Author's Note: I fixed a few things in chapters 1-7 if you would like to look through and reread. Thanks for visiting! -Fox
When Monday morning hit, I was really not prepared for it. Tuesday wasn't any better. By Wednesday morning, I was ready to curl up in the fetal position and hide under my desk until five o'clock. The worst part was that I couldn't stop checking my cell for messages. Alex hadn't called or messaged me since he arrived in New York, and that was only a quick "Landed safely." I didn't want to admit it, but I really missed him more than anything... and I loved the car.
"Morning, Mel." Tiffany smiled at me, setting some folders on my desk. "Most of your appointments are for today and tomorrow, so you can probably take off Friday."
I blinked at her. "Take Friday off?"
"Yeah," she shrugged. "There's this big charity event that night. They do it every year and most of our high end clientele usually go to it. It's your typical fundraiser. Auctions, speeches, fancy dresses. Mr. Griffin usually invites all of the publishers to go free of charge, so check your mailbox." She winked at me before hurrying out of the room in her usual 'hardest working assistant in the world' manner.
That's nice of him. I thought to myself. Maybe I would take the day off. There was a knock at my door and Tiffany emerged once again with a confused look on her face.
"This package just arrived from our New York office. Do you know someone at that firm?"
I bit my lip and shrugged "Maybe it's some supplies or something." I took the package and ripped the paper off to find a medium sized white box with a card taped to the side.
"Oh! Read it aloud." she smiled at me.
"Um," I glanced at her and back at the card. "Okay."
"Like the dew shines on the leaves,
And the sun to which the moon relieves,
I give unto you the warmth of my embrace,
And the speed of my ever-dedicated hearts' race."
I glanced up at her before continuing. The look on her face was priceless.
"My plane is delayed, so please don't wait up for me tonight. I apologize and miss you terribly. I would like to see you in your gift this Friday night at the charity function. I cross my heart I will be there waiting to hold you in my arms once again."
I was more than confident that my face was beet red at that point.
"Well go on! Open it!" she jumped twice up and down. "You're killing me!"
I slid the lid off of the box and uncovered a sparkling red garment. A dress. I took ahold of the top of it and stood up, holding it against my torso and looking at her.
"Oh, it's flipping gorgeous, Mel! I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"
I couldn't speak. I looked down at the dress I was still holding. It was bright red, covered in glitter, and had a slit up my side to the tip of the thigh. Was he trying to kill me?
"Earth to Mel," she pretended to knock in my direction. "I guess this means you need Friday off?"
I just nodded, folding the dress back into the box and sitting down again.
"I'll let you catch your breath," she smiled at me. "Call me if you need anything."
"A Xanax," I whispered after she shut the door behind her. I pulled my phone out of the desk drawer and sent him a message. "Thanks for the dress. Apology accepted. See you Friday night."
The message updated that he read it, but there was no response. I rolled my eyes and threw my phone back in the drawer. At least I knew he was still alive.
Upon receiving my gift from Alex, I attempted to speed up time by taking as many interviews as possible and doing all of my paperwork. Thankfully, it worked.
"Oh you look so hot, Mel!" my sister piped up from the doorway to my room.
"Please, enlighten me, sis. How do you keep getting in my apartment?"
A wicked grin spread across her face. "Where are you going all gussied up? Your new job paying this much already?"
I realized I hadn't talked to her since I got the job. "Oh, it was a gift."
He eyebrows shot up instantly. "From the walking HR complaint? Or from Hugh Hefner?"
I rolled my eyes. "We're kind of, going out. He's meeting me at this charity dinner tonight. He bought me the dress."
She took a step closer to me and snagged something off of the fabric.
"Hey! What are you-"
"Mel... you're wearing five thousand dollars."
"What?"
"The dress," she showed me the tag. "He paid five thousand dollars!"
My knees gave out and a I caught myself on my bed. "Five th... I can't do this! What if I spill something on it?"
"Well, don't do that!" she sat down next to me. "Relax, Mel. You know what this means? He must care about you a lot."
"Five G's is nothing to him." I looked at her. "He spent more than that at dinner during my interview with that asshole."
"Do you need a ride? I can't imagine you'll ride on a bus in that."
I let out a rugged breath. "No, I'm borrowing his car."
She just laughed. "He's totally smitten. What is it? An Audi? Is it Spyder?"
"Mercedes. I don't think he likes sporty cars. Just classy. This is white. He has another in black."
"You better hurry then, so you won't be late." she kissed my cheek once. "I'm proud of you, and I need to meet him."
Not going to happen anytime soon, lady. "Sure. I'll call you when I get home."
I handed the valet my keys before hitting the barricade of photographers on the red carpet outside the building. So it was that kind of charity event. What had I gotten myself in to? Plenty of "who is she" comments echoed from the crowd, but they still snapped plenty of pictures of me. I ignored the flashing cameras and questions and focused on trying not to fall on my face. Where was Alex?
Just as I asked myself that question, an arm snaked around my waist and a pair of lips met my right temple. "You are the most beautiful woman here."
I turned around quickly to take him in. His hair was a classy mess, and he was wearing his black tux. I reached up and straightened his bowtie before kissing him once on the lips. Smiling, I whispered to him, "Welcome back."
"I'm glad to be back. Sorry I left you for the week." he kissed me once more again. "I missed you terribly."
I smiled once again at him. "I missed you more, but it's your job. You can't help it."
"Yes, but-"
"Alex!"
He exhaled sharply, turning to follow the voice that called his name. We walked up to one of the women in the crowd who seemed to be alone. She was holding a pad of paper and a pen.
"Alicia," he smiled sourly. "We meet again."
"Yes, it's always a pleasure." The smile she returned to us was venomous. I could tell this would not be a fun interview. "A little birdie told me that this is your newest editor here in Atlanta."
I looked up at him for some sort of confirmation on that fact, although I was aware of my position. No one was really supposed to know about us romantically, although I knew it would come up eventually. What I was worried about was the hate that would ensue at work.
"I didn't want it to come out in one of those low-end columns like this, but no, she's not."
I blinked twice, and bit my tongue. Wait... what?
"She is the new owner of one of my Atlanta offices."
My stomach hit the floor, and I was suddenly very light headed. Owner? What the hell was he talking about?
"You're selling out? Is it getting to be a little much for you, Alex? Is it time to give up on this business venture and find another hobby?" Alicia piped up, biting her lip in anticipation.
"I just think it's time to settle down. Before now, work was my life. Now, I have Mel to share that life with, and she's a pretty big part of it. I don't know what I would do without her."
I glanced up at him and he was looking down at me. I swallowed hard, forcing a smile to cover my now-red face.
"Precious."
"So, your little birdie was wrong again, Alicia. Go home before you get sued again." he waved her off, pulling me back toward the rest of the crowd.
"One more question!"
"One more," he frowned, tightening his grip around my waist. "That's it."
She nodded, turning to look at me. "How do you feel about Melanie's rocky past in Florida?"
I stepped out of his grip. "Excuse me?"
"It's public record, miss, about your murder charge."
"That was thrown out," I snapped at her. "I'm innocent."
She just nodded, narrowing her eyes. "How's your friend? The one who did get thrown in jail? I heard he was released yesterday."
My heart sank. "What?"
"This interview is over." he grabbed my wrist, turning me around and dragging me straight into the building.
I looked behind me as Alicia slid the pen behind her left ear and licked her bottom lip in satisfaction before disappearing in the crowd behind her.