It’s time to put my professional face on. Time to act like I know what the hell I’m doing.
“We’ll continue this later,” Sonia murmurs. “Dinner in my home tomorrow night.”
“But—”
“Or the next night. Or the night after that. Whenever Luke stops asking you out for a meal, I’ll take that slot. Regardless, young lady, I assure you, we will continue this discussion.” She pauses for a moment, schools her face, then pushing to her feet and setting her tea down, she tosses the file to me, and makes her way to the door.
I get only a second to scan the front page of the file. Jason Donnerson. Thirty-seven years old. Six feet, three inches tall, two hundred pounds neat. Light brown hair, green eyes.
And then Sonia opens the door and welcomes her new client in. “Hello. You must be Jason. It’s so nice to meet you.”
She extends a hand, and though Jason takes it, his eyes remain on mine. “Likewise.” His voice is deep and provocative, charged and playful. He breaks eye contact when I glance away, and looking back to her, he pumps her hand just once. “I’ve heard wonderful things about the ladies of Rivera offices. You come highly recommended from the guys down at work, so I figured I’d come on in and see how we could mesh.”
“Well, welcome. Ally, have you—” For the first time perhaps ever, I think Sonia might be the least in-touch person in the room. But it only takes her a second. A single second to catch up. “Do you know each other?”
“No, it’s not—” I push to my feet, but stumble a little when Jason swings his hand around and takes mine. My new bracelet jingles on my wrist; a silly unicorn, a child’s bracelet from a vending machine, but quite possibly the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.
“We met just this morning.” Jason speaks to Sonia, but peers deep into my eyes and shakes my hand. “We’re staying at the same hotel, so I saw her as I was coming out of the building.”
“Oh, well…” Sonia frowns and watches as our hands part. I refuse to wipe mine on my thigh. I refuse to acknowledge the electrical current that runs beneath my skin from his touch. “Are we… Is everything… Hmm.”
“Everything is absolutely fine.” I force a smile until it ceases to be forced, and instead becomes real. “I’m sorry. I was just taken aback for a second. It’s good to see you again, Jason. Welcome. Can I offer you a glass of water or something while Sonia and you speak over the formalities?”
“Oh… uh… sure.” He does what I refused to do; he wipes his hand on his pants, then clears his throat as he sits on the two-seater when I point that way. “Water would be great. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be just a moment.”
I rush out of the office and into reception, but I make sure to snatch my phone as I pass the table. I’m certain Sonia saw my hands, but I doubt Jason did too. And really, who cares if he did? It’s a phone, not a damn explosive.
I rush past Calla’s desk, and hit dial on the run. The very second the call connects, I blurt out, “Mom?”
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“Nothing. I just…” My breath is coming faster. Harder. Like I’ve been running a race. “Nothing. I’m at work, and I spent the night with Luke, and—”
“Allyson!” Mom focuses on the one thing I’ve kind of already moved past. “You slept with the cute twin?”
“Yes.” I stop at the water tower and grab a sparkling crystal glass from the tray to the left. No plastic here. Sonia is much too dignified for that. “Yes, I did. And it was amazing and magical and so, so good.”
“You dirty girl. And this morning?”
“We kissed goodbye, and made plans for tonight. But that’s not why I called.” I frown when the sound of wind rips through our call. “Where are you?”
“On my way to work. I’m running late, because I spent the night with a man too.”
“Mother.” I roll my eyes and finish pouring Jason’s water. “He was your husband. And it’s nice you visited with him. Did you tell him I said hey?”
“Of course, darling. Now tell me why you called.”
“Oh! Right. Er… I feel like I may be having a mini crisis, so if you have any words of wisdom, I’m all ears.”
“Okay… what’s your crisis?”
“Well, I can’t exactly explain it. There are ears close by, if you get me. Plus, client confidentiality issues to consider.”
“Oh… okay. A client, gotcha. Hmm… It’s hard for me to comment if I don’t have details.”
“Fortune cookie it for me.”
“Vague and general sweeping views? Got it. Uh, tell the truth, always. Don’t panic, it’ll give you wrinkles. And if you think this won’t be a problem five years from now, then don’t let it take more than five minutes of your time. It’s not worth it.”
I remain silent for a minute. Contemplative. Strategic. Then I nod. “Alright. I’ve got it.”
“Problem solved?”
“Yeah. Maybe. I think so. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you later.”
“With details?”
“Details about Luke, sure. But details about this other thing, no. I can only give you generalities.”
“Well, now I’m intrigued. Give me what you can later. Call me on your lunch break.”
“Will do. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, honey. Kick ass today.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and navigate across to my text screen, and finding Luke’s last message, I hit reply, and type out Thinking of you. Talk to you later. Don’t get beat up too bad. Hitting send, I lock my phone screen, draw a cleansing breath, then I get on with my life.
I pass Calla’s desk again, smile to let her know I haven’t completely lost my mind – though I doubt a smile would be confirmation of that – then I stop at Sonia’s door and softly knock to announce my return.
Stepping into the office, my confidence falters when Jason’s eyes come to mine and stare. Deep and penetrating. I was coming in here to be the epitome of professionalism. To be kind but detached. Compassionate but businesslike. But the way he looks at me, the way his eyes try to dig into my very soul, makes me falter.
“Ally, come on in.” Sonia smiles and gestures toward the chair I so often occupy, so I set the glass of water down in front of Jason – on the table, rather than handing it to him and risking us touching – then I sit down and cross my ankles. “I’ve just finished explaining to our new friend your role inside this office. I explained that you’re finishing up your bachelor’s degree, you’ll be taking notes, and at some point at the end of the semester, you may be required to submit an essay or something equivalent, in which you might reference clients you’ve met in your time here, though you will not use names or identifiable details. Have I covered everything?”
“Um… yeah.” I cough to clear the odd croak from my voice, then I look to Jason and smile. Because this doesn’t have to be weird. He’s just a guy that Luke brushed up against. Just a guy who is new to town. That’s it. “That’s the extent of it. If you do not wish for me to be in your sessions, it’s really not a problem. If you say yes today, but change your mind next time, that is also okay. These sessions, this hour with Sonia is all about you. I’m just a fly on the wall, and if that fly bothers you, then I can be gone, and you can continue on like I was never here.”