Claire

“The top saver of the quarter is about to be announced. I think you might want to get in here Claire.”

I looked up at Caroline and shrugged. “I have only been here a month. I don’t think I am in the running.”

“You are, besides it will give you motivation for next quarter.”

She made it seem like it mattered. It was one of many awards that would be handed out today. It was a way for Rick to keep everyone doing their best and I had heard the prizes were actually pretty good.

So I got up and followed her out to the large open area where a lot of the assistants and support workers were. The open space was where Rick would rally the people and today was no different.

He was giving out a speech of how well they were doing and how happy he was to see the expansion. I could tell that he was right at home in front of everyone, with all eyes on him. I had to imagine that this was no different than what he was used to. The man drew everyone in and I wasn’t the only one looking at him with a bit more than a professional courtesy in my eyes. It was hard not to see Rick as the man, instead of as the boss.

Our eyes met for a minute and he faltered in his speech. Stopping, he looked down and then continued. He didn’t look at me again and I was sure that I was just seeing something that wasn’t there. I wanted it to be there, I wanted him to really see me, but things had changed since that lunch at the sushi place. I took it as I had gone too far with a couple of my comments and he was distancing himself. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I was trying to take his lead on it and keep my distance.

“I would like to welcome all of our newcomers. We had a lot this quarter and I have to say that I am very happy with who we hired in. You guys are already like family.”

He finally looked at me and for a moment his smile looked like it was just for me. I wanted it to be for me, but then it was gone and his attention was elsewhere.

“So to everyone that is waiting, I would like to congratulate our top saver for the quarter. It was a good one and the prize is going to be a good one as well.”

There was a murmur from the people that were in front of me and I didn’t know what the fuss was about. It couldn’t be that good of a prize, not from what I was thinking.

“Without further ado, I want to announce that Claire Adams won the title of top saver this quarter. While she has only been with us at Future Plans for a little over a month, she has really done some amazing things. Everyone congratulate her with me for doing such a great job. I know that I will see good things out of you Claire.”

I smiled at him and I could feel my face getting red. I didn’t like all of the attention, but it could have been for so many other things. Now all I could wonder was what was the prize?

“So you must be wondering what you get?”

I kind of shrugged, realizing that everyone in the office was staring at me. I wanted this over, but I couldn’t very well tell him to get on with it, no matter how much I wanted to.

“Yes Sir, I am wondering what the prize is.”

“We have a conference in Europe that you are cordially invited to. It is this weekend, so I hope you have a clear schedule because you are going to Prague!”

Everyone in there was more excited than I was. I had a real fear of flying and this last trip to move here was the most I had traveled in a long time. I went places when I was young, but that was so long ago that I didn’t even remember it. Amber was the adventurer, not me.

“Oh wow.”

He said I looked shocked and I was shocked, so it made sense. I didn’t know what to say, but I plastered a smile on my face that I know was expected to be there. What the hell was I going to do in Prague? Do they even speak English there?

Rick pulled me to the side and asked if everything is okay.

“Yes, everything is fine. I just am surprised, that’s all. It wasn’t what I expected when I came into work today.”

“Well you deserve it Claire. You have done an awesome job since you started here and I am really glad you are here.”

I thanked him, but I was starting to feel a tingling throughout my body. I didn’t want him to see me like this, but I don’t think there was anything that I could do about it. He was so close and the proximity was weighing on my senses. Rick even smelled heavenly and I had to stop the urge to lean in and let it overtake me. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe Rick was right to keep his distance. I wasn’t myself when I was around him.

“So I wanted to talk to you about something of a delicate matter.”

Oh no. Here it comes. I was waiting for this. He was going to bring up the inappropriate things that I had said to him at the restaurant. I was already shrinking inside because I didn’t want to be present for this conversation.

“It is about the way you dress.”

I looked down at the suit and skirt. I was certainly not showing more than I should have. There was nothing wrong with my clothes whatsoever and when I told him that he kind of chuckled.

