What You Need

“Hi it’s Lila, I just wanted to let you know that I just picked up your package from the post office. I’m going to go on my lunch break now so I should be back before your meeting with Reading House is over.”

Lila left Patrice a voice mail while exiting the post office. The small, brown package was tucked underneath her arm as she looked about her surrounding area. There was a taco kart nearby but the food didn’t look all too appetizing. She wanted to grab something quick and easy to make sure she was back to her desk on time. Patrice was packed with back to back meetings and if he was busy, she was going to be busy as well.

Instead of standing in the middle of the sidewalk, she decided to walk back to her car so she could head back to work. She was hoping that she would pass by a little restaurant that would catch her eye. She was getting tired of the food they served at work and wanted a little something different. As she passed by the front door of the Boston Harbor Hotel, she found Andrew on his phone with his suitcase close by.

The firm and Andrew had a meeting early that morning and now Andrew was heading back home to Edmonton. She didn’t know how long it would be until she got to see him again. She knew there was another meeting in a few months but she wasn’t exactly sure when.

As soon as Andrew saw Lila approach him, he quickly excused himself from the phone call and greeted her with a smile.

“Hey, what are you doing down here?”

“Patrice needed me to pick up a package. And sorry I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to your back at the office. I had a lot of stuff to prep for Patrice’s next meeting,” she apologized.

“You can make it up to me by going out to lunch with me.”

She tightened her grip on the package that was still underneath her arm. She swore that even he could hear the wheels that were turning in her head. “Don’t you have to get to the airport?”

He simply waved it off. “Ah they just tell you to be there two hours early in case. Come on it’ll be quick. There’s a great sandwich shop by the airport and I promise you’ll be back at the office before Patrice will even notice.

All it took was for him to smile at her to get her to agree. They took her little beat up car since there was now no need for him to take a cab. The ride to the sandwich shop was pretty much quiet except for the occasional direction he would give every now and then. When they pulled up to the sandwich stop, she realized that she passed by it all the time but never gave it a second thought.

“I would’ve never thought to come here for food,” Lila admitted. The odd décor suggested that it was more of a tattoo shop than a sandwich shop. There was a wall that was painted with nothing but naked women. “Ah, now I see why you like it here.”

“Don’t look at me, your boss was the one who told me about the place.”

Punk rock music was softly playing and every once and a while she could hear Andrew hum along. She looked up at him once she had caught him singing along to one of the Rancid songs she vaguely knew. He stopped once he realized he was caught.

“What? It’s a good song!”

She held her hands up in defense. “I never said anything. I just looked at you, that’s all.”

Andrew rolled his eyes as their number was called out. He grabbed their takeout containers while he told Lila to find a spot to sit at. It was early in the afternoon but the place was pretty busy. She managed to find a little table by one of the windows in the front of the shop. They were sitting at a table where motorcycles were painted all over the lamp shades.

“So you excited to go back home?”

“Yeah, I miss my girls a lot,” he admitted. “Ava had a school play and she had the role of the Sugar Gumdrop Princess.”

Lila smiled at the thought of Andrew with his daughters. Anyone could tell that he loved them by the way he talked about them. “I bet she was the prettiest princess anyone had ever seen.”

“If you keep complimenting her like that you’ll end up being her best friend.”

“I bet she got that from you.”

Andrew crimpled up his napkin and threw it at her head, only it bounced off her forehead and landed back into his lap. They laughed together and even though the shop was filled with people they still received some looks from people for being so loud.

They enjoyed their lunch together and before they knew it, they were finished and Lila had to drive him to the airport. After parking her car, she popped open the trunk so he could get his suitcase. She looked back up at him, not knowing what to even do or say next. She didn’t understand how he could make her feel so nervous and relaxed at the same time.

“Thanks for driving me.”

“Thanks for lunch, I had a lot of fun,” she said carefully.

Andrew watched as she reached for the napkin that was on the middle console of the car. Grabbing a pen from her purse, she began scribbling down her number. Once folding it in half, she handed it over and watched as he took it from her hands.

“So now you’re giving me your number?”

“Well if you don’t want it I can just take it back.”

She pretended to reach over for the napkin and felt her heart leap as he pushed her hand away. “Shut up, of course I want your number. I’ve been wanting it since we first met.”

“Did you just tell me to shut up? What are we, 13 years old?”

“Didn’t you just hear me say how I’ve been wanting your number since we first met?” He asked with an amusing smile. He liked teasing her, even if it was something as simple as this.

She rolled her eyes, “of course I heard you but don’t think I’m gonna freak out over it.”

“Well of course I don’t expect you to do it now. You’ll to it later when you’re at home.”

“Yes, exactly - ah fuck,” Lila curse, realizing what Andrew had done. He laughed loudly at her embarrassment as she buried her face in her hands. “Get out! Get out of my car,” she laughed along as she attempted to push him out of the car.

Andrew grabbed her wrist so she would stop pushing him. Before Lila could even register what was happening, she felt his lips against hers. His lips were a bit rough but they felt warm and tender. He let go of her when he felt her kissing him back.

His stubble rubbed against her skin and it was a sensation she wasn’t used to. She couldn’t explain why but the rough hairs felt nice against her sensitive skin. So she couldn’t help it when she let out a tiny whimper.

“Oh god, okay I think I need to go. I – I can’t miss my flight,” Andrew pulled away and tried to gather himself together. “Thanks again for the ride. Is it too early if I call you later tonight? I don’t know if that whole 3 day rule still applies.”

She laughed quietly, “Andrew just relax. You can call me whenever you feel like. Forget about those rules. Now you seriously need to leave or else you’ll miss your flight.”

