Companion Gentleman
Chapter 1
Overwhelmed with happiness I closed my sliver laptop and did a little dance at my desk. I stood up and slipped back on my low heels. I skirted around my white and gold modern desked I had thrifted and made a beeline out the glass door to my supervisors offices directly across from mine. I could tell Malcolm was in there from the glass door as he insisted we all have. His office was mostly camo with dark woods and a wall of pictures his children had made for him. He looked up surprised, and then I realized he was on the phone. He held up one finger which signaled me to wait.
"I thought I heard footsteps", Stephen said peeking his head out of his office which was right next to mine. He was all man, so macho in his black suit and so full of empathy. It was the most sexy combination, the mark of a true alpha.
"Guess what?" I bleamed shuffling over to him as I flatten out my black knit dress. Stephen was for all intents and purposes my work husband and best friend. We took care of each other which was rare in the temporary agency business. After five years of working on the same projects together I trusted him with everything.
"They're going to let us start day drinking?" He laughed.
I wish.
"Our contract got renewed!" I said bubbling up excitement.
"Yay, We have jobs for the next... Three months?"
"Try forever!"
"No way", he gasped pulling me into his office. The scent of oranges was strong. Stephen's office was a little smaller than mine but with the added bonus of a window that over looked the lake.
"Yes way!" I cheered.
I loved Stephen like a brother but I my god he was disgusting. Anything touched in his office had a texture, nothing was organized even though he claimed he knew exactly where everything was at and I'm pretty sure the carpet was white when we first got here and now it looks grey. "We have to celebrate".
"Smoothie King?"
"I was thinking something a little bit stronger", he said going behind his desk and pulling out a clear bottle of vodka.
"Naughty boy. If Malcolm catchs you I'll have to put in your unemployment claim", I smiled taking the bottle and took a small swig.
An energizing shiver ran through my body as I handed the bottle to Stephan,"It's a good thing I know how to get it all processed and approved seeing as we'll be doing that from now to the end of time".
Unlike me Stephen took a big drink,"To the state of Florida".
"To the state", I said cautiously sitting down in one of the only chairs in his office. It was covered in papers but by the looks of them they've been here just as long as we have. We both jumped at the sound of she was coming down the wooden hallway. Stephen quickly hit his contraband back in his desk and went over to his computer and pretended to work.
Knock knock
"Were you looking for me?" Malcolm said crowding the already small space. Malcolm was older but was the kind of guy that wouldn't take an order but never needed to; whatever he was supposed to do, he did it. He told bad jokes and was always warm.
"We get to keep our jobs", I blurted out.
He genuinely looks surprised as he took in the information,"So the negotiations went well?"
"Excellent", I said proud of myself. I was the one that convinced the state to keep us on permanently,"They want to hire us full time".
"Well the Mrs. will be happy to hear that. Good job, Sophia. I'll send out an email and let everyone else know", Malcolm said heading back to his office before quickly coming back,"Sophia, order a cake or something we should celebrate".
"On it", I said standing up as Malcolm left. Just as I was about to head back to my office Stephen stopped me.
"I've been meaning to ask did you get the invitation?".
"For the cyber security?" I said completely clueless.
"No, Becca's wedding".
"Excuse me?" I said as my brain short circuited.
"Becca from... the law firm we worked at? She was a secretary and we worked in accounting".
"Ooooh yeah", I remember that. We didn't know what the hell we were doing I don't even know how we got hired on. But it was good money even if it was for five months,"Good for her..."
How did she get our addresses?
"Apparently, she locked down one of the partners at the law firm", Stephen said with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sure she did", I said pushing my tongue into my cheek. "She wasn't doing all that overtime just out of the kindness of her heart".
"Truly she was Mother Teresa because we were not getting overtime pay then", We both laughed at how terrible we were.
"It's going to be a hard pass for me. I didn't even know her that well. But now that we have some disposable income I could probably send her a gift or something".
"Well, I am going. A weekend in the West Keys all expenses paid and I just have to pretend I like you? Hell yeah".
"You're not going to know anyone there?" I loved weddings but I hated going alone You might as well just have a neon sign that says defected goods slapped onto your ass.
"And? I don't give a fuck I'm not there to meet people I'm there to get fancy drunk".
"Aren't we all", I said resting my head on the door frame as I leaned against it. "Well let me know how it goes?"
"I will have you on the phone the entire time I'm there", he promised.
I scrunch my face and in a knowing high picture voice proclaimed,"Your a different breed".
"I love me too".
I headed back to my office happy I dodged that bullet. I was all smiles for the rest of the day. I got to keep my job that I liked, and I was going to interpret Malcolm's order as dinner reservations at Goodfella's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant. And after doing my actual job I was emotionally exhausted from hearing everyone's unemployment stories. But I felt like I was actually making a difference by helping people letting them know what their options are and being here to listen.
It was night before I finally called it a day. I knocked on Malcolm's door who would most likely be here for another three to four hours and said goodnight. With my purse, rain jacket and umbrella in hand I made my way out of the building into the parking lot. It's softly rained as thunder and lightning command the sky. Puddles grew as if the land of Narnia had sent them to fetch me, their surfaces dancing with each perfect individual sky-gift.
