time.
"I told you his ass was no good.”
I wanted so badly to tell her to shut up, to tell her she had told me no such thing, but I couldn't. She had, and she was right. Lawrence Baldwin was a marketing executive at a flash sales site for urban apparel. We met eight months ago when his company hired our firm to take over their social media advertising. Myra took one look at him and said he looked like he had the word playa stamped on his drawers. I’d thought so, too, but working lunches turned to dinners, turned to bona-fide dates, and I’d discovered a sensitive man under the handsome and confident exterior.
Coughing and sneezing my ass.
I stabbed at the salad from behind my desk. My boss, Lila Monroe, was in Australia for the whole week. Myra was the assistant to Mr. Hampton Lloyd himself, the Lloyd in Braxton & Lloyd—who also happened to be in Australia. Myra suspected that Lila and old Hamp were "getting down" down under. To that I’d naively replied, "They're both married." Myra, having an answer for everything, said, "So what? People cheat, that's what they do, holy vows or not." I didn't care if Lila and Hamp were doing the horizontal tango all over Australia with koala bears and kangaroos to boot. Lila being gone had lightened my workload and allowed me to focus on the other things I had going on—like my dwindling finances.
"This is turning into the week from hell." I dumped the rest of my salad in the trashcan.
"When does Grace leave?” Myra asked.
"She left."
"What?” Myra finished the last of the soup. "I thought she was here till the end of the month."
“That's what I thought too, but then she tells me she got an audition for General Hospital or some other soap and said she had to leave immediately."
"Shady.”
"Uh huh. Funny how with this last minute decision, she still managed to have all of her stuff packed and gone the next day. I just hope someone answers my ad soon. If not, I'll have to come up with next month's rent on my own and then wait while Mr. Tucci finds someone." I shot Myra a quick glance. "You sure you won't reconsider moving in with me?"
"Girl, you know I love you but two divas in one apartment is not a good idea."
"Grace and I managed okay."
"That's because Grace was always laid up in some guy's bed at his apartment. No. Our wonderful friendship will last longer if we make it a point to never live together. Besides, I can’t break my lease."
"Well, then I definitely need to find a roommate, like yesterday. I cannot afford to pay that rent on my own and I really don't want to see who Mr. Tucci finds."
"People will call. You live in a rent-controlled midtown apartment. It's a dream. Now I have to get back to work. I have six meetings to set up and I wanted to leave early today."
"Big plans?” I asked.
"I don't know how big it is. We've only been out twice.” Myra flashed a wicked smile.
"You are so nasty."
"I know."
With a wave of her hand Myra was gone. I gazed out the window; from my thirtieth floor office every one of the bustling New Yorkers below looked like they were ants of various colors. As I watched, the ants began to blur. I didn't cry often and was ashamed that the past week's events were having such an effect on me.
I should have been relieved that Lawrence had shown his true colors before I’d fallen totally in love with him. I wasn't quite there, but I was close. Lawrence knew where all my buttons were and he knew how to push them. It was more than just his lovemaking skills. There were times when Lawrence was funny, tender, and generous, and times when I felt he had really been there for me, especially when it came to my job.
There was a lot of jealousy from the other assistants when I’d landed a job working alongside Lila Monroe who, as rumor had it, was to be made partner soon. Lila managed three teams solely devoted to social
"I told you his ass was no good.”
I wanted so badly to tell her to shut up, to tell her she had told me no such thing, but I couldn't. She had, and she was right. Lawrence Baldwin was a marketing executive at a flash sales site for urban apparel. We met eight months ago when his company hired our firm to take over their social media advertising. Myra took one look at him and said he looked like he had the word playa stamped on his drawers. I’d thought so, too, but working lunches turned to dinners, turned to bona-fide dates, and I’d discovered a sensitive man under the handsome and confident exterior.
Coughing and sneezing my ass.
I stabbed at the salad from behind my desk. My boss, Lila Monroe, was in Australia for the whole week. Myra was the assistant to Mr. Hampton Lloyd himself, the Lloyd in Braxton & Lloyd—who also happened to be in Australia. Myra suspected that Lila and old Hamp were "getting down" down under. To that I’d naively replied, "They're both married." Myra, having an answer for everything, said, "So what? People cheat, that's what they do, holy vows or not." I didn't care if Lila and Hamp were doing the horizontal tango all over Australia with koala bears and kangaroos to boot. Lila being gone had lightened my workload and allowed me to focus on the other things I had going on—like my dwindling finances.
"This is turning into the week from hell." I dumped the rest of my salad in the trashcan.
"When does Grace leave?” Myra asked.
"She left."
"What?” Myra finished the last of the soup. "I thought she was here till the end of the month."
“That's what I thought too, but then she tells me she got an audition for General Hospital or some other soap and said she had to leave immediately."
"Shady.”
"Uh huh. Funny how with this last minute decision, she still managed to have all of her stuff packed and gone the next day. I just hope someone answers my ad soon. If not, I'll have to come up with next month's rent on my own and then wait while Mr. Tucci finds someone." I shot Myra a quick glance. "You sure you won't reconsider moving in with me?"
"Girl, you know I love you but two divas in one apartment is not a good idea."
"Grace and I managed okay."
"That's because Grace was always laid up in some guy's bed at his apartment. No. Our wonderful friendship will last longer if we make it a point to never live together. Besides, I can’t break my lease."
"Well, then I definitely need to find a roommate, like yesterday. I cannot afford to pay that rent on my own and I really don't want to see who Mr. Tucci finds."
"People will call. You live in a rent-controlled midtown apartment. It's a dream. Now I have to get back to work. I have six meetings to set up and I wanted to leave early today."
"Big plans?” I asked.
"I don't know how big it is. We've only been out twice.” Myra flashed a wicked smile.
"You are so nasty."
"I know."
With a wave of her hand Myra was gone. I gazed out the window; from my thirtieth floor office every one of the bustling New Yorkers below looked like they were ants of various colors. As I watched, the ants began to blur. I didn't cry often and was ashamed that the past week's events were having such an effect on me.
I should have been relieved that Lawrence had shown his true colors before I’d fallen totally in love with him. I wasn't quite there, but I was close. Lawrence knew where all my buttons were and he knew how to push them. It was more than just his lovemaking skills. There were times when Lawrence was funny, tender, and generous, and times when I felt he had really been there for me, especially when it came to my job.
There was a lot of jealousy from the other assistants when I’d landed a job working alongside Lila Monroe who, as rumor had it, was to be made partner soon. Lila managed three teams solely devoted to social
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