________

BRYAN

 

Monday morning as I was getting ready for work, my phone rang around 8:30.

 

“Mr. Steele?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“This is Sarah Stevens from Blocke Designs.”

 

I literally froze in place as my mouth went completely dry.  I didn’t know what to say.

 

“Hello?”  She sounded a bit concerned.

 

I cleared my throat and forced myself to put a few words together.

 

“Yes, I’m here.”

 

“We were very happy with your portfolio, your interview and your tenacity at the design Expo on Saturday, so we would like to offer you a position with Blocke Designs.  An offer package will be emailed to you this morning.  Take some time, look over the offer and let me know if you have any questions.  If everything looks good to you we would love to have you on board.”

 

It took everything in me not to jump up and down and scream like a child.  I just got my dream job!

 

“Thank you so much Ms. Stevens!”

 

“You are welcome and I will speak with you soon.”

 

I called Carl and left him a message.  He usually left for work around 6:00 a.m. because he liked to get into the office early.  The finance world was no joke.

 

“Carl!  I got the job!  Call me during your lunch break!”

 

Carl’s lunch break was usually about 20 minutes long so I would have to just give him a brief run down of what had happened.  I picked up the phone to call Alistair and my hand froze in the air.  Did we have that kind of relationship yet where I could call him like that?  I wasn’t sure that we were there yet so I put down the phone.  I decided I would just tell him Tuesday at dinner.

 

I had to be at work at 10:00 that morning so I sat at my computer and refreshed my email a million times until I had to leave at 9:30.  Still no offer email so I was literally glued to my phone refreshing the screen as I rode the bus to work.  After a couple of bus stops it finally appeared and I swear it looked like it had an angelic glow around the subject line.

 

I nearly missed my stop as I read the offer.  They wanted me to start in two weeks and my starting salary was way more than I had imagined.  With that kind of salary I would be able to quit the banquet hall part-time gig and I’d be able to afford my own place in a nice neighborhood.  I didn’t expect to be able to live like that for at least five more years.  I couldn’t wait to tell my parents and Carl.

 

When I got off of the bus I decided to call Ms. Stevens and accept the position.  I would have been a fool not to.  After I spoke to her I went straight to my boss’s office when I got to work and gave my two weeks notice.  She was not surprised and was happy for me, which was a relief.  Ms. Braeburn had always been supportive of my love of interior design so she wished me luck and told me if it didn’t work out I always had a job at the boutique.  It was very sweet.

 

I was on cloud frickin’ nine and I sailed through the day which, thankfully, passed pretty quickly.  I went to my parent’s house for dinner that night and my mom was in the kitchen when I got there, so I ran up to her and gave her a big hug from behind.

 

“Mom, I got the job!”

 

She turned around and gave me a hug and held my face in her hands.

 

“Oh Bryan, honey, that is so great!  I knew you would get it!  I am so proud of you!”

 

“Thanks, Mom.”

 

“Your father is going to be so happy when he hears about this.  When do you start?”

 

“Two weeks.  Ms. Braeburn was really nice about it and even told me if things didn’t work out I would always have a job with her.”

 

“She’s a nice woman.”

 

“Yes, she is.  Do you need help with anything?”

 

“Why don’t you set the table?  Your father and brother will be home soon.”

 

“Okay.”

 

My dad and brother were also excited for me and we chatted about everyone’s day and had a nice dinner.  Carl face-timed me later that night and when I told him I might get my own place he looked a little bit sad.  I instantly felt bad but I was pretty excited about living on my own.

 

“I was really looking forward to us getting a place together, Bryan.  Come on, it will be so much fun.”

 

“I know it would be fun but I really think I want my own place.  I’ve never made this much money before, Carl, and I want to see what it’s like to have an actual nice apartment for once.  You make a lot of money and your place is gorgeous so you already know what it is like to have a nice place.  I don’t.”

 

“Okay, I can understand that and if you can afford a nice place you should get your own place.”  His eyes suddenly lit up and I knew he was coming up with one of his crazy ideas.  “We should get apartments in the same building!”

 

I thought about that for a second and it actually was not a bad idea.  I would love to have my best friend in the same building.  We could see each other all the time without having to compromise anything.  It was the perfect idea.

 

“Carl, you are a genius.  That will be so fun!  Let’s start looking for places this weekend.”

 

Before I went to bed that night I picked out what I was going to wear on my date with Alistair the next night.  I was in such a good mood as I chose a blue shirt and jeans, and I finally felt like everything was falling into place for me.  I had the dream job, the dream guy, and soon would have the dream apartment.  I couldn’t imagine how anything could go wrong.

 

The next morning I got a call around 7:00, which I found strange because no one ever called me that early.  I was still in a bit of a sleepy fog as I said hello and was caught off guard by the voice on the other end.

 

“Bryan.”

 

That familiar, deep, sexy voice made me freeze in place and my heart began to hammer against my chest as my eyes flew open.  How did he get my number?

 

“Hi Alistair.  How did you get my number?”  I blurted out the question without thinking.

 

“My assistant.  I’m sorry to call so early.”

 

“That’s okay.  What’s going on?”

 

“I’m going to have to cancel our plans tonight because I have to go out of town on business.  I got a call about a problem that just can’t wait so I will be gone for a couple of weeks.  Can we reschedule when I get back?”

 

I had a sinking feeling that he was blowing me off.

 

“Um, sure.”

 

“You sound hesitant, Bryan.  I can’t go into specifics right now because we are getting ready to take off but I do want to see you again.  I will call you when I get back into town, okay?”

 

“Okay,” I said, trying not to sound as bummed as I felt.

 

“Talk to you soon.”

 

We said goodbye and I sat there trying to figure out if he was telling me the truth.  A couple of weeks was going to be a long time to go without seeing him but at least I had my new job to focus on and help me not spend every second thinking about Alistair.  I couldn’t fall back to sleep so I busied myself working on my portfolio and preparing new ideas to bring with me on the first day of my new job.