Glide With The Breeze

"Cassie," Vanessa said from just inside the door to her office. Cassie looked up from what she was doing. "Can you come in here for a minute?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure. Give me just second?" she replied. Vanessa nodded and disappeared back inside her office. Cassie made some marks on paper in front of her and then stood up and walked into Vanessa's office. "Are you firing me?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Not today," Vanessa assured her. She was working on something of her own and was silent for a few moments before looking up at Cassie. "Hi," she said. "How are you doing?"

Cassie looked at her quizzically before answering. "I'm doing fine," she said.

Vanessa looked at Cassie's hands resting on her stomach. "What are you, six months along now?" she asked.

She nodded. "Just about," she said.

"And how's that going?"

"It's great," Cassie said. "Is this going somewhere? Because if you just want to chat, maybe we should grab lunch or dinner sometime. I really don't mean to be an asshole, but I'm working on a bunch of stuff out there."

"Oh, of course," Vanessa said. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You're about six months along, as we just established, and I know you said that you're planning on working as far into the pregnancy as possible, right?" she asked. Cassie nodded. "Obviously there's a lot going on, with you doing both magazines and growing increasingly more pregnant with each day."

"That's how it works," Cassie said. "I'm fine, Vanessa, really."

Vanessa nodded and waved her hand in the air. "Sure. I was just thinking that maybe we could find someone to help you out," she said.

Cassie's eyebrows pulled together. "I'm not sure I follow. I have Angie, and the people that the three of us hand picked to work with us, and a few interns. How much more help could I possibly need?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of someone to help you, personally. You know, keep your schedule, help with paperwork, whatever you might need," she said.

"What, like an assistant?" Cassie asked. Vanessa nodded. "You don't even have an assistant, Vanessa," she said.

She laughed. "I'm aware. I'm also not six months pregnant. It's just temporary. Because, sure, you're fine now. But what happens when you get to the end of the seventh month and you're starting to feel tired and worn out, but you're stubborn so you don't take your maternity leave until well into your eighth month or even later," she said. "I'm just saying, I know you and I think it's a good idea."

Cassie was quiet for a minute, allowing everything Vanessa said to process before responding. When she couldn't come up with a good argument that might possibly be taken into consideration, she said, "Sure, I guess. If that's what you think is best."

"Perfect," Vanessa said. "I'll make some calls and get interviews started."

Cassie returned to her desk and got back to what she had been working on. It didn't seem like it was long before her stomach started growling. She looked at her watch to find that it was further into the afternoon than she thought and decided to take a lunch break.

She walked out of the office and down the street a few blocks to a sandwich shop she liked. She was only a few steps inside when she collided with someone on his way out. She stumbled backward but managed to catch herself before she fell. And when she looked up, she almost fell over once again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still in shock.

He looked at her for a moment. "Cassie?" he asked. "What are the odds?"

"Yes, what are the odds?" she repeated back to him.

He completely ignored her tone and opened his arms to hug her. "How have you been?" he asked as he moved toward her.

She put her arm out and pressed her hand firmly on his chest, keeping him at a distance and preventing the hug. "You probably don't want to actually try that, Nathan," she said. "Considering the way we left things last time you were in town."

"I really hoped you weren't holding a grudge," he said.

Cassie shook her head. "This isn't a grudge," she said, bringing her outstretched arm back down to her side. "A grudge would have been never speaking to you again for cheating on me. But I didn't hold one back then. I actually tried to be your friend because we were friends before all of that. But then, the last time you were here, I finally saw you for the person you really are. And I don't want any part of that in my life," she said. "What this is, is me protecting myself."

"About that," he began.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?" she asked, interrupting him.

"Can we just talk, please?"

"How's Stephanie?" she asked.

Nathan sighed. "There's a lot I'd like to say to you, Cassie. I was going to call you but I got scared you wouldn't answer," he said.

"You're damn right I wouldn't have answered," she said, her voice growing louder. People in deli were looking at two of them, listening to their argument. "You don't deserve even a second of my time."

"Alright, I guess that answers my question," he said, turning to leave. "It was good seeing you again, Cassie. Congratulations on your pregnancy."

She rolled her eyes at the back of his head as he walked out and disappeared around the corner. The baby kicked hard as she sighed quietly. "Oof," she mumbled to herself, placing a hand on her stomach and turning to walk to the counter.

After ordering, she decided to take her sandwich to go and headed back to the office. The more she thought about Nathan, the angrier she became. If she were a cartoon, her face would have been bright red and steam would have been coming out of her ears by the time she got back to the office.

Angie was sitting at her desk, staring at her computer screen. Cassie pulled her chair to her friend's desk and sat down, unwrapping her sandwich, but she was so mad, she could barely eat. Anger emanated off her to the point that it broke Angie's focus multiple times over the course of only two minutes. Finally, she looked at Cassie, who offered her a false smile and half her sandwich.

"How did you know I was starving?" she asked, taking the sandwich without second thought.

"I didn't, but at the same time, I'm not surprised," she said.

Angie grinned at her and took a bite. "What's got you so pissed off?" she asked, after she had chewed and swallowed.

"I ran into Nathan at the sandwich shop," she said. "Literally. And that son of a bitch tried to play it like nothing bad happened the last time we saw each other. He said he wanted to talk to me, like I would even want to look at his stupid face, let alone listen to him spout off a bunch of empty words," she ranted.

Angie raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Really?" she asked.

Cassie continued to rant on and off for the rest of the afternoon. Reaching a point where she couldn't listen to her repeat the same thing over and over, Angie got up from her desk and moved Cassie away from her own, putting all her work into her desk drawers and turning off her computer. She then grabbed Cassie's purse while simultaneously pulling her friend up from the chair and led her out of the office to her car.

