Chapter Sixteen
Caroline
I woke up Monday morning after an emotional weekend. I stayed in the house all day Saturday and Sunday because I didn’t feel like going out. When Harrison came by to talk to me, it helped me feel a little better about what we did, but for the most part, I was still confused. I considered calling to let him know that I wasn’t going to take the job anymore. I felt that the awkwardness would be too much to bear, and on top of that, I didn’t want to imagine what things would be like if word got out that I slept with Sarah’s father. I couldn’t risk it, though. I needed the money so I could move to California, so I figured I would keep the job and see what things would be like before I jumped to conclusions.
The traffic was minimal on my way to the office. I arrived at Harrison Construction just after 9:30 am. Harrison’s truck was parked in a spot near the front of the building. Next to his, there was a black, two-door sports car with black rims. I wondered if the owner of the vehicle was the guy that Harrison tried to hook me up with when I first visited this building. Now, as I thought about it, maybe he wasn’t trying to hook me up, especially since we had slept together a few days ago. I didn’t know what to make of it. I pulled the visor down and looked in the mirror. My makeup was painted on lightly. I didn’t want to look like some kind of hooker on my first day, so I made sure to keep things to a minimum. My dress stopped just above my knees, and I left the top button undone on my long-sleeved shirt. I wanted to look professional, especially since I was going to be around a bunch of men.
Outside of that, I cared about Harrison’s impression of me. For some reason, I felt like there could be more between us. When he came out to my place on Saturday, I felt that he went out of his way to explain himself to me. I could be foolish to think that what we had could somehow turn into something long-term. In my mind, that was completely out of the question, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering. After a few minutes passed by, I exited my vehicle and headed through the double doors of the building. My heels clicked against the hardened floors as I made my way down the hall and to the elevator.
The beeping noise echoed throughout the silent building as the elevator came to a stop. The door slid open, welcoming me onto the platform moments before it lifted me to Harrison’s floor. Calm down, Caroline. Calm down. My fingers jittered as I lifted closer to his office. I had no idea what to expect, but I hoped for the best. The last thing I wanted to experience was awkward stares and uncertainty. I knew I wouldn’t be able to function if that was how things were going to go while I was employed here. Finally, the elevator stopped and let me off on Harrison’s floor. I took a deep breath and made my way to the office.
“Come in,” I heard Harrison say from the other side after I knocked on the door. I steeled myself, then entered the room confidently. Harrison stood by his filing cabinet, talking with Brian. They both smiled in my direction. In my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if Harrison told Brian what we did together. Their ambiguous smiles led me to believe that Brian knew the details. “Well, good morning, Caroline,” Harrison continued as he extended his hand.
I put my hand into his. His shake was firm, yet gentle, and it completely caught me off guard. “Hello, Harrison,” I said, maintaining my smile. “Good morning to you and Brian.”
“Are you ready for your first day?” Brian asked, propping himself onto the corner of Harrison’s desk.
“I believe I am. I mean, after all, I went to school for it, so I should be ready.”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “And the good thing about that is that the knowledge should still be fresh. Let me tell you, I got my associate's degree years ago and I stumbled through everything from day one. I handled it the best I could, but I am glad to know that someone more qualified is now in the position.”
Harrison shoved his hands into his pocket. It was a fight to keep my eyes off him as I spoke to Brian. “Yeah. Well, I can’t speak for the job you did, but I hope I can perform up to everyone’s expectations. I am just nervous because now it is like I have to prove that I didn’t waste the last five years of my life in school.”
Harrison laughed. “Nonsense, Caroline. You will do a great job. I know you will.”
His smile comforted me, and so far, the uneasy feelings that I thought would be present between us were nowhere in sight. Brian clapped his hands together as if a thought just popped into his head, “Right, California. So,” he turned to Harrison, “are you going to go with me on the trip out there? I think we have a good chance to close on it and lock in the account.”
“Yeah, I’m game. I don’t have much going on during the weekends, so I may as well take the trip with you. I haven’t been on the coast for a while anyway. I could use the semi-vacation.”
“Awesome!” He shifted his attention back to me, “See, that is another thing about working for this company. This man right here,” he tapped his hand on Harrison’s shoulder, “is the best man to work for. Business trips are covered under the expense account, and we literally pay for nothing because he covers it all. Bonuses are amazing, and as long as you do your job, you can get away with anything. Hell, I’ve taken more days off than I had available, but he still pays me like I haven’t missed a shift.”
