What You Need

Patrice laughed at a joke that Greg cracked as they exited their early morning meeting. The two men quickly became friends since their company had meetings almost every week. It was a very tiring job but he understood why there were so many meetings; they were handling money that was being used to pay the everyday people. He was glad that he had a friend like Greg to joke around with since he mostly kept to himself.

Approaching his office, he could see Lila busily working at her desk. He wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing but he could see her on the phone as she quickly typed on the keyboard. As he got closer and closer to her desk, he could see the slightly annoyed look on her face. He learned that whenever she had that displeased expression on her face, she was always talking to Georgia.

From the corner of her eye, Lila could see Patrice as he walked by. Despite being annoyed, she gave him a cute little smile and wave which he quickly returned. After shutting his office door, he let out a big yawn. He couldn’t believe that he wasn’t even 30 years old yet and that he was already this exhausted. He didn’t understand how some of his friends could also balance a wife and kids while having a full time job.

He yawned again as he draped his suit jacket on the back of his chair. By the time he sat down and was loosening his tie, Lila walked in with a few post-it notes in hand. After being on the phone with Georgia, she threw her hair up in a bun and tried making it look as neat as possible since she was still at work.

Patrice seemed to like it when her hair was up. It exposed her smooth neck and he found himself mindlessly licking his lips.

“So I have a few messages for you,” Lila announce as she stood next to him. Patrice listened intently as she sat on the corner of his desk. “You got a call from the lawyer that’s working on the publishing company’s case and he said to call him when you get a chance,” she placed one the yellow post-it note on his desk before continuing. “And someone named Andrew Ference from the Planet Organic Market called you.”

Patrice raised his eyebrows. It had been a while since he last heard that name and it was a name he wasn’t expecting to hear. “Did he say what he needed?”

She shook her head as she placed Andrew’s number down on his desk. “No, only that he needed your assistance with something. He said it wasn’t urgent but he wanted the best and apparently that’s you.”

“Oh so you don’t agree with him?” He picked up the post-it note with Andrew’s number on it and placed it on his computer monitor as a reminder to call him.

She laughed, “Well I don’t disagree agree with him. Although you do seem a little young to be handling this. I mean, you’re not even 30.”

He was going to ask how she knew how old he was but remembered that she saw his work file. “I turn 29 in July,” he sighed a little, realizing just how old he really was. “How old are you?”

Lila gave him a teasing smile. “You’re not supposed to ask a woman her age! Now, if you’ll excuse me, Georgia needs me. If I don’t return in 15 minutes call the cops because she’s most likely behind it.”

Patrice smiled and wished her luck on working with Georgia. It took him everything that he had to not watch her walk out his office. He tried to focus on something, anything that would keep his attention off of her. After working with her for almost two and a half months he learned that she had two different khaki colored skirts. The only difference between the two skirts was that one had a little slit on the back. He liked both, but he preferred the one with the slit because it showed off her legs a little more.

Ever since he ran into Lila at that sports bar a couple of weeks ago, he hadn’t been able to look at her in the same way. He thought that she was beautiful the first day he met her, and now he learned that she had the personality to match. The thoughts that Milan had put into his head weren’t helping much either.

In reality he wasn’t sure how he was really feeling. He had no idea if there was a possible crush developing or if he was just flustered from being around a pretty woman all day long. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been with a woman so maybe that was the reason why he felt flustered around her.

Patrice began focusing on the paper work in front of him and was able to get a lot of his work done before lunch. Looking at his watch, he tossed his pen on his desk before fixing up his tie and walking out of his office. Lila had her purse slung over her shoulder and the two began walking towards the elevator together. They were having lunch with Rachel and Greg, something that they had been doing almost every day ever since the night at the bar.

“Would you please stop shaking your leg?” Rachel’s head snapped in Greg’s direction. “God, why am I always stuck sitting near you?”

“It could be worse. You could be in my situation and have to hear yourself talk.”

The small group broke out into laughter as Rachel gave Greg a dirty look. She threatened to tell his wife about his rude behavior but he only responded by mocking her. The two began to playfully shove each other to the point where Greg almost had her out of her seat.

Patrice learned that Rachel had a mouth on her and was easily annoyed by the littlest of things. Greg had a great sense of humor and was madly in love with his wife. He also learned that Lila was somehow a very relaxed girl despite growing up with three brothers.

There were a lot of things that Patrice knew about his new friends that they didn’t even know he knew. He was quiet. A listener. An observer. That’s why he enjoyed Rachel’s crazy personality and all the family orientated stories that Lila told. He liked learning new things about people but he didn’t always like talking about himself.

