Set Fire to the Rain

It was a very busy Thursday morning at work, and I hadn't had a moments peace. Last night had been exhausting emotionally, from the nightmare and staying up late talking to Shannon. I'm sure I looked like death warmed over, though my co-workers were too polite to say anything. I briefly saw Kym and she was having the same kind of day as myself. She, however wasn't handling it very well; with all of the wedding plans weighing on her, she was in a mood. This was her last day at work for the next 2 weeks, so she had a lot of things to get in order before she took off. She could definitely use the time off after this. Planning a wedding was hard enough, let alone putting it together in only 4 months.

Mr. Grant called me into his office at the last second. "Ms. Cahrter, I had a last minute call from a VIP client and I need you to let me know as soon as they get here. We have a very important video conference call set up with the studios in LA for them, that needs to happen the second they arrive. So it's imperative that you be prepared for their arrival. I will also need for you to be on lunch duty for me. I will give you an extended lunch hour if you deem it necessary. Meaning, you can take up to 2 hours if necessary. You know I trust your judgement completely when it comes to these things. Any questions?"

"No sir. I believe I can handle it. Although, it would be helpful to know who it is that I will be assisting." I chuckled slightly, because Mr. Grant seemed overly frazzled for some reason and it was almost adorable because he never reacts this way.

He opened his mouth to speak when his assistant stepped into the large office and spoke, "Sorry to interrupt Mr. Grant, but your next meeting is waiting in conference room 2." She smiled widely at him and turned to me with scowl and walked out of the room.

"I'm sorry Eliza, I really need to go take care of this before the next client gets here. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon." With that he was gone.

Ok, what the hell just happened? He never answered the question, and his pain in the ass, brown nosing assistant, Jessica, was without a doubt ,following right behind him into his current meeting. Well, he did say I would know who it was, so I would have to trust that. Besides, it was one of those days anyway, why should this situation be any different. I made my way back to the front desk and continued to answer phones and greet clients. Kym came up front to visit for a few minutes when things slowed down at around 10:15, and we talked about wedding plans. Since I was one of her bridesmaids, I was having my hair and makeup done at her apartment in NY and Errik was kind enough to invite Shannon to hang out with him and the groomsmen for the day. Shannon had not decided if he was going to join them or not. The ceremony was taking place at The Midtown Loft and Terrace. The ceremony was going to take place on the terrace of the building that has the most spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline. It literally had a direct line of site to the Empire State Building. The reception was being held downstairs in their loft area. It was going to be spectacular. Kym and Errik were having the ceremony in the early afternoon so we would have an absolutely gorgeous view. Kym had been overseeing every single detail, hence the crazed lunatic that is my best friend right now.

"So how is Mr. Sexy as fuck drummer man? Have you two, ya know done the nasty yet?" She leaned in and whispered to me while wiggling her eyebrows.

I looked around the front frantically making sure that there wasn't anyone lingering around before answering. "Kym! Really!?"

"Really, El! And yes, now spill it, I need to talk about something other than my wedding for a little while. Please, I beg of you."

"Ughh." I put my head in my hands shaking it slightly, already knowing I was going to tell her what she wanted to know. Not like she didn't already. "No, we haven't. Not that it hasn't crossed my mind lately." I mumbled.

"For fucks sake, Eliza, what in the hell are you waiting for, marriage, or a personal invitation? I am pretty sure he is ready and very willing. The man is head over heals in love with you for gods sake!"

"Umm, yeah right. I know he cares about me, but love? We haven't been together that long, and I haven't been ready for THAT yet, so he is waiting for me. Though its getting very hard to control myself when I'm with him. The man is just so fucking sexy and beautiful and oh my god." Hanging my head I took a deep breath and sat silently for a moment.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I miss him so much it hurts Kym. This long distance thing really fucking sucks."

"I can't imagine how hard it is for you two. Just think, one more day and he will be on a plane to see his woman." She said giggling. "Can you answer something for me and be completely honest with me."

"Yeah, always."

"Are you in love with him?"

I could already feel the smile spreading across my face,knowing the answer in the depths of my heart and soul. "Yes, yes I am. I have never felt this way about anyone before. But it scares me, because we are still getting to know each other and this is the opposite of how things were with HIM. I was with him for years and I didn't know him at all. The day I said I do, everything changed. I'm fucking terrified. How do I ever trust my judgement again? And I know that Shannon is absolutely nothing like HIM, but it's just...... Ughh, I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"Don't over think this. What you two have is beautiful and you deserve what you have. Enjoy it and see where it goes. Don't destroy it before it has a chance. Trust your heart, and remember that you knew that you needed to leave fucktard, and you did. You knew it was a doomed relationship from the first night he hurt you and regardless of whether or not you saw it coming, doesn't matter. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and if you hadn't gone through what you did, you wouldn't have your two amazing kids, your amazing best friend; moi, and your smoking hot boyfriend that you absolutely need to do the horizontal mambo with. Just saying."

