I’m standing outside Wes’ office, awkwardly running my hands through my hair and then straightening my skirt. The last twenty-four hours have been crazy. Unable to sleep, I spent all night thinking about the kiss Wes and I shared. I shouldn’t have, I know this; but for a few hours I let myself indulge in the impossible. But this morning, after a long chat with Lucy over breakfast, I’ve decided to try and start fresh with Wes. Mystery guy aka BigBadWolf, may have also played a role in my decision. With a username like that, I expected an arrogant and conceited ass - actually I expected Wes. But we’ve fallen into this easy banter, hitting it off straight away. The familiarity between us has been oddly comforting, and I found myself unintentionally divulging the reason why I started the Timber account. With that came out snarky and bitchy Avery, painting Wes in a horrible light. It’s no secret he brings out the worst in me, but I need to start taking responsibility for my feelings and be the better person. With no filter the horrible words slip out of my mouth and that’s not the impression I want to give others. Like Lucy and BigBadWolf keep saying, there is more to him then meets the eye, and if I stop carrying that chip on my shoulder, Wes and I might be able to be friends. The fact he walked into work today with no mention of the kiss, gives me hope that irritating Wes has also decided to take a hiatus. With the intention to discuss secretary applications, I use this as an opportunity to put my plan into motion. Throwing out all my preconceived thoughts about Wes, I need to focus on the present and leave the past where it belongs; behind us.

Taking a deep breath I knock twice on the wooden door, and wait for him to invite me inside.

“Come in,” he says. His voice echoing throughout the office.

I place my body between the door and the frame, “Hey, are you free?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I walk into the office and toward the desk. “I was hoping we could run through this application form, so I can have it ready by the end of the day.”

His eyes unabashedly roam every inch of me, but the words that come out of his mouth are polite and unexpected. “I’m so grateful for the time you’ve put in here, Ave. You’ve really made a difference to my business.”

My stomach flutters, like a teeneager in high school. Did he just compliment me?

“Uh, you’re welcome,” I stutter.

He stretches his arm over the desk, “Show me what you’ve come up with so far.”

I hand him the mock up application form. It’s got a few questions about past experience, but more importantly I’ve centred questions around creativity, initiative and knowledge of social media.

His eyes quickly scan the paper, “this looks good, but do you think all these questions are relevant?” He runs his hand through his beard, as he thinks of what to say next. “I just need someone to know how to answer the phones, Ave. Not all this rocket science shit.”

“Did you not just tell me what I did was great?”

“Yes.”

“Then you need someone great to keep it going." I insist.

“Someone greater than you?”

“Even though we both know it’s impossible, we can try and find someone just as close.” I quip.

“I doubt it,” he winks.

The banter becomes familiar again, and my body begins to flutter in excitement. I realize we feed off the verbal foreplay, and that’s not what I walked in here for.

Even though Wes owns this business, he needs someone who will care about it as much as he does. I want to find a kick ass secretary that helps him get the success he deserves.

I lean on the edge of the desk and cross my arms over my chest. Turning my head I make eye contact with Wes, and explain to him the importance of finding the right replacement, the only way he will understand

“Listen Wes, I thought you wanted to kick Magnus’ lumberjack ass from here into next week. Did I get that wrong? Are you okay with him always being number one?”

“Fuck no,” he says without hesitation. He gets up, walking around the desk to stand right in front of me. I straighten my body so we’re toe to toe.

“So,” I clap my hands with enthusiasm. “We’re going to do it my way then. Find someone kick ass and then kick. His. Ass.”

“You’re kinda cute when you’re all passionate about something.”

I ignore the compliment and stick to the plan. “You wanna win, Wes?”

Uncharacteristically, he taps the end of my nose, “I get your point Ave, I’ll hire a kick ass secretary.”

* * *

The rest of the day has gone off without a hitch. Wes left to check up on some jobs and I’ve finally got a spare minute to focus on the secretary ad. Only online for three hours and already it has one hundred views. Who would’ve thought something could conjure up this much interest in uninteresting Piney View. I look through the applications and narrow down the most plausible options. Sending emails, I let the handful of successful candidates know when they can come in for their interviews. I black out a few hours on Wes’s schedule and send him an email letting him know when he has to be in the office. In minutes I get a confirmation from him, and I smile at Wes’ new found friendship with technology. Soon enough I’ll turn him into a modern day tech genius, and he won’t know what hit him.

I glance at the top of the screen and see it’s almost the end of the day. I’ve been fighting the urge to message BigBadWolf all day, but I think as far as “rules” go a few hours in between texts is sufficient. Seeing his username on my screen, it’s safe to assume he doesn’t care about the “rules”

BigBadWolf: How did your day go?

Me: Hey, it went better than expected. How’s your day been?

BigBadWolf: Really good.

Biting on my nails, I toss up between continuing the conversation or just waiting for him to text again later, when another message appears on the screen.

BigBadWolf: You and your boss get along today?

Me: Surprisingly, I would call today a success.

BigBadWolf: That’s good to hear, I knew you could do it.

Not ready for the conversation to end, I figure I can dig a little deeper and hopefully find out more about mystery guy. Well at least his name, because referring to him as BigBadWolf feels like the setup for a real tacky porn video.

Me: I gotta say I’m curious as to why you want my boss and I to get along so bad.

BigBadWolf: Let’s just say I know what it’s like to be misunderstood and us guys gotta stick together; help each other out whenever we can.

Me: LOL

Me: So, If I’m supposed to make things right with my boss; what’s in it for you?

BigBadWolf: I get to show off my new age sensitive type of guy persona. Everyone knows chicks dig it.

I laugh out loud at his response, feeling somewhat refreshed by his honesty.

Me: Touché. Well I appreciate your sensitive side, your little bit of advice made my day a little bit more bearable.

My phone rings while in my hand and I don’t finish off my message. I quickly answer the unknown number, only to hear an out of breath Lucy, on the other line.

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” I ask. “Why didn’t you call me on your phone?”

“Sorry, it died. I’m just at the hospital --”

“What’s wrong?” I repeat. Cutting her off mid sentence.

“Mom’s awake.”

A loud breath of relief leaves my lungs. I don’t think twice as I grab my bag, with the phone still on my ear and walk straight out of the office. My mom’s awake.

“I’m coming.”