Page 2 of Bratva, Baby
Ava
As I stand by my desk thinking of where to start the day, I feel eyes on me, but when I turn around, no one is paying special attention to me. Maybe I am just anxious on my first day at a new job, and I am imagining things.
As I settle into my desk and log into my work account, I notice an email from the HR department letting us all know that the CEO will be out of the office for the foreseeable future.
Great. That eases some of my anxiety since I won’t have to make that impression just yet, but that also means I will have to prolong meeting the CEO for another time .
“Hey.”
Looking up from my work emails, I see a man, if he can be called anything less than a God, standing in front of my desk, waiting expectantly. Of course, I realize I have been staring instead of responding to his greeting. Great way to make a fool of yourself on the first day, Ava.
“Hey, there,” I finally reply.
Dark eyes meet mine.“Hello, my name is Andy, it’s nice to meet you. I am new on the floor as well,” Andy says.
Shock causes my brain-to-mouth filter to malfunction, and I ramble. “Nice to meet you, Andy. I am Ava. I guess it is pretty obvious that I am new, huh? No one else in the office has such an empty desk.”
Don’t imagine him shirtless. I repeat, don’t…imagine him…shirtless. Get your shit together, Ava. It isn’t like you’ve never seen a God before. Granted, they were in magazines or on television, but still.
Said God isn’t just any God, though and he knows it with that shit eating grin. God/Andy stands roughly six feet five with black hair and brown eyes. Even better, he has facial hair swoon. This man, if he weren’t a coworker, would definitely be my type.
Dammit. I need to focus on work, and not on the man in front of me. I’m so caught up in my internal monologue that it takes me a moment to realize he’s speaking again .
“With you being new here, I can show you around the office and introduce you to a few people, if you’d like?” He offers.
“No, thank you. I really appreciate it, but I am more of a ’stick-to-myself’ kind of woman. Besides, aren’t you new too?” If he is disappointed that I politely turned his offer down, he doesn’t show it.
“You caught me. I just wanted an excuse to spend some time with you, but I’ll find a way,” he says with a wink before walking off, seemingly unbothered by my cool indifference.
As I finish up my tasks for the day, a shadow falls over my desk. Looking up, I’m met with startling blue eyes set in a beautiful face framed by blonde hair.
“May I help you?” I ask politely.
“I’m Meredith. I saw you talking to Andy earlier. You both may be new to the office, but I call dibs. Stay away.” She says cattily.
Wow. Okay. I didn’t know we were back in high school again.
“You can have him. I am not interested in the office drama, thank you very much.” I say this as if uncalled-for jealousy isn’t swirling in my chest. Of course, she would have her eyes set on him. She is the goddamn Aphrodite to his Eros. Whatever. I am here to work, that’s it , I remind myself .
“Don’t think I didn’t see you eyeing him up, little miss Ava.” God, she won’t leave it alone, will she? And when did she learn my name?
“Ok, you delivered your message. Thank you.” I say, just trying to keep the peace.
I don’t do drama, and this is ridiculous.
Thankfully, she stalks off with her pissy attitude and leaves me to finish up.
Before I go, I want to make a list of things to bring from home to make my cubicle more personal. This stale energy is stifling.
Succulent
Photo of parents
Clear Quartz tree and Black Tourmaline tower
“Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you’re donating blood.”-sign
That’s everything I can think of bringing for now, so I fold the list up and put it in my bag. Standing up, I'm ready to head home, so I head straight for the elevator. No need for any more drama from the likes of my new friend Meredith .
I’m in the elevator, thinking I made it scot-free, when a muscular hand stops the doors from closing, and none other than Andy himself steps in. Fuck. Meredith is sure to have a field day with this, but I am nothing if not polite. “Hey, Andy”
“I was hoping to catch you before you left. Would you like to get a cup of coffee? ”
“No, thank you. I have to get home. With today being my first day in the office, it has been exhausting.” I say, hoping he buys my excuse so I can make a quick exit, when suddenly the elevator shakes, the lights shut off and the damn thing stops moving.
Suddenly, Andy’s flashlight on his phone turns on, and I can see his face again.
Are you fucking kidding me, Universe? Now, not only am I stuck in an elevator, but it’s with the guy in the office who already has baggage, and he has only been here a little longer than I have.
Thank God it’s dark enough that he can’t see me rolling my eyes at this absurd situation. “Now what?” I proclaim.
“It’s probably just a power outage. I’m sure it will power back on soon.
It will be ok; I will send a few texts and see what’s going on.
” He says as his voice takes on a deeper tone that actually helps calm me.
If I had any friends in the building, I could have just texted someone myself, but I am too introverted to make friends so quickly, well, other than Andy here, and it may seem he might want more.