Angie started the car but didn't take it out of park. She turned to Cassie and said, "As much as I would love to just take you home and let you continue your little rant to Alex, you need to calm your ass down. You have way more pent up anger toward Nathan than you should." Cassie opened her mouth to say something but Angie continued. "Yes, he's an asshole. Yes, what he did was incredibly fucked up. No, he doesn't deserve your time. But what are you doing right now? Wasting your time yelling about him. You're letting him get the better of you. And you need to stop. Now," she said.

Cassie sighed but said nothing, knowing Angie was right. After a few minutes, Angie put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking spot. They drove in silence. And in the silence, Cassie started to relax until she was finally calm, though still upset by what had happened.

When she pulled up in front of the house, Angie killed the engine. "I have to piss like a race horse," she said. "And I'm dying of thirst. Terrible combination," she said, unbuckling her seat belt and following Cassie inside.

Cassie kicked off her shoes just inside the door and the girls went in opposite directions. Angie to the bathroom, and Cassie toward the kitchen, where the smell of cooking food was drifting from. Her stomach growled since she hadn't eaten much of her sandwich and she stopped just inside the kitchen, watching Alex. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't even realize she was there until she spoke.

"Look at you being all domestic," she said. He jumped noticeably at the sound of her voice, but turned to look at her with a smile. "I don't think anyone would believe this unless they saw it," she said, walking toward him. "We've been together for how long and I had no idea you could cook."

He leaned over and kissed her when she got close enough. "I'm very closely following recipes," he said.

"It smells wonderful," she told him.

He grinned and kissed her again. "How was your day?" he asked.

"It was," she began and turned to the refrigerator. "Vanessa wants to get me an assistant because I'm pregnant. And there was no arguing with her so I just agreed," she said, pulling out two bottles of water from the refrigerator. "And when I went to get lunch, I ran into Nathan at the sandwich shop. So, I guess you could say I didn't have the greatest of days."

Without a word, Alex wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. After a minute he asked her, "Did you talk to him? What's he doing here?"

Cassie shrugged and Alex lifted his chin from her shoulder. "He didn't say," she said. "He did say that he wanted to call me but was afraid I wouldn't answer. And I told him he was right because he doesn't deserve my time. I just can't believe he even thought I would want to talk to him," she said.

Alex sighed quietly. "I'm sorry you had a bad day," he said. "But I am making you what I hope is going to be a great dinner." He kissed her neck softly. "And after dinner I'll give you massage so you can relax," he said, smiling against her neck before kissing it again. "But right now..." he said, trailing off as he kissed her neck again. He slid his fingertips down her sides, tickling them just enough to elicit a quiet giggle from her.

She squirmed, trying to get away from him. He tickled her a little more and she giggled again, this time successfully moving a few inches away from him. She turned around to face him and opened her mouth to say something to him but he grabbed her again.

"Come here," he said, laughing, as he pulled her toward him.

She had become much more ticklish over the course of her pregnancy and the way he was holding onto sides caused her to giggle again. She put her hands on his chest and he kissed her neck again.

"Alex," she said, still giggling, "Stop it. Angie's out there," she said.

"So what? She doesn't live here," Alex said, wiggling his fingers against her sides and nuzzling his face against her neck. "I love you," he mumbled against her soft skin.

Just then, Angie walked into the kitchen to get something to drink before heading home. "Okay, seriously. There's food cooking like eight inches from you guys. Not only is this," she said, waving her finger at them and then at the stove, "dangerous, it's also unsanitary." And without waiting for a response, she took the bottle of water that Cassie had set on the counter and walked out of the kitchen, yelling behind her that she would see Cassie the next day. When the front door shut, Alex resumed kissing Cassie's neck.

*****

Vanessa was alone in the office. Everyone had gone home for the night. She looked at the scrap of paper with a phone number written on it that sat next to a notepad on her desk. She pressed one of the line buttons on her phone and dialed a number, leaving it on speaker, and listened to it ring three times before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"May I speak with Matthew Flyzik, please," she said.

"This is Matthew," the voice on the other end replied.

"Hi, Matthew, this is Vanessa. I work with Cassie Black and Angie Santiago," she said.

"Yeah, I think we've met before. Hi," he said, "What can I do for you?"

"Actually," Vanessa said, "I was calling to see if you'd like to come in to interview for a job," she explained.

Matt laughed a little. "I'm sorry, I don't know what Cassie or Angie have been telling you, but I already have a job that I like very much," he said.

"I understand," she said. "However, I know that you have quite a bit of time off right now and I wanted to offer you the opportunity to interview with us and work during that time. We offer a competitive salary and full benefits, paid one hundred percent by the company. I'm also willing to negotiate a way for you to stay on as an employee once your other job resumes so you can keep those benefits."

Matt was quiet for a minute. "Can you tell me a little about the position?" he asked.

"Of course. It's an assistant position. You would be keeping on of our employees schedule straight, setting up appointments, helping with paperwork, and basically just making sure that person's job runs as smoothly as possible," she said, "I understand that's a part of your job as a tour manager and I really think you would be a good fit for us."

He was silent for a little while again, thinking it over. "Alright," he said, "When would you like me to come in?" he asked.

"Are you available tomorrow morning, around ten thirty?" she asked. "I know that's short notice, so if you're not available, we can work out another time."

"No, tomorrow at ten thirty is fine," he said.

"Wonderful," Vanessa said, writing on the notepad in front of her. "Why don't you give me your email address and send you all the details."