“So Patrice,” Greg spoke up, “where did you work before you came here?”

He sighed, well so much for not wanting to talk about himself.

“I used to work at an accounting firm,” he replied. “It’s over at 5th and Riverton Ave.”

Patrice began chatting away about his old job as Greg and Rachel listened intently. From the corner of his eye he could see Lila looking down at her food as she quietly listened. She was the closeted know-it-all secretary and it worried him about what she already knew about him.

After lunch, Patrice sat in his chair as he gazed out the window. He wasn’t staring at anything in particular, it was hard to since his office was so high up. He mostly paid attention to the cars driving by in the streets. He began playing a little game in his mind, trying to figure out which direction the car was driving in.

He felt a slender hand on his shoulder, making him snap out of his little game. Lila gave him an apologetic smile as she handed him a paper that needed to be signed.

She hesitated, “do you miss working at your old job?”

“No,” he said firmly.

“Do you miss her?”

Patrice sighed deeply and scribbled his signature on the piece of paper. It was hard to read the look on his face because he was still a closed book, but Lila was determined to know the answer. He didn’t verbally respond to her question, he only shrugged.

“Word around the street that the company that hired her in New York went bankrupt. Now she’s working in East Bumblefuck.”

He laughed, “Bumblefuck?”

“Okay well I don’t remember the name of the city but you get the gist of it,” she said with an eye roll. “The point is, you got the better end of the deal. I’m sure back then it sucked but you have an amazing job right now. Plus, you have one hell of a secretary!”

“Yeah, she’s alright I guess. A little nosey for my liking,” he teased. “How did you find out about her anyway?”

“We secretaries like to gossip about our bosses. I know more about you than you think.”


It was a rainy day in Boston, in fact it had been raining that whole week. That morning was the worst of them all, causing Lila to be late for work. She rushed down the hallway, shedding off her damp trench coat as she also tried to balance her purse and umbrella in her arms. She was 15 minutes late to work and hoped that Patrice understood why she was late. She walked into his office only to be greeted with an empty room.

Sighing in relief, she headed to the break room to make herself a cup of tea. She was glad that she was able to take a breather before Patrice arrived for the work day. He had a few meetings that day and she was a little behind on paper work.

Returning to her desk, she noticed that there was an unfamiliar man sitting on one of the chairs that were aligned against the wall. He was an older man for sure, but not too old where he reminded her of her father. Thick rimmed glasses framed the gentle features of his face as his smooth face completed his suave and sophisticated look.

“Excuse me, can I help you with something?” Lila asked the man, putting her tea cup on her desk.

The man quickly stood up, startled by her voice. “Uh, yes. I’m looking for Patrice Bergeron. My name is Andrew Ference and I’m with the Planet Organic Market.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh you’re Andrew! It’s nice to meet you,” she smiled as she held out her hand. “My name is Lila, I’m the one who spoke to you on the phone. I’m Patrice’s secretary,” she clarified.

“It’s nice to put a face to the name,” Andrew’s lips curved into a smile as he shook her hand.

Now that she got a closer look at him, she could see how handsome Andrew was. He had a strong, defined jaw line and a slender nose that was crooked just ever so slightly. His features were mature, giving away his age but boy did he know how to pull it off. His ears were a bit small compared to his head, but with a face like his it wasn’t even noticeable.

She had to admit, she was intimidated by him. But in a good way.

“Um, why don’t you sit back down? I’ll go call Patrice and see where he is.”

The smile he gave her in return made her weak in the knees. Before she could make herself look like a fool, she turned on the balls of her feet and made her way into Patrice’s office. She sat in his comfortable chair and picked up his office phone to reach him on his cell phone. They chatted for only a few minutes before hanging up so she could return to Andrew.

“Patrice said that he was still stuck in traffic,” she said with a frown. “He’s not too sure on how much longer he’ll be. If he’s not here within 15 minutes he said the two of you will have to reschedule unless you don’t have anything else to do.”

“Well, maybe if he’s late it’ll give me another reason to see you again.”

Lila had no idea who this man was or even where he came from. She was already taking such a liking to him and it frightened her. A lot.

Together, they decided to wait for Patrice in the break room to make sure they didn’t disturb any of the other workers. He made himself a cup of coffee as she sat there sipping her tea. Over the next 10 minutes, the two got to know each other pretty well. He was a divorced man with two beautiful daughters and already she could tell that those girls were his world. He wasn’t surprised to find out that he was a whopping eight years older than she was. He was secretly hoping that the age gap was smaller.

