What You Need

Lila sat at her desk and typed up a report for her boss while he was in a meeting with the man who was going to be taking over his job. She was a secretary at an accounting firm. To be more specific, she was the administrative assistant to the director of the payroll department. Their job as the firm was to get hired by local business so they could handle their money and make sure the employees got paid.

The current director of the payroll department was Brian Fletcher. He was a 68 year old man who was retiring at the end of the month, which was in two weeks’ time. He and the owner of the accounting firm, Daniel Park had been interviewing candidates for the past two months. They wanted to find the right person to take over such a big role and after a long search, they found the person for the job. Despite the firm being so crazy since tax season was coming up, Lila still had a smile on her face.

She wasn’t smiling because the weather was getting warmer or because she was naturally a happy person. She was smiling because she just purchased concert ticks so she and a friend from work could go see Beyoncé in the flesh. She spent a majority of her paycheck on the tickets, but they were worth it. With the crazy tax season coming up, the concert was the only thing that was helping her push through.

She picked up her work phone and dialed the number to Daniel’s secretary, Georgia.

“Hey Georgia, it’s Lila. Do you think you can ask Daniel if it’s okay for me to come by and drop off a few folders for Brian? He forgot to bring them with him and he has a big meeting right afterwards.” She said as the black phone rested between her head and her right shoulder.

“Sure thing, give me a minute,” Georgia said in her usual happy tone. The only reason why Lila didn’t like Georgia was because she was too happy all the time. It scared her a bit on how someone could be cheery all day long. She picked off a piece of lint off of her favorite light blue, button down shirt as she waited for Georgia to return. “Daniel says its fine. They just got done finalizing things with the new guy who’s taking over Brian’s job. Daniel wants you to meet him.”

She thanked Georgia before hanging up the phone. She gathered up the folders that her boss had left behind and quickly checked her appearance before meeting her new boss. She wanted to be presentable when she met her new boss. She would have a hard time facing him if all she could remember what that she had food in her mouth when first meeting him.

She took the elevator to the top floor where Daniel’s office was and even made some idle chit chat with the FedEx delivery man. When approaching Daniel’s office, Georgia picked up her office phone to call Daniel to let him know that Lila was arriving. Georgia told her to walk right on in since they were expecting her.

“Ms. Ganji, it is nice to see you,” Daniel said with a smile. He was a smart, Korean man in his late 50’s who inherited the company from his father.

“It’s nice to see you too, Mr. Park,” she said with a sweet smile. “I’m sorry for interrupting but Brian forgot these important folders for his meeting afterwards.”

Brian chuckled, pushing his thick rimmed glasses up his nose. “Good thing I’m retiring. Speaking of which, I’d like you to meet Patrice Bergeron. This is the young man who’s going to be taking over my job.”

And a young man he was. He only looked a few years older than her, and here she was stuck as a secretary while was going to help run a multi-million dollar business. Being the gentleman that his mother taught him to be, Patrice stood up and held out his hand for her to take. As he approached her, she had a hard time deciding which of his features to take in first. His hair was a nice shade of dark brown and styled just right for the office. His eyes were a light shade of brown that almost matched hers. And if those eyes of his didn’t catch her attention, his flashy smile sure did.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Bergeron. I’m Lila Ganji and I’ll be your secretary,” she shook his hand firmly. His skin was warm and felt good against her cool skin.

“Call me Patrice,” he insisted. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

One of the corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he looked her in the eye. Her eyes looked so exotic compared to the eyes that he saw on an everyday basis. Patrice was a sucker for women with beautiful eyes.

Brian glanced down at his watch once Lila and Patrice let go of each other’s hand. He realized that he had to leave Daniel’s office at that moment to make it to his meeting on time. “Well I have to be off for my meeting,” he stood up from his chair and took the folders out of Lila’s hands. “Lila, would you be a dear and show Patrice around? You can take him into my office so he can fill out a request form for the furniture he would like to have and inform him on what’s expected.”

Of course it would have been rude to say no, so she agreed to. Patrice shook hands with both Daniel and Brian before everyone left the office to go on with their day. Lila led Patrice to the elevator where they stood in a somewhat comfortable silence. She could feel his eyes on her as they patiently waited for the elevator to reach their floor.

As she turned her head to look over at him, he turned his head away and acted like nothing had happened even though they both knew better. If he wasn’t so handsome and polite, Lila would have found him to be a little creepy. She had a smile on her face as she shook her head in disbelief. Was he really going to play that innocent game?