The light from his phone illuminates his face as he starts shooting off text messages to check on our status as trapped in a tin can.
After about ten minutes of still no news, I admit defeat and slump against the wall and sit on the floor; it could be worse, at least I’m not claustrophobic.
Imagine if I were hyperventilating in this small box, breathing in the spice of his cologne, good lord have mercy, I think I would combust. I can’t deny that I like Andy; he seems like a fantastic guy, but with us working together and there already being a catty “other woman,” and it’s only my first day!
Is a little peace in life too much to ask for?
“Since we are stuck here anyway, we might as well get to know each other,” Andy says, shocking me out of my reverie.
“I guess you’re right. It might help the time pass faster if we at least talk or something.” I reply, hating the quiet surrounding us.
“So, what do you like to do in your free time, Ava?” He asks. And at that, I can’t help but bust out laughing at such a cliché question.
“You choose that cliché as your icebreaker?” I know I am being harsh, but how else am I going to keep my distance so I can do what I came here to do? Survive.
“Fine, since you’re feeling mouthy, miss brat, let’s play truth or dare.” He offers.
“Whatever.” It’s not like I have to choose dare , I think to myself, but it’s like he is reading my mind.
“But we will have an extra rule. Dare must be chosen at least once every three rounds, so you can’t hide behind truth.” He says triumphantly, as if he has already won the entire game.
“Ok, tough guy, it was your idea, you go first. Truth or dare?” I tease.
“Truth.” He confidently replies.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to hide behind truth.”
“I still have a couple of more turns to choose dare. Why do you have an extra special dare planned for me?” My cheeks heat at his implication.
“Ok. Truth then. How old are you?” I ask, keeping it innocent and basic.
“Really? So simple? I am thirty-eight years old. How about you?”
“Uh-uh, no freebies, mister.” I joke.
“Ok, truth or dare, Miss Ava?” He asks.
“Dare,” I reply bravely. “Let’s get it out of the way first, and then it's smooth sailing from here with truth.”
“I dare you to go on a coffee date with me.”
“Bu- “
“Before you object, hear me out.” He says, placatingly. “It doesn’t have to be an official date. I truly just want to get to know you, even if it ends as friends. I find you to be interesting just from what I have seen around the office.”
Dammit, who can say no to that? Besides, it’s a dare; while I can say no, I should hold up my end of the game, so I look at him and say, “Fine, when and where?”
After a few more rounds of truth or dare, where I chose truth, the lights turned back on; the elevator shudders, and we were descending once again.
I could have been stuck in the elevator with worse people.
Meredith comes to mind, and I thank the Universe that wasn’t the case; it would have been a bloodbath in the first ten minutes.
Ok, that’s dark, but for sure it would have been a shouting match, and I just don’t have the energy for that.
As the elevator doors open, and I prepare to part ways with my new colleague, Andy reaches out and grabs my arm to stop me. “Ava, wait. It’s too late in the afternoon for you to ride the bus, so let me give you a ride home, so I know you’re safe.”
“And I should accept a ride from someone I just met today?” I quip back.
“Well, we do work together, so you know my background has been cleared.” He jokes. “But I am nothing if not reasonable, so I will make you an offer. I can give you a ride home, so I know you’re safe, or I will just ride the bus with you, so again, I know you made it home safe.”
“Are you aware how ridiculous you sound right now?” I ask the crazy coworker who has apparently taken it upon himself to be my protector.
“I am twenty-seven years old, I have been living in New York for the past nine years and have been taking the bus, subway and train for just as long. I will be fine.” I say this right as thunder booms overhead.
I really should start checking the weather app more often .
Though it hasn’t begun raining yet, I figure I might as well take him up on his offer for a ride home since it’s still a walk between the bus stop and my home.
It isn’t much, and it is in a run-down part of town, but I can afford it, and it’s a roof over my head.
Now, if you were to ask if it is safe, that is a different answer entirely.
“Ugh, lead the way,” I say, groaning. I just want to smack his smug smirk off his face.
Since we have now determined he will be my chauffeur home for the day, he leads me to the elevator that goes down to the parking garage; this one better not get stuck, too.
As if reading my mind, or at least my expression, he says, “Don’t worry, it’s a quick ride.”
When we exit the elevator two floors below us, we head for a black Escalade SUV, and I can’t help but wonder why he needs such a big vehicle in New York, but I brush the thought off; it’s none of my business what kind of vehicle this man drives.
Climbing into the SUV, he instructs me to type my address into the GPS, and we go on our not-so-merry way.
Annoyingly, there isn’t a cloud in sight after that thunder show a minute ago. Just great.