I'll Be Seeing You

Cipriani's

Lydia huffed as she stood awkwardly behind Jamie and Tim at Cipriani's on Wall Street during another charity event two days later. She hadn't gotten any warning about this one. Bev had shown up at her desk with an extra ticket. She couldn't make it. Could she pretty please take her spot? Lydia asked who was going and only noticed that Bev had lied to her after the fact.

Bev had looked her straight in the eye and said "Of course, you'll be at the C.K. table and definitely know a few people. I'm not sure who ended up confirming though so you'll figure it out when you get there. Have fun!" She had been foolish to think that Bev wouldn't know who was in attendance. She had helped plan the event after all. It was her job to know who would be there.

In the thirty minutes since she arrived, she had been subjected to watching Jamie and Tim flirt and seduce the fit twenty-somethings on their third nose job, wearing matching Herve Ledger bandage dresses. Lydia felt dowdy in her work attire: navy dress, comfortable yet stylish heels, flat hair, and lipstick that had been reapplied for the fourth time that day. She saw the women flip their hair over their shoulders, lean in close to the men and grab whatever they could—arms, shoulders, waists. They quite literally wanted to get their hands on them. By the time dinner started, Lydia was disgusted. The night was made more intolerable when she found her name card seated between Jamie and Tim. She didn't recognize any of the other people seated with them. She had nowhere to go.

"Hey Lyd, is it okay if I sit here?" Jamie hovered over her shoulder and pointed to the empty seat with his name on it. She could say no. She imagined his shocked face if she had done so. But she was still playing sweet.

"Sure, I don't care