My phone buzzed signaling one of the executives was calling. "Eliza Carhter, front desk, how may I help you? Yes she is... I will let her know. Bye." I said looking up at Kym and winking at her.

"Playtime is over for me huh? How the hell does she know where to find me every single time? It's creepy."

"Sweetie, it's not all that hard to figure out. If you aren't here, you are getting yourself a coffee. And yes, playtime is over, boss lady is looking for you." I laughed. "Besides I have a ton of calls and other work to catch up on before this big client shows up."

"Ooh yay! You will either call or text me to let me know who it is right, and if its Jacoby, I want him to stop by and say hello to me. After all it is my last day before I go away on vacation."

"Are you sure you're ready to get married?" I winked at her.

"Hmmmmm, yeah I am definitely ready. But I can still flirt with a vengeance. Catch ya later sexy."

"Guaranteed beautiful." She hugged me and was gone bouncing around the corner, blonde curls flowing behind her. I couldn't help but laugh.

The next hour passed fairly quickly with people coming and going and the phone calls picked up to a frenzy. I was really looking forward to the end of the day, actually I couldn't wait for lunch. I really wanted to all Shannon. We had talked briefly this morning when I was on the train coming into work. He was still worried about me from last night. Shannon told me that he never hung up and we fell asleep together on the phone. It was the cutest thing I had ever heard. Admitting to Kym that I am in fact very much in love with Shannon was huge for me. Not only was she the first person that I had said it out loud too, but it was the first time I had said it out loud and known that I meant it.

It was close to 1:00, and upon hearing the elevator doors ding for what was probably the hundredth time today, I briefly glanced up to see who was stepping off, wondering if it might be the VIP client, but I saw a few of our employees step out of the doors and wave at me in greeting. I waved back and smiled. Looking back down at the paperwork in front of me. I heard the glass doors open and shut slowly and the employees walked through as I glanced up at them showing me their ID's as they passed by. I then saw the shadow of a man from out of the corner of my eye, standing in front of my desk waiting patiently for me.

"Excuse me, but I am here to meet with Mr. Grant."

When I heard the voice, I turned to look at the gentleman fully, my heart leapt. I knew him, and I was speechless. My hand flew over my heart to symbolically keep it from flying out of my chest and the smile that overcame me was mirrored on his beautiful, but exhausted face. Shannon began to walk around the side of the desk, and I stood and went to meet him, throwing my arms around him as tightly as I could, laying my head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent. I had missed it so very much.

"What, how? You are here to see Mr. Grant? I'm so confused." Still holding him, refusing to let go. He held on to me just as tightly.

"No, I'm not really meeting with Mr. Grant. But you are getting an extended lunch because I asked, and he happens to like me, and , happens to really admire you, by the way." We finally loosened our hold on each other, and I put one finger up signaling to hang on a second. I went to the phones and pushed the button for Mr. Grants office. I let him know that Shannon was here and we were leaving to go to lunch. He said that was wonderful, and that he was sending Jessica up to cover the phones. We could leave whenever we wished. I grabbed my bag, cleaned up my work and grabbed Shannon's hand. Then we walked out the glass doors to stand at the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. I looked back in at the desk and saw Jessica sitting down behind the reception desk then she looked at me with that damned scowl. I couldn't help but laugh, because I was so happy right now, I just didn't care.

So I looked at Shannon and I said,"I don't believe I gave my boyfriend a proper hello."

"Really, now?"

"Mmmm." So I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him as close as possible laying my hands on his chest and leaned in to kiss him. It didn't take long for the kiss to deepen. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me against him and he groaned into the kiss when I nipped at his bottom lip. The elevator dinged signaling its arrival, and we reluctantly pulled apart and stepped inside along with a few other people. We stood inside and held hands, as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"So where would you like to go eat? Anything in particular?" He asked me.

"Honestly, I don't care, as long as we are together and can spend as much time talking and being alone as possible. Though today is gorgeous. So wherever you would like to go is perfect to me."

"How about we pick something up and we can go to the park, have a picnic. Or we could stop at the cafe down the street and then head to my place afterwards." Wiggling his eyebrows jokingly at me and I busted out laughing.

"God I have missed you."

"No more than I have missed you sweetheart." And he leaned in to gently kiss my lips.

"Lets go to the cafe and head to your place. You look exhausted."

"Eh, nothing I'm not used too babe. But let's grab some grub and go spend some time together."

"Sounds perfect." I said as we walked off the elevator and out of the building into the beautiful summer afternoon together.