffee right away, half a sugar, and just a smidgen of cream. Make sure you take your notepad and pen with you because often he will want you to take notes for him while he drinks his coffee.”

Rosalee looked around and smiled at Bonnie. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“You seem like a lovely young woman, so I will let you in on a little secret. He can be very grumpy and extremely bossy at times. He expects perfection and for his employees to do what he says without question. His bark is worse than his bite, and you will get used to his mood swings. On your desk is a list of people who have an appointment with him. The coffee machine is over there, and everything you need is in the tiny fridge. If there’s anything else you need, just buzz me.”

“Thank you, Bonnie. I guess I better get to work,” she said as she sat down behind the desk and picked up the list. She no sooner sat down when the phone rang. Picking it up, she used her most professional voice. “Thatcher’s Real Estate, how can I be of assistance?”

“It’s Thatcher here. I want you to cancel all of my appointments today and book them for tomorrow,” he said and hung up.

“How rude, no hello, please, or goodbye,” she said to herself. So she figured that everybody was right about the man. He was grumpy and would be hard to work for. She had no idea what he looked like, but she pictured him as a short, chubby, and balding man. She got on the phone and canceled all of his appointments and rearranged new ones just as he asked her to do. She did some filing, checked over a couple of the contracts that he had left for her to look at, and then after that, it was close to quitting time. She didn’t even take a lunch break because she wanted to make sure that she was up on everything. She needed to know all the clients’ names, the places that were for sale, and had been sold.

Even though she hadn’t met her boss yet, she still felt she had a very good and productive first day and even brought home some files to work on. Since the other two were away today, and she didn’t feel like making dinner, she decided to stop and pick up some Chinese takeout. By the time she got home, her arms were full, and just as she got to the apartment door, one bag ripped, and its contents fell onto the ground. “Shit,” she cursed out loud. As she was picking up the apples and oranges, she saw a man’s feet stopping in front of her. She looked up into a pair of gorgeous brown eyes, and the man was tall with blonde hair, his muscles bulging from the shirt he was wearing.

“Looks like you could use some help,” he said, bending down and helping to pick up the fruit.”

“Thank you, these darn paper bags rip so easily.”

“My name is Brett Winters. I’m your next-door neighbor.” His arms were full of oranges and apples. “If you unlock the door, I’ll carry these in for you since your hands are full.” When he saw her hesitating, he smiled, showing off his dimples. “I know you don’t know me, but Eve does, and she will tell you I’m quite harmless.”

She did remember Eve telling her about the neighbor and even suggested that she introduce them to each other. “She already mentioned you,” she said and opened the door to let him enter. He went right to the kitchen, which told her that he had been here before. “You can just set them down on the counter.”

“So you must be Eve’s friend from Texas. She told me you were coming to live with her for a while.”

She grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and started putting the apples and oranges into it. “Yes, but once I find an apartment that I can afford, I’ll be moving.”

“Is that Chinese food I smell?”

“Yes, I was too lazy to cook.”

“I love Chinese food. It’s one of my favorite things to eat.”

She had a feeling he was hinting around for an invitation, and she figured why not? “You’re more than welcome to stay and have some. I ordered way too much for one person.”

“Wow, are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” she replied, smiling back at him.

“Well then, since you’re supplying dinner, I’ll supply the wine. I have a bottle in my apartment. I’ll just run over there and get it.”

When he was gone, she grabbed two plates from the cupboard and some utensils and placed the Chinese food in the middle of the table. Before he got back, she checked herself in the mirror, not really sure why she did that. Maybe she just wanted to make sure her hair wasn’t messy.

He came back moments later with the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. “I know you’ve only been here for less than a week, but how are you loving Orlando?”

“So far so good, but I haven’t really seen any of the sights yet, and I just started my new job today.”

“I’d love to show you around. Perhaps this weekend, I could take you to some of the hot spots.”

“I guess that would be okay,” she said nervously. “I just want you to know that I’m not looking to date right now. I’m going to be busy with my new job, and it will involve some traveling.”