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Patrice followed Lila into the elevator. He stood right behind her as a few other people joined them on the elevator ride. He was far enough from her for it be to appropriate for the work place yet close enough for her to smell the faint scent of his cologne. She could see his reflection in the metal walling of the elevator and was thankful that he couldn’t see the smile on her face.

The elevators opened up at the 44th floor, where she asked him to follow her out of the elevator.

“So we share this building complex with at least 10 different companies. The floors that belong to our offices are floors 40 through 45. Your office is on the 44th floor,” Lila explained as they walked down the long hallway. He took a good look around the 44th floor and noticed how all the rooms and offices were lined with glass walls and doors. He was a man who liked his privacy and wasn’t too keen on the idea of a see through wall. “Don’t worry, all of the director’s offices are surrounded by wood and cement for privacy reasons.”

He laughed, “How did you know I was thinking about that?”

“By the look on your face,” she answered simply. “You’re pretty easy to read.”

Patrice stopped in his tracks as Lila continued to walk to his office. What’s that supposed to mean? He asked himself. Putting his thoughts to the side, he followed Lila to the end of the hallway where his new office would be. Outside of the big wooden doors was a desk which he assumed was hers. There was a coatrack against the wall that held her trench coat as well as one of Brian’s sweaters.

She opened up the office door and stepped aside to let Patrice walk in first. He thanked her before walking into his new office and took a good look around the room. There was a nice wrap around window that had a beautiful view of the city of Boston. His new office was a lot better than he expected and he couldn’t wait to start working there.

“So this is obviously going to be your new office. We have movers who come in and change things around. So you’re more than welcome to change things up as you please,” she explained as she walked over to Brian’s desk. She used the key that was wrapped around her wrist to unlock one of his desk drawers and pulled out a few things.

Lila spent the next fifteen minutes explaining what was going to expected from him from the firm. She knew it was a lot to take in but thought he did a good job handling himself. She even explained which break room on the 44th floor she preferred because not as many people used it. Afterwards, she decided to show him around the building, showing him the copy room, file room, and even the men’s room.

“So what sort of things did you do for Brian?” He asked as they once again stood in the elevator. She was taking him down to the cafeteria, where their tour would be ending.

“I make copies for him since he has a hard time learning how to use the copy machine,” she said with a smile. He laughed quietly before she continued. “And depending on the work load that day, he’d ask me to pick up his dry cleaning or buy his wife an anniversary present.”

He gave her a nod and understood where his boundaries laid. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his dress pants and followed her down the hallway. He heard the loud chatter of the workers as he opened the door for them to enter.

He whistled, “Wow this place is big.”

“It has to be to fit the amount of people we have working here. Over there is the hot line and deli then, and over there we have a drink station. You could even get your coffee here if you’d like, but it’s the same as the break room by your office.”

From the corner of her eye, Lila could see her former boss from two years ago. He was currently the director of the financial department and was where she had met her work friend. He was a couple of years older than Patrice was, but they were both young and successful for someone who worked in their department. He approached Lila and Patrice with a coffee cup in hand as his daily break came to an end.

“Lila, is this the guy taking over Brian’s job?”

She nodded her head as she smiled at him, “Greg Campbell meet Patrice Bergeron.” The two men firmly shook hands as she continued with the introduction, “Greg here is in charge of the financial department. He keeps an eye on all the money going in and out of the company. I used to work for Greg but I they offered me more money working for Brian.”

“Keep an eye out for her,” Greg advised with a teasing grin. “This one here is a trouble maker.”

Lila rolled her eyes as Patrice quietly laughed at Greg’s joke. “Don’t pay him any attention. He’s just jealous because I work for you instead of him. Why don’t you follow me so you can finally get out of here for the day?”

The two men shook hands again and said goodbye to each other before Patrice followed Lila out of the cafeteria. Together they stood in the front lobby where their tour was currently coming to an end.

“Thanks again for giving me the tour. I hope I won’t get too lost on my first day here,” he said with a shy smile.

She couldn’t help it when her lips tugged into a small smile. He was too nervous for his own good and she found it a little adorable. “You’ll be perfectly fine, besides I’ll be here to help you out,” she said, keeping up with her professional mannerism. “I can’t wait to start working with you.”

The following week after Lila had met Patrice, she was having lunch with her friend Rachel. She worked in the finance department under Greg and that was how the two girls met. With all the chatter that was going on, one would think they were in a high school cafeteria and not at a place of business. The girls had to talk a few octaves above their normal talking voice just so they could hear one another.