Andrew had her laughing loudly as Patrice entered the break room. An uneasy feeling made his stomach churn as he stared at Lila and Andrew sitting together. He didn’t understand why. She was just his secretary and Andrew was a dear friend of his.

Once Andrew’s eyes landed on Patrice, he stood up with a big smile and open arms. The two men embraced each other tightly since this was the first time they were meeting in almost two years. Lila was surprised by how well the two men knew each other, she just figured that they had done some business in the past.

“It’s good to see you, man! Look at you, you’re getting old,” Andrew teased.

“Still younger than you,” Patrice elbowed him in the ribs.

He and Andrew joked around for a few minutes before Lila quietly slipped out to finish up some work. She was so focused on her work that she didn’t even notice them walk by to have their meeting in Patrice’s office.

The company that Andrew worked for was trying to expand its business so of course he pitched the idea to open a store in Boston. For months he and his company were busy at work building the store from the bottom up and needed Patrice’s help with the money.

“So, how do you like it here so far?” Andrew asked once the business part of the conversation was over.

“It’s not bad, honestly. The hours can be a little crazy at times but I’m still enjoying it. They gave me one hell of a view.”

Andrew took a good look around the office. There was a modern, black bookshelf against the wall that held a mix of books and personal items. Behind Andrew were two black leather sofas and a glass table where Patrice spent most of his late nights. Everything was such an upgrade from Patrice’s last job and he looked twice as happy as well.

“You’re not working in a cubicle anymore, you’re getting getter a better pay, I’m happy for you,” Andrew said with a sincere smile.

“Yeah, no more reminders of Abby either,” Patrice glanced down at his hands before clearing his throat. “So what do you think of Lila? She’s nice, right?”

Andrew quickly nodded, “yeah, she’s a beaut. You lucked out on her.”

“I think you’d like her once you’d get to know her. Looch likes her a lot.”

“Looch likes anything in a skirt with a pretty face.”

Andrew was one of his older, more mature friends that he knew he could open up to. He knew all the dirty details on what happened between him and Abby and he was thankful that he had someone he could turn to. It wasn’t the norm for men to be so open about their feelings so it was nice to know that Patrice had such a great friend looking out for him.

There was a comfortable silence in the room as Andrew stood up to stand next to Patrice. Both men were looking out on the city of Boston, amazed that they had come this far in life. It wasn’t too long ago where both men were struggling to be the best that they could be at their jobs. They both hated their jobs but dealt with it because they needed the money, Andrew especially. Now they both did what they loved and couldn’t be happier.

“That Lila, she’s something else, isn’t she?”

“She’s great,” Patrice nodded. “I like her a lot.”

“Like her as in…”

Patrice glanced down at Andrew. “Not like that. No more office romances.”

Andrew smirked, “good because I was going to ask you for her number.”

“She’s way too young for you. You wouldn’t know what to do with her.”

“I think I would know what to do,” Andrew said as he followed Patrice. “I was married after all.”

It was Patrice’s turn to smirk. “Yeah and look how well that ended.”

Andrew rolled his eyes but said nothing as Patrice held the door open for him. Lila was sitting at her desk, busy at work as she normally was. Once she heard the office door open, she looked away from her computer monitor and smiled when she looked at Patrice.

She had never seen him so open before and liked seeing this side of him. He was louder, laughed more, and didn’t come off as shy and quiet. It was so different from what she normally saw and she wanted to see more of it.

“Alright man, I’ll call you as soon as I find something out,” Patrice said as he embraced Andrew for another time.

“You better, I’m counting on you,” Andrew patted his friend’s shoulder before walking over to Lila’s direction. “I’m terribly sorry that our meeting was so brief but I hope I get to see you again soon.”

Lila laughed as Patrice rolled his eyes. “Leave her alone,” he said, pushing Andrew away from her. “She doesn’t like creepy old men.”

Andrew sighed, “You’ll gave to excuse him. He didn’t get hugged enough as a child so that’s why he’s so cold.”

“That does explain a lot,” Lila played along.

“Okay, I’ll let you guys get back to work. Patrice you better call me soon with good news. And Lila, thanks for keeping him out of trouble. You’re a doll, keep up the great work.”

Lila laughed as Andrew said his final goodbye. Patrice shook his head as Andrew was already up to some of his old antics. Despite being a father he was still a big child himself.

“I like him,” Lila said after a moment.

He looked down at her, surprised to hear such a thing so suddenly. “Why?”

“He makes you smile. You should do it more often, looks good on you.”

She gave him a shy smile, hoping she didn’t overstep her boundaries. Since he didn’t say anything, she figured it was okay. After a moment, he looked almost embarrassed at the compliment.

“Get back to work.”