“Don’t think of it as a date, just think of it as a new friend wanting to show you some of the sights that we have to offer.”

He was being so sweet and understanding that she couldn’t stop from smiling. He was not only nice, but he was also gorgeous, and yet she didn’t feel any sparks between them. “Thank you, I could use a friend. Eve is great, but she’s away a lot, and when she’s here, so is her boyfriend.”

“Yeah, Rory.”

The tone in his voice when he mentioned Rory’s name told her that he was not a fan of Eve’s boyfriend. “It sounds to me like you don’t like him.”

“He’s okay, I guess. But he is so full of himself and thinks he’s a real lady’s man.”

“I noticed he’s a bit of a flirt, but she says that’s just his way and that he’s harmless. You don’t think he would cheat on her, do you?”

Brett shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure, but he is around a lot of sexy models, and I sometimes wonder what he does when she’s away on a photo shoot.”

“How come he doesn’t go on photo shoots with Eve? He is a photographer for models, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he is, but he works for Playboy, and Eve is a lingerie model for a different company. Rory is around naked women all the time, and sometimes I wonder if maybe he hooks up with them from time to time. But she trusts him, so I guess that’s all that matters.”

She got to know Brett during that meal. He had recently broken up with his girlfriend of two years, and he was in the army but was home on leave. He even helped her wash up the dishes when they were done, and after pouring one more glass of wine, they went into the living room and sat down to talk some more. She told him about her life in Texas and how her father disowned her when she moved out here.

“That’s a terrible thing for a father to do to his only daughter. I hope someday he realizes what he’s done and comes begging you for forgiveness.”

She felt the tears stinging her eyes when she thought of her father. “I don’t think that will ever happen. Once he makes up his mind, he never changes it.”

“Maybe in time, he will.”

She looked at the clock on the wall and knew she had to get some work done before going to bed. “It’s getting late, and I do have some files to go over before tomorrow.”

“I understand,” he said, getting to his feet. “Thank you for dinner and the wonderful conversation. So I will pick you up on Saturday and give you a tour of the city.”

She nodded her head. “I’ll be looking forward to it, and thank you for helping me with the fruit.”

“It was my pleasure, and it gave me the opportunity to get to know you. Good night, Rosalee. See you on Saturday.”

She put the empty wine glasses in the sink. She really liked Brett. He was so nice and easy to talk to, and what she really liked was that he didn’t hit on her. She also knew that there wasn’t going to be anything romantic between them, that it was just going to be a friendship. Besides, a man that looked like him was bound to have tons of women hanging all over him.

After spending a couple of hours going over the papers, she had a pretty good handle on the investments and properties that her boss was dealing with. Crawling into bed, she had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by Eve and Rory fighting. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but there were a lot of curse words and what she thought was dishes being broken. After twenty minutes of loud fighting, she heard the front door slamming shut and the sound of Eve weeping. Getting out of bed, she went to see if her friend was okay.

Eve looked up when she saw Rosalee walk into the living room. “I’m sorry, did we wake you up with our arguing?”

“I heard you fighting, and I just had to come out and see if you were okay.”

“I’m fine, it’s that damn Rory.”

“What did he do? Oh, I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s okay. We were arguing about his job. I’m so sick and tired of him taking pictures of naked women all day long. I accused him of cheating on me, and that’s what started the fight. I’m probably just being paranoid, it’s just that they are so young and beautiful.”

Rosalee went and sat next to her, putting her arm over Eve’s shoulder. “Oh, come on, you are much more beautiful than those women, and Rory is crazy about you. He’s just a flirt, and I bet you he’ll be around tomorrow with a bouquet of flowers and beg you to take him back.”

Eve wiped her eyes and smiled. “I know he will, he always brings me roses after a fight. I just got to trust him, but if I ever find out he did cheat on me, I swear to God I will kill him.”

After consoling her friend, they both went to bed. It was only six hours away before she had to get up and get ready for work. She was sure that she would finally meet her new boss, and after hearing so much about him, she was feeling a little nervous. But no matter what he was like, she was not going to let him see how nervous she was or let him intimidate her.