In My Wildest Dreams

Eighth Date

"Ms. Mills, how pleasant to see you today." exclaimed Mr. Rosenbusch as I walked in. I was a bit early this morning. "The same to you, Mr. Rosenbusch." I said politely, walking over to the front desk to set my things down. I reached the desk and realized that he was still following me, so I turned around to face him again. "Mr. Richards should be here a bit earlier from now on. As you know, I've been looking for someone to take my place for a while now. I've taken him into consideration. What do you think of him?" he asked.

I blinked in surprise. Don't get me wrong, I love Mr. Rosenbusch. We've always been on good terms, but he's never asked me of my opinion on business. He was always the boss and I the secretary. "Um... He's fine, I guess. I never put much thought into it, Sir," I answered truthfully, "I think he would be a good boss. When were you planning on leaving?" I asked curiously. Mr. Rosenbusch was about 40 years old with a wife and two kids in high school. Even though he never said anything about it, anyone could tell that he wanted to spend more time with his family. It was quite sweet, I thought.

"Oh, good. I believe if everything works out well in the next few days, I should being leaving in a week or so time. When Mr. Richards arrives, send him right up." he said, smiling at me. I gave him a small nod before he walked over to the elevators to go back upstairs to his office. I wonder what Thomas would be like as my boss.

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I can't believe it's been almost a month since Thomas first asked me out. In the past few weeks, we went out about six other times. I loved spending time with him. "Good morning, Amber. How are you today?" Thomas asked as he walked up to the front desk. "I'm good. How are you?" I asked, smiling up at his handsome face. "Just fine, thank you. I was told to come early, so here I am." Thomas announced proudly. I glanced down at the time on the computer screen. It was only 9:13am. "That's pretty impressive and really surprising!" I said, joking with him. Thomas usually shows up around 10 o'clock in the morning, but I guess not today. "Hey, that's offensive! I can be early sometimes!" he whined quietly, hand over heart. I scoffed in answer and got up from the desk.

"Come along, Mr. Richards. Mr. Rosenbusch would like to see you now." I said sternly. Thomas pouted a bit before giving in and following me to the elevators. We got into an elevator with a few others and, after they had pressed the button for the floor that they were going to, I pressed the button for the 9th floor. "So, why did you have to come in so early today?" I inquired, wondering if he knew yet. "Mr. Rosenbusch said it was something important," he remarked, giving me a look, "do you know what's going on?" My eyes widened a fraction. Should I tell him? "Mr. Rosenbusch is giving you his place as boss!" I blurted, covering my mouth right after I said it.

Thomas looked confused for a couple of seconds before the words started to sink in. A humongous grin swept over his face and my breath hitched. He leaned down to my level. "Do you know what that means? I get to see your beautiful face every single day." he whispered slowly into my ear. I felt my face flush pink at the compliment. The elevator finally made it to the 9th floor and Thomas and I stepped out and down the hall. "I know. You better stay on your best behavior to get the spot." I breathed, trying to slow my rapidly beating heart. We walked to the door and turned to each other. "Will do." Thomas complied, giving me a quick kiss on my forehead. I opened the door for him and he calmly walked in after saying goodbye.

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"So, just taking a wild guess here, I'm not allowed to ask where we're going, am I right?" I asked, pretty sure I was right. Thomas was, yet again, driving along the highway. "Don't even try." he advised, chuckling. In a few minutes, Thomas had turned off the highway and onto a smaller city street.

A few hours ago, Thomas had come down to tell my the good news. He had already been given the spot as boss to try it out for a few days before Mr. Rosenbusch left. He also asked me out again. After work was over, I rushed home, had dinner, and dressed in a sweater and blue jeans as requested by Thomas. Around 7 pm, he came to pick me up.

Thomas made another turn onto a small country looking road. It felt so peaceful and calming. "Don't worry, we're almost there!" he assured me. Thomas pulled the car up to a big house and ran over to my side and opened the door for me. "What is this place?" I breathed, taking in my surroundings. The house was beautiful with white, aging stone. "Follow me." Thomas whispered, taking my hand. He led me around the back to a beautiful garden. There were a few rows of flowers and small paths that led off into a wooded area. The old trees looked beautiful with the sunset as a background.

"I've only been here a few times, but it's still as amazing as ever. It's called  Bartram's Garden." Thomas murmured softly, pulling me closer to him as we walked through the rows of flowers. "I agree. This is beautiful." I said, still in awe. Thomas looked down at me, his lips twitching in a small smile. "Not as beautiful as you." he whispered, kissing my cheek. I blushed pink and smiled back up at him. "You're not so bad yourself." I mused.

We walked down one of the paths and into the wooded area. After passing a few trees, the path opened up to a lovely clearing. There were a few steps that led down to a grass area. Beyond that was another patch of pretty flowers and a small gazebo. Thomas pulled me down the stairs and over to the gazebo. "How do you feel about dancing?" he inquired, taking out his phone. "Well, I never really danced with someone before, but I'd like to try." I giggled, thinking of myself falling everywhere. He smiled at my answer. "Then, what better time than to try now?" he said, starting a slow song on his phone and setting it down. Thomas took me into his arms as the song started.

"When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky or a beautiful sunrise. There's so much they hold..." We danced as the sun slowly descended in the sky. By the time the song was over the sun had fully went down, under the horizon. Small lights turned on all around us as we swayed for a bit. When we pulled away, Thomas picked up his phone and took my hand again. "I have one more thing that I want to show you." he explained as we walked down a different path. The lights followed us along the edges of the path to a wooden fence. "Look over there." Thomas said, pointing beyond the fence. I gasped at the magnificent sight.

"Oh my god! Thomas, this is... this is just... wow!" I sputtered, looking at the fascinating cityscape. From in between the trees, you could see the dazzling city of Philadelphia. The city lit up the night so wonderfully. It was almost indescribable! I turned to Thomas to find that he was already looking at me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his. "Thank you for bringing me out here. This was perfect." I sighed, hugging him tightly.

We were silent for a few seconds, just enjoying each others company. Thomas pulled away and looked down into my eyes. "Amber, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?" he cooed into my ear. I stayed quiet for a few seconds just to unnerve him. "Yes, but under one condition!" I declared. "And that is?" he chuckled. "You have to become my boyfriend." I announced, smashing our lips back together.

"You have a deal, darling." Thomas promised when we pulled away.