Rachel was enjoying a pasta salad she had bought in from home while Lila ate one of the sandwiches that she had bought from the deli line. As the girls were deep in conversation, Greg approached their table and joined them for lunch. He pulled out the empty chair that was next to Lila and decided to sit next to her.

“So what do you think of the new guy?” He asked, opening the lunch that his wife had packed him. Lila had met his wife Katie a few times over the years and she was the ultimate housewife. Beautiful, smart, and showered Greg with all the love she could give. She hoped that one day she could be supportive to her husband in the way Katie was. “He seems pretty cool.”

Lila shrugged as she placed her sandwich back down on the paper plate. “He’s actually the nicest person I’ve ever met. But it’s too early to judge him on anything else. I will admit that he’s handsome,” she added, making Rachel perk up. “I don’t think I’ll mind working for him.”

“Handsome, eh?” He smirked, “What, was I ugly or something?”

Without missing a beat, Rachel replied, “Yes. Lila and I still believe that you’re holding your wife against her own will.”

“Not that it's any of our business, Katie does whatever she pleases. But going back to your new boss, are you going to tell him how handsome you think he is this weekend at Brian’s retirement party?” Greg questioned, throwing his tie over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t get any stains on it.

Lila froze as they waited for her answer. “I actually didn’t know that Brian invited him. But no, I’m not going to tell him. I don’t need to embarrass myself in front of him, especially since I have to work for him. If I worked in the different department I may consider it.”

“Hell I’ll do it!” Rachel grinned, “Men do love us blondes after all.” She overdramatically flipped her hair over her shoulders, making both Greg and Lila roll their eyes.

“Rach, you don’t even know what the guy looks like. He honestly doesn’t even look like your type at all,” Lila held back a smile as she could hear Greg laugh quietly from beside her.

Rachel shrugged, “What’s your point? You said that you thought he was handsome, right? Handsome is my type.”

Lila shook her head at Rachel’s behavior before returning to her lunch. As they ate, Greg updated the girls on how Katie was doing and how his in-laws were going to be in town for the weekend. The girls adored the way he talked about his wife and how he wasn’t afraid to show how much he loved her. What girl didn’t want a man like that?

Once their lunch hour was over, they cleaned up their mess and went their separate ways. By the time Lila reached her desk, Brian was coming out of his own office with some files tucked underneath his arm.

“Lila,” Brian called out, placing a few folders on her desk. “Could you please put my calls on hold? I’m about to leave for my lunch meeting with Mr. Smith.”

She gave him a nod of the head. “Sure thing. Is there anything else that you need?”

“Actually, there is. Please be a dear and go down to human resources. They called earlier and informed me that Patrice’s work ID is ready to be picked up. I’d like to hand it to him when we see him this weekend for my retirement party.”

She wanted to roll her eyes. Of course Brian would inform her after she found out from Greg. With another quick nod of the head, she promised that she’d stop by human resources as she picked up her office phone to set his calls on hold. Brian left to go to his lunch meeting, leaving her to type of some of the reports that he had left on her desk. As soon as she finished with her work, she decided to head down to human resources. She didn’t have much else to do until Brian returned from lunch.

She had to sign a few documents to pick up Patrice’s ID and his company credit card for security reasons. While the person from human resources made copies of the documents, she found herself admiring is ID picture. No one took a good ID picture but of course Patrice would. Stupid son of a bitch, she sighed to herself.

Patrice was young, handsome, smart, and successful. The fact that he was also polite completed the whole package, and that angered Lila. She couldn’t understand how someone was so perfect and it intimidated her on how much she already liked him after one meeting. A part of her hoped that he turned out to secretly an asshole so he didn’t seem so perfect. With her luck, he would be the most charming boss she would ever had.

Lila was finally handed the copies of the documents and she could finally head back to her desk. She pulled out a white envelope and wrote Patrice’s name on it in her pretty cursive handwriting. She stuck the ID and credit card inside the envelope and stuck it in her desk drawer for safe keeping. When Brian returned from his lunch meeting, she pulled out the white envelope to hand it over to him. Brian refused, telling her that she should be the one to hand it over to Patrice since he would forget all about it.

“Besides, maybe you two can get a head start on getting to know each other that the party. I think it be a good idea!” Brian grinned, making the wrinkles of his skin bunch up together.

Well, if Brian thought that it was a good idea for her and Patrice to get to know each other, who was she to argue?