I quickly got into my cherry red Chevy Blazer and started my short drive home. I love that it still has that new car smell. My car was my baby mostly because it was the most expensive thing I had ever purchased next to my condo. As I turned onto the street the windshield wipers worked overtime. I could tell my normal 20-minute drive was going to easily be an hour by the traffic.
I decided to call my parents and let them know the good news,"Hi mommy!"
"Hey, baby", my mom said with a smile I could hear. I could also hear the evening news being blasted in the background.
"Guess what?"
"The contract got renewed?"
"Yes! But not just renewed they hired us. I have a career!"
"That's wonderful", she cooed.
"What?" My dad asked as Iron Chef was blaring in the background. He sounded like he was just next to her but I knew he was in his lazy boy feet propped up with a Miller lite in his hand.
"Sophie, did the contract thing", My mom explained just as excited as I was. I slowly rolled down the street being blinded by lights behind me that had to be on high beam. Some people really should learn how to drive. I ignored it as my mom tried to explain to my dad the good news.
"Well she'll always have a job", I heard him say muffled.
And that's all that matters.
"We have news too", Mom said excited. Now it was my turn to be happy for her. She hadn't told me about anything since we talked yesterday.
"What is it?"
"Do you remember Michelle?"
"No", I said sarcastically. Michelle was my best friend from kindergarten. We grew up right door to each other, went to college together. But every graduated we had to go our separate ways. She got a job with Boeing somewhere in California and I stayed in Florida. We talk at least once a week so whatever my mom had to tell me I probably already knew.
"Well Michelle's mother just told she's getting married".
"WHAT!" I said slamming on my breaks. My tires hissed an ugly sound against wet concrete and the car that was riding my tail collided into the back of my car throwing me into my steering wheel.
"Sophia? Sophia! What happened?"
"I'll call you back", I said turning on my hazard lights with shaky hands as I got out of my car. I didn't want to look at the damage and I wanted to kill the idiot who didn't know how to drive! "What the hell!?"
"Are you okay?" A man in a white shirt and black pants said getting out of a black Lincoln. He quickly surveyed the damage but check to make sure I was okay.
"What do you th----"
And as soon as I saw his face highlighted in the pouring rain I lost 200 IQ points. He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice. He was a walking wet dream. Bright blue eyes, gorgeous thick black hair, and a jawline you could cut marble on.
"Get out of the middle of the road", a car passing by honked splashing up muddy cold water on me.
"Fuck you",the man yelled in my defense.
I held my middle finger high as if that would solve my problem. The stranger touch my arm and led me over to the sidewalk. Clearly, I was in shock even though I was technically fine.
"Do I need to call an ambulance?" The man said concerned. I thought it was fine.
"No", I said shaking. I wasn't sure if it was because of the rain or because of the accident. As I spoke I realized how breathless I was,"Do you need one?"
"No", he said reaching into his pants pocket. He pulled out his phone and started texting someone. I took this opportunity to look at the damage up close. Other than a few scratches the damage to my car wasn't that bad. His car on the other hand had the front bumper torn completely off and even with the night and rain I could tell something was leaking from his car.
I made my way back to my car and grab my purse for my insurance information. At least I be able to drive my baby home.
I went back over to the stranger who was in an intense conversation with someone on the other side. As soon as he saw me he ended the call,"Here's my information".
He plastered on a megawatt smile and under the street light I could see through his wet white shirt. Well defined muscles and a gorgeous six-pack made me blush,"Yeah....umm I don't have insurance".
"O... okay", I had to switch to my professional voice, "I have to call the police---"
"Whatever the damage is I can pay you in cash".
"I don't think this is how accidents work", I said squinting my eyes. This felt like a scam.
"I can Cash App you", He said defensively.
"I would feel more comfortable calling the police---" I said stepping away from the man.
"You kind of got me by my balls. I really don't want to go to jail for driving without insurance".
"How do I know you'll actually send me the money? Insurance is the only way I can CYA. As soon as you leave I'll never hear from you again".
"It's a Chevy Blazer L...2021?"
"2022 LT", I corrected as he did something on his phone.
"Sticker price of $40,000?"
"Somewhere around there---"I said throwing up my hands.
"I'll give you $42,000 either that covers the damage or gets you a new car", He said shoving his phone in his pocket and crossing his arms.
"If you have that kind of money just laying around why don't you have insurance?!"
"Do we have a deal?" He stressed.
"At this point it would just be cheaper to go to jail for the night".
"I can't have a record with my job. I'll never get another client if I have anything on record". I had a lot of questions namely what he did for a living to have that kind of cash just laying around.
"You're not like some kind of drug lord are you?"
"No", he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and handed me a white card.
Oliver Kennedy
Companion Gentleman
555-314-5555
I had no idea what companion gentleman meant. "Cash app lets me send $7,500 a day. I'll send you a payment now and at least with that you'll be able to fix your car. Take the rest as an inconvenience fee", I wanted to ask how do I know I would get the rest of the money but he answered it as if reading my mind,"You know where I work. Call that number and my agent will definitely get me".
Oooooo... He's like an actor. That makes sense.
"Fine", We exchanged information and I was immediately paid. No sooner did the money hit my account did a taxi pull up to collect him. He slid into the back seat of the yellow cab and with a nod he was gone.