Harrison accepted the gratitude with a smile. “Kind words, Brian. Very kind words. I appreciate that.”
“It’s all you, man. It’s all you. That’s why I am willing to break my back to make sure this company stays afloat. It’s worth it.” He stood up. “And speaking of, I need to get to my office and get some layout designs ready for our guys. You two have a nice day, and Caroline, welcome to the team.”
“Thank you, Brian.”
He nodded his head towards me, then made his way out of the room. “Well, I see that you have made quite an impression on him.”
He smiled. “Brian is a good guy. He is practically the reason why this company brings in new clients every other month. He works his ass off, and he deserves everything he gets.” He opened his drawer and pulled out a name tag. “And this here is for you.” My name was on the front of the pin so I could clip it on my shirt. “Sorry. We don’t have any badges or anything like that. All of our office hands wear those just so we can call everyone by their first names.”
“Oh, no problem. I just thank you for the opportunity, Harrison. I really appreciate it. I thought things would be weird when I got here because–”
“No,” he said, interrupting me. “Nope. We will not discuss that. From here on out, we will leave that where it happened and go from here. I don’t want anything to throw you off during your time here. Clear minds perform the best, and I certainly want your best.” A warm smile escaped his lips, and at that moment, it was like the fog cleared and showed a bright, shining sun from above. “Now, if you don’t mind,” he continued, “I will show you to your office.”
“I would love that, Harrison.”
He winked at me, then led me down the hallway. My office was about 20 feet away from his. He unlocked the door, then handed me the key. It looked like one of the janitor’s rooms was converted into a small office. The desk sat against the wall, and in about 10 feet, I could walk from one end of the office to the other. He flipped on the switch and the light shined down on two filing cabinets, a computer, and two chairs adjacent from the desk. “Now, I know that it is a bit cozy in here, but don’t feel like you have to stay locked inside these walls.”
He opened the drawer to the desk and pulled out a laptop. “I purchased this yesterday. Whenever you don’t feel like being cooped up in this office, you can take your work anywhere with you. Outside, home… or even my office. I would love the company, trust me. It is about time that we got someone in here who was easy on the eyes. I’m about tired of looking at all of these ugly mugs every day, so your presence will be appreciated.”
He placed the laptop on the desk next to the computer. “Well, thank you. And, for the record, seeing you will make it a lot easier for me to come to work every day. I think I would rather spend the day catching glimpses of you rather than doing my work from home just to look at the same walls I see every day.”
His eyes cautiously bent around the curves on my body like he was traveling on a mountain road. “Likewise, Caroline.” I found myself enamored with his physique, and before long, my mind replayed scenes of us naked on his living room couch. The noise from him placing the laptop on the desk snapped me out of my lust-filled daydream.
“How is your hand?”
It was still bandaged. “Oh, it is fine. Still hurts a bit on contact, but for the most part, I am good. Thank you for asking.”
I wanted to talk to him more about Sarah. I knew he still felt like it was his fault that she died and I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to put my hand on the back of his neck and guide his lips softly onto mine, so I could ease his pain. I was his drug, and I didn’t mind getting him high. “No problem, Harrison. If you need to talk about anything, just let me know. Maybe we can go to lunch or something one day.”
“Yeah. I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” He stepped towards the door. “Well, I should um, let you get settled. Let me know if you need anything. All of the numbers are inside the cabinets, and I believe our company information is stored on one of the folders of the computer. Here,” he said, leaning towards the keyboard, “let me find that for you so you can–”
“No, I’ve got it.” I tapped his hand like a mother correcting her child. “It would be a pretty sad thing if I couldn’t identify the accounting program knowing that I just graduated less than a month ago. I’ll take care of it. You go and take care of what you need to. I’ve got it from here… boss.”
“Boss.” He laughed. “Yeah… I’ll um… I’ll let you settle in. Happy to have you on board, Caroline.”
“Likewise.”
Our glances had lingered in the air before he left the office. I exhaled. A smile plastered onto my face like wet paint on the side of a building. I thought about the number of places we could have sex while we were at work together. I quickly shook the idea out of my head and sat down in front of the computer. Alright. I guess I should get to work. I pulled Sarah’s picture from my bag and propped it on my desk. Her smile reflected like rays of sunshine off a diamond. Shut up, Sarah; I am not thinking about your father. I had paused for a second before I chuckled. Alright, maybe I am, but only a little bit! Only a little bit.