Long Way Down

"I'm going to kill you," I seethed, dragging Shane into my office when I made it back to work. He looked confused, but there was no way he didn't know what he dropped me in the middle of. I was embarrassed, I was angry, and I was out for blood.

"I'm sorry. Did you get yelled at? I'll go tell Veronica that it was my fault," he promised, holding his hands up in surrender.

"No, I didn't get yelled at." I threw my purse on my desk and kicked my shoes off again. Shane seemed genuinely oblivious, but that didn't make me feel any better.

"Wait, then why are you going to kill me?" He cocked his hip and raised his eyebrow at me, striking a pose that screamed 'I love men'.

"Do you know who Xavier Llewelyn is?" I asked, giving him the death stare to end all death stares.

"The owner of Llewelyn Enterprises?" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I fought the urge to punch him directly in his adam's apple and turned my laptop, opening a new browser. I typed in his name, watching as multiple pictures and news articles popped up.

"No shit, Sherlock. I meant do you know what he looks like," I snapped, clicking on one of the pictures.

"No. I assumed it was an old man." I picked up my laptop and turned it all the way around so he could see the picture clearly.

"You're wrong."

"Who is that?" he demanded, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

"That, you idiot, is Xavier Llewelyn. That is the man that I was stuck in an elevator with for two minutes and then another five in his office," I grumbled.

"Holy shit. Wait, why are you complaining?" He was staring at me like I had two heads, and once again, I had to resist the urge to punch him in his throat.

"Because I was not prepared! I didn't know who he was or what he looked like. I made a fool out of myself!"

"Well what were you doing in his office? I just told you to drop it off."

"The receptionist was a bitch. I was just going to leave it outside of his office, but she wouldn't even tell me where it was. I guess he saw me. He played completely oblivious, said that he'd take me to the office, and didn't tell me who he was until the door was closed. I called you incompetent in front of him!" I whined, throwing myself into my chair. If word of my behavior got back to my boss, I was screwed.

"Only you could manage to accomplish something like this." Shane was trying to hold back his laughter, and I threw the closest thing to me at him, which happened to be a stapler. He ducked, laughing obnoxiously as he practically skipped out of my office.

"Dick," I muttered, resuming my earlier task of organizing documents and transferring files to my computer. My awkward meeting replayed in my head while I tried to concentrate. For all intents and purposes, what happened wasn't a big deal, but I prided myself on being professional in all situations. I'd let my guard slip for a fraction of a second, and it could have cost me my job.



"Are we still on for dinner?" Shane poked his head back into my office, clearly amused with my sour mood.

"I should make you go by yourself, but I'm starving." I shut down my laptop and slid on my shoes, grabbing my purse from the corner of my desk.

"You wouldn't make me eat dinner all by my lonesome," he grinned, linking his arm through mine and pulling me toward the elevator.

"What makes you so sure?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"You love me."

"HA! I'd sell you to Satan for one corn chip." He let out an overdramatic gasp, and I tried not to laugh at the expression on his face. Shane was a drama queen in every sense of the word. Sometimes I thought he deserved an Academy Award.

"We both know I'm worth a hell of a lot more than a corn chip. Don't be so bitchy. You got to spend alone time with a gorgeous man. You should be thanking me. Not shunning me."

"It was less than ten minutes, and nothing even happened. He signed the papers and sent me on my way. There's nothing to thank you for."

"It was a blessing in disguise, trust me." He hailed us a cab, and soon we were off to our favorite sushi restaurant, which signified the end of a long week for the both of us. We had two days to recuperate before it was back to world of fetching coffee for meetings and filing endless amounts of paperwork. Somedays I wanted to give up, but I had to remember what I was working towards.

"How's Jack?" I asked once we were seated and sipping on our drinks. I glanced at the open menu even though I already knew what I wanted. Trying new things wasn't exactly my forte, but the thought did cross my mind on certain occasions.

"He's an idiot, but I love him. He's visiting his family in Maine. He'll be back in a few days." Jack was Shane's boyfriend. They were complete opposites and somehow freakishly similar. It was annoying, but they were perfect for each other, and Shane was happy. Being his best friend, that was all I could ask for.

"Jack is perfect. You just like to complain."

"Coming from the champion whiner herself. That's rich." He smirked, but his eyes suddenly widened when he glanced behind me.

"What? Did Angelina Jolie just walk in?" I tried to turn to see what all the fuss was about, but he grabbed my elbow, successfully preventing me from seeing anything.

"We need to sneak out," he dropped his voice to a whisper and ducked his head down.

"We haven't even ordered yet."

"We can order Chinese, but we need to get out of here." He yanked me from my chair and started tugging me through the tables, turning his head every now and then. He let out a huge sigh once we were safely back on the sidewalk and immersed in the large body of people trying to get places.

"What the hell was that about?"

"Milo walked in with some girl. I was saving you." A sour feeling settled in my chest at the thought of my ex-boyfriend. Milo Grey was the worst thing that ever happened to me, and if I had the option to never see him again, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

"You're a saint," I mumbled as we started the short trek back to our apartment. Whatever good mood I had left was ruined, and I suddenly just wanted to curl up in my bed and die.

"I know, but don't worry about him. He's a douche, and karma is going to bite him in the ass soon enough." I didn't believe that because no matter how good of a person I aspired to be, bad shit seemed to find its way to my doorstep more often than not while everyone else lived in a world filled with rainbows and unicorns.

"Sure it will."

"Aurora?" I looked up at the sound of my full name, curious as to who felt they knew me well enough to use it. My gaze fell on the blue eyed adonis I'd encountered earlier, and I saw Shane's mouth drop open out of the corner of my eyes.

"Hi, Mr. Llewelyn." I was impressed that I managed not to stutter and gave myself a mental pat on the back.

"Xavier, please," he smiled, but then his eyes flickered over to Shane and our linked arms, "Is this your boyfriend?" I wanted to laugh, but I could see that it was a serious question. I was guessing he didn't have a very active gaydar, because Shane screamed queen to me.

"Maybe in a past life. These days, you're more of his type." It was a lame attempt at making a joke, but no one laughed, and I gulped.

"I see. I guess that's a good thing considering I was hoping to see you again." His smile was back as he stared at me, and I felt my heart stop exactly as it did a few hours ago. I was sure everyone within a five block radius heard me swallow as I tried to keep my hands from shaking.

"Oh? I didn't leave something in your office, did I?" I began to wrack my brain, going over our short meeting in my head. I was sure I grabbed everything, but in my haste to leave, it was possible that I'd forgotten something important.

"No, you didn't. I actually have somewhere to be right now, but call me. I'd really like to see you again." He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me, winking before disappearing as quickly as he showed up. I stood there, partially stunned and confused.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked as Shane started to pull me down the street again.

"Karma, my dear. Karma."