“No, of course not. It is very professional. I am just saying that this weekend you are going to be around a lot of people and this will not be work. You can loosen up your dress code if you would like.”

I wasn’t sure where he was going with this and I had to ask for clarification, no matter how much I didn’t want to.

“I didn’t think this was going to be so hard. I am not saying what you wear is bad, just add some color. You will thank me when you get there.”

“Have you been there before?”

“Many times. It is a beautiful country and I know you will enjoy it as much as I did when I went there the first time. There are some of the most breathtaking views you have ever seen.”

The way he talked about it made me want to go. I could tell that he genuinely loved the place and I liked that he was going to share it with me. I just had to remember that I was only going with him because of my savings profile, nothing more. There was nothing more to this between us. Better yet, there was no us at all.

***

“So what are you going to be doing?”

Amber was pulling a few things out of her closet as she talked. She wanted to shop her closet first and I knew that there most likely wasn’t anything in there that I could wear out. We definitely had different tastes.

“I don’t know. It is some kind of efficiency conference.”

“That sounds like fun.” She made a face to the opposite and I tried to keep a straight face.

“It won’t be fun, but I will learn something, that is always good.”

She just kind of nodded, but I knew that she was just never going to get it. We both had different hobbies. That was just the way it was.

“Let’s go down to the mall. It won’t take long to find a couple of things.” I picked up a see-through top that would leave nothing to the imagination. “I don’t think we are going to find anything in here.”

“It’s not all fun stuff. I have some boring things that will fit you just fine. My boring will be a step up for you. It will be fine, you’ll see.”

I wasn’t sure I would see, but Amber was hard headed so I wasn’t going to argue. There was no point when she had something in her mind. So I took a sip of wine she had poured for me and just waited.

“Oh, I was going to tell you about this guy that walked up to me the other day. Said his name was Carl and he was trying to get a hold of you. Asked me if I had your number.”

“You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“No, I didn’t rat you out like you did me to Jack.”

She looked away guiltily and tried not to show her face. “You know that I think you two were perfect for each other.”

“Not hardly, but I got his number if you want it.”

Amber shook her head and said that she didn’t. “Not a chance. One date was enough with that guy. Sorry you keep getting mistaken for me.”

“Guys like him are okay. It’s just the Tonys of the world that I want to stay away from. I wish you would find something else to do.”

“I am good at it. What can I say?”

There was no telling her that she could have been good at anything. I had tried that argument before and she would just tell me that there was no way for me to have known.

“Besides you are not the only one that gets mistaken. I was at work and I had a real handsome man ask me if my name was Claire.”

“What did you say?”

“I asked if he liked her and he turned a little red. I think he was talking about you. He kept looking at me.”

“Yeah, I bet he did.”

“No, not like that. I don’t know. It was weird. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about it.”

“Well it doesn’t matter. I don’t know who it would have been.”

“He was really cute. Dark hair, dark eyes. Really tall.”

“I don’t know. Kind of sounds like my boss, but I couldn’t imagine him in a place like that.”

She looked away and I realized that I had offended her. Sometimes I didn’t think.

“Sorry Amber, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Well I don’t know who it was, but they were certainly keen for me to be you. If I had a boss like that, I don’t think I would be able to stop from trying something. Rich and hot like that never happens.”

I waved her off and tried to get the focus back to something to wear. Everything was going to be closing soon and I wanted to make sure that I was able to get something for the weekend. My excitement was getting higher and it wasn’t long before I was ready to go.

“Here, we don’t have to go anywhere. I told you I had something for you to wear.”

I looked at the dresses in my hands and I was torn between what to do. I knew that I was supposed to take it up a notch, but I wasn’t sure if this was the notch that I wanted to take. I would be showing a lot of skin, no matter which things I picked to wear.

“You know, if that was your boss that I talked to, you should go with this.”

She pulled the velvety black dress from my hands and held it up to me. “It looks really good on me, so it will look good on you sis. Wear this and he won’t ever be able to hold back.”