Book 2 - Chapter 7
1487 Words
Valerie
"Good morning, Derek." I greeted him. It was the end of my second week of work and I was enjoying every minute of it, pretty much. I didn't enjoy walking past Liz every morning and everyone else still gave me funny looks, and I'm pretty sure they talked about me behind my back, but I really enjoyed working with Derek. He has been nice to me and is easy to work with. I don't know why so many people were fired before. It wasn't hard work, and Derek was awesome. I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon if I could help it.
"Good morning." He said back, almost surprised to see me. He looked lost in thought.
"I left your breakfast on your desk," I said in a cheery voice.
"Thank you." He sighed.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, following him into his office.
"Yeah...no...." He shook his head, "I ugh, have another business that I run and its a mess right now." He said, flopping down in his chair.
"You are a busy man indeed. Anything I can help with?" I offered.
"No, but thanks." He smiled.
"Of course. I have three messages for you when you are ready," I began.
"Lay em' on me." He said, unwrapping the breakfast sandwich I had picked up on the way in this morning. I already ate mine in the parking lot before my shift started, knowing that he would be coming in a little late today. But normally I would eat with Derek. It was the only way he would stop and eat.
"Jeff said he would be heading back to the other office today. Don't wait up."
"Okay."
"Mr. Morroison called, he is interested in meeting with you next week, he wants to do business with you."
"Great, can you call his office and set something up?"
"Already done. You are meeting on Wednesday morning at 10am." I smiled.
"Fantastic, and the last message?"
"Your brother-in-law, Edward, called. He said he bought you some time but Howard would want an answer by springtime." Whatever that meant.
"Okay." He sighed.
"Today you have a phone meeting at 1pm with Mr. Brown about quickening shipments. And you also told Mr. Johnson that you would call him back by today to review his agreement with us."
"Perfect. Thank you." Derek sighed, savoring his nearly gone breakfast sandwich.
"Oh, and it's also been a week, can these come out?" I said, showing him my mostly healed hand.
"Mhm." He hummed, popping the last bite of his meal into his mouth. He pulled a sealed medical kit out of his desk drawer, clearly ready for me, and cleared a spot on the edge. "Sit." He said, tapping on the desk.
"Thanks." I said, adjusting myself on his desk so my skirt wouldn't ride up too high. I had a limited wardrobe, but Derek told me to use the company card to buy myself any new work attire I needed. I guess they paid for their employees' uniforms. I was just expected to dress nicely, so I had a world of options. I did order some stuff online but was still waiting for it to come in. We had a few delays with weather-related issues, so I sifted through what I already had, landing on a skirt that was just a little shorter than I liked for a work setting, but since only Derek and Jeff ever came by, I thought it would be okay. It's not like I was purposefully bending down and flaunting what my mom gave me.
"This healed nicely." He mulled over, gently removing what was left of each stitch. His touch was addictive. I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it on more than one occasion since starting here.
"Any fun plans this weekend?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the erotic show my brain was putting on.
"No, not really. How about you?" He asked.
"I'm going to be a hermit. Maybe I will do some studying, but I technically don't have to."
"Studying?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm in school to become a data analysist. I'm only in two classes right now though. Next semester I have two more and then I can take my finals."
"Huh."
God, his cologne was intoxicating. I know he said he didn't wear any but I swear he smelled like a campfire. Maybe he spent a lot of time outside when he wasn't at work.
"What do you do for fun?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"I don't have much time for fun these days." He sighed. "But I love being outside."
Ha! I knew it!
"Yeah?" I pushed. He nodded and continued working. "I like watching movies," I said, hoping that he would open up a little more. Our conversations were always very limited, Derek didn't talk much and kept everything very business. Which was fine, I just wanted a little less serious conversation at times. He was really the only person I talked to here.
"What kind?" He asked, surprising me.
"Just about anything. Except the ones where people are climbing out of the TV." I laughed.
Derek stared at me with a funny look for a moment before responding with "Huh."
I guess we weren't feeling very overly chatty today.
"There, all set. Good as new." He said, marveling at his handy work.
"Thank you." I said, hopping off his desk and straightening my skirt again.
"What are you two doing here?!" Trish came bustling in.
"Working." Derek deadpanned.
"Dont you watch the news?" She huffed.
"No."
"No."
We both answered together, shooting each other a look.
"There is a hurricane coming in, the weather is already getting bad. There is a driving ban starting soon. I link- I mean I emailed everyone last night telling everyone to stay home. I just came in to grab a few things and I'm out of here. You should be too." She scolded, heading out immediately after.
"Grab your things, I'll walk you out." Derek said, grabbing his keys and wallet.
I scrambled out of his office and to my desk, grabbing my jacket and purse while making a list in my head of what to grab at the grocery store before heading home. I was planning on going after work today, but I guess I will have to go now.
"Drive safe." Derek said from the elevator. "Get right home."
"You're not leaving?" I frowned.
"I am, I just forgot something."
"Okay, be safe." I nodded and threw on my jacket, heading out to the windy parking lot. I better hurry.
The drive to the grocery store was hectic, people were driving like maniacs and the storm hadn't even started yet, though it was evident that it would start soon. I was able to find a parking spot. Unfortunately, it was at the far end of the parking lot. I thought I was going to be blown away by the severe wind. There weren't any shopping carts available, so I grabbed one of the last baskets and began weaving through the cluster-f**k of people aimlessly grabbing all kinds of foods. I just needed a few things: eggs, milk, bread, lunch meat, frozen meals, pasta, pasta sauce, canned soup, cereal, salt, toothpaste...shoot. I needed more than I thought.
I roamed the aisles, flabbergasted that all of my normal food was completely wiped out. I was forced to buy fresh produce and raw meats. I guess I need to learn how to cook now. I wasn't overly thrilled at the idea, but having food was better than not having it. It took me longer than I would have liked, but I eventually made it back to my car without getting trampled or run over by a car. On the drive back home it began pouring rain. Of course, my left wiper needed to be replaced. I had to crouch the entire drive to see through the tiny clearing in the driver-side window.
When I arrived home, I quickly put everything away and changed into some fuzzy pajamas and my favorite purple bathrobe. I threw my hair up and then applied a thick layer of my green facemask. Time to bunker down. Maybe I can finally binge watch a few shows I have saved on my Netflix account. My school work was all caught up thankfully, so I didn't feel guilty about being a bum. I was several episodes into my show when I heard a pounding on my door. "Jessica?" I yelled, heading towards the door. I hope she is okay. The weather was getting worse by the minute. She normally kept to herself, I was usually the one reaching out. She was a severe introvert. Something must be wrong if she was coming to me first.
I opened the door, my jaw falling slack. "Derek?! What are you doing here?" I asked.
- Writer