Andrew gently kissed her cheek before exiting the car. She watched him as he grabbed his luggage out of the trunk of her car. He gave her a cute little wave before walking inside the airport to head back to Edmonton. On the drive back to work, Lila had a smile on her face the entire time. She almost forgot to bring in the package that she had picked up earlier because she was in her own little daze.

She figured Patrice was still in his meeting, so she walked right in his office with that smile still on her face. She was surprised to find him already sitting at his desk with his lunch on the table. She could hear him watching the highlights of the Red Sox game from his computer as she approached his desk.

“So you’re back early,” Lila awkwardly said, placing the package on his desk.

“The meeting ended early.” He watched her body movement and something seemed off. She wasn’t in her usual attitude and things had seemed perfectly fine before she left. “Are you alright?”

She nodded her head, trying to keep herself together in front of her boss. “Yeah, just a little tired that’s all. Do you need me to do anything before I start logging in the time charts?”

“Can you call Andrew and let him know that we’re on for our next meeting?”

Lila just nodded her head again before she left Patrice’s office. She tried to focus on her work but everything was distracting her. And by everything she really meant Andrew. Things had escalated so quickly and never in a million years would she expect to kiss him. Things with him were moving faster than she wanted but that was partly because he lived in another country.

She didn’t know when she was going to see him again and she wanted to make every moment worthwhile.



Patrice and Milan were watching the Red Sox game together on a Sunday night as they shared an extra-large pepperoni pizza. It was now the middle of May and Patrice couldn’t wait for summer time to arrive. It was his favorite time of year because he loved the warm weather. He just wish he had a job with hours that were much more flexible so he could enjoy the sun.

“So have you heard from Ferry lately?” Milan asked, “Apparently he and that secretary of yours have a little thing going on.”

Patrice began choking on his pizza. His sudden reaction made Milan rise one of his eyebrows up in confusion. He handed Patrice the cup of water he had been drinking out of to help calm the choking down.

“What do you mean there’s something going on between them?” Patrice asked moments later.

Milan lazily shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know man. I called him up the other day and he was really happy for some reason. Thought it had something to do with his kids but eventually he told me that he and Lila had been talking for almost two weeks. Don’t know how an old dud like that got her number though.”

“That doesn’t mean that there’s something going on. They could just be friends,” Patrice said defensively.

“You have a point,” Milan said, reaching for another slice, “but it sounds like more to me by the way he wouldn’t shut up. I figured even if there’s nothing going on between them, at least he’s talking to another girl. He hasn’t even looked at another woman since the divorce and now he’s getting a school girl crush over Lila. Plus she’s like my age, I’m proud of him.”

Patrice would’ve been proud of Andrew too if the girl wasn’t Lila. Their attention quickly went back to the baseball game when the opposing team had scored a home run. Every once and a while they would yell at the TV but they didn’t really exchange any other words. Patrice tried to focus his mind on the game as much as he could but Lila would often creep into his head.

He didn’t know how to feel or what to think. He and Lila had only flirted a few times, even exchanged a hug or two, but nothing more ever happened. And Andrew was one of his best friends, so of course Patrice was happy for him for finally getting a woman’s number. But he didn’t understand how Andrew got her number when he didn’t even have it.

A part of him knew that he was being stupid and over dramatic. He worked with Lila and he was sure that office romances were banned at the firm as it was in many places. Besides, Patrice promised himself that he wouldn’t fall for another woman that he worked with. He already went down that road and got fucked over. He didn’t want that happening again.

By the third inning, Patrice’s cell phone rang from its position next to the pizza box. He kept his eyes glued to the television screen as he reached for his phone to answer it. “Hello?” He answered his phone without checking who was calling.

“Patrice! Mon bébé thank you so much for the sweater!” His mother cried cheerfully into the phone. “The color is absolutely beautiful! Your aunts are so jealous of it!”

Patrice felt his stomach drop after hearing his mother’s excited tone. He never sent her a sweater. He hoped that if it was her birthday, his brother was nice enough to stick his name on the card since he was so busy. He grabbed Milan’s cell phone and checked the calendar because he swore that her birthday wasn’t for another two months. He cursed to himself, realizing it was mother’s day.

“I’m glad you like it, mom. Happy mother’s day, by the way. I’m really sorry I didn’t call earlier, I’ve been busy with work.”

Milan quietly laughed as he listened to Patrice lie to his mother. Patrice tried to hush him but that only encouraged him to laugh a little louder. He chucked his empty cup at Milan’s head, finally shutting him up.

“Sweetie, you need to stop working so much. You’re going to tire yourself out!” His mother ordered, “I just wanted to call and say thank you. Your brother and father are taking me out to dinner and I plan on wearing the new sweater you bought!”

Patrice laughed at his mother’s excitement. “Okay, you guys have fun. Tell dad and Guill that I said hi.”

He and his mother exchanged a quick I love you and goodbye before she hung up the phone. Milan just sat there with an amused look on his face. It was like Patrice to forget holidays so he knew Patrice must’ve been really busy.

“I can’t believe you forgot mother’s day. Your new work must have you bending over backwards,” he said, making Patrice chuckled. That was an understatement. “How did your mom get that sweater anyway?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he opened up the app to his bank. On his bank statements there was a transaction for a little boutique that was located in the city. After checking the date of the purchase, he smiled and exited out the app.

“Lila ran an errand for me a few weeks ago and I guess she bought the sweater while she was out.”

“Wow, she’s one hell of a secretary. No wonder why Ferry likes her so much.”

“Yeah, her secretary skills is what keeps him up late at night.”