A Fresh Start

“I really hope this is the last time we see her,” Micah sighed as they pulled into Felicia’s store parking lot.

Cherise squeezed his hand. “It’ll be fine.”

“Took you guys long enough,” Felicia snapped when they arrived and Cherise did her best not to roll her eyes as they went into the back.

They worked all day, determined to fix everything by the time 5 o’clock rolled around. Felicia didn’t come to check on them which was perfectly okay with them. They finished shortly after 4 and Cherise called Felicia into the back.

“We’ve fixed your books,” she explained as Micah packed up their laptop. Cherise handed her an invoice. “Here’s a breakdown of what we did, how much we charged per task, and a total.” Felicia snatched it from her. “Remember in the future that it doesn’t matter who you’re related to. You have to file your taxes or you’ll end up in jail.”

Felicia didn’t answer and they took her silence as the perfect time to leave. Once they were in Micah’s car, they breathed a sigh of relief. Micah held her hand as they drove back to the office, lacing their fingers together. It felt nice and Cherise couldn’t help but smile.

They kept their new relationship a secret from their coworkers mostly because they didn’t want to be heckled about it. Cherise also wanted to keep focused on work instead her feelings while they were in their office.

“Ah, I’m glad your back,” Harold said as they put their laptop back in their office. “Are you finished with Miss Brown?”

“Yes, sir,” Cherise nodded.

“We have two new interns,” he said, leading them to the board room. “They’re going to shadow the two of you for a week and then move on to their own tasks. I wanted you two to do the training since you’re the best here.” He knocked briefly to announce their presence then opened the door. “Miss Allen and Mr. Morris, this is Bryce and Chris.”

They shook hands with the men. They looked like they were in the last year or so of college. Bryce was tall with short blond hair and blue eyes. Chris was slightly shorter with red hair and green eyes. Harold left and Micah checked his watch.

“Well, it’s 5 now,” he said. “How about we all go out to the pub and start there?”

“Sounds great,” Cherise nodded. “Before we leave, though,” she added and beckoned for the two men to come over. “This is my service dog, Lira. As long as you’re here, I want you to get acquainted.”

“She’s adorable,” Chris complimented, extending his hand so that Lira could sniff it.

Lira seemed comfortable with the two of them so they headed to Micah’s car. Cherise and Micah made sure to keep a good distance, not wanting to make a bad first impression.

“What do you know about the company?” Micah asked over his shoulder after they got into his car.

“Just that it’s family run,” Bryce said from the back, adjusting his tie.

Cherise shifted uncomfortably. Bryce had been staring at her since they met them. Micah noticed and shot her a questioning look but she shook her head. When they pulled into the pub, Cherise moved to the grass so Lira could use the bathroom.

“If you can get a booth or table for four, we’ll meet you in there,” she heard Micah say to the two. “What’s wrong?” he muttered, coming up beside her and pretending to check on Lira.

“It’s that Bryce,” she muttered back, picking up after Cherise and squirting hand sanitizer on her hands while Micah tossed the waste bag in the trashcan. She gave him some sanitizer as well. “He keeps staring at me.”

“How can he not?” he asked, smirking at her.

“Very funny,” she said humorlessly. “It’s making me uncomfortable.”

When they came to the table, the two interns were sitting on either side and she clenched her jaw, sitting beside Chris. Micah ordered a round of beer for the men and a Sprite for Cherise.

“Tell us about yourselves,” Micah said, leaning forward on his elbows.

“We’re both seniors over at OU,” Bryce answered, looking over the menu.

“I’m majoring in bookkeeping,” Chris added, “and Bryce in general accounting.”

“Those are some impressive majors,” Cherise said, trying to ignore Bryce’s stare.

Lira, sensing her discomfort, whined slightly under the table. Micah heard and nudged her foot, a gesture clearly asking if she was okay. She nudged him back as the waitress came over.

“What can I get ya?” she asked, popping some gum.

“I’ll have the fish and chips,” Micah said and Cherise made a face. “Don’t be jealous, Miss Allen.”

Cherise just laughed and ordered a hamburger. As the waitress took the other two’s order, someone came up to their table. It was Jamie and she was holding a bowl of water. Cherise grinned as Lira lapped it up.

“Thanks,” she smiled and Jamie patted her shoulder. “Jamie, what’s wrong?” she asked in an undertone. Jamie’s eyes were red.

She shook her head sadly. “My daughter and her boyfriend are moving out. I thought it would be easy. Turns out it isn’t.”

Cherise squeezed her hand sympathetically as the waitress walked off.

“Is she new?” Cherise asked, gesturing at the waitress and Jamie nodded, frowning. “Can you ask her to put away the gum?”

Jamie’s eyes widened. “She’s chewing gum?” She sighed exasperatedly. “I literally just talked to her about that.”

“Never thought you’d be a restaurant snob,” Chris joked and Cherise laughed a little.

“Cherise and Jamie have a special relationship,” Micah explained. “They help each other out.”

“How long will we be shadowing you guys?” Bryce asked.

“About a week,” Micah answered, taking a sip of his draft. “Mmm. Beautiful,” he smacked his lips and handed the beer to Cherise and she took a drink, shuddering a little at the bitter taste.

“What will we be doing?”

“Well, it depends,” Cherise answered and dug out her notebook from her briefcase. “You each have special skills. We’ll be doing an assessment test tomorrow morning to find out what they are,” she said as she made a note. “Then, on Wednesday, we’ll have you watch us do our work based off of your results.”

“Will we be working with you individually?” Bryce asked, still staring intently at her.

“No,” Micah said firmly. A little too firmly. He cleared his throat. “I don’t know how much Harold told you, but Cherise and I are partners.”

Chris frowned. “There are partners?”

“Not exactly,” Cherise said, saving Micah from accidentally giving too much away. “Micah and I graduated together and we work really well. We’re the ones that take the hard cases. You’ll see some of that this week.”

“Except for Friday,” Micah reminded her. “So we’ll add another day next week.”

They fell into silence; a very heavy silence. Thankfully, their food arrived and Cherise squirted ketchup on her burger, slipping a fry down to Lira.

“How long have you had the dog?” Chris asked.

“Almost 5 years now,” she answered after swallowing a bite of her burger.

“What do you have her for?” Bryce asked.

“A couple of things,” she said vaguely and they took the hint.

“We look forward to working with you two,” Micah said about an hour later.

They were back in the parking lot of the office building next to the car Chris and Bryce drove over in. They shook hands, Bryce holding onto Cherise’s a little too long.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” he said suddenly and she frowned.

“Come on, Bryce,” Chris said, pulling on his arm.

Bryce’s eyes lingered on her for a second longer then followed his friend into the car, driving off.

“What was that about?” Micah asked, watching with narrowed eyes as the car disappeared around a corner.

Cherise shook her head and Micah held her hand. “I don’t know. But it’s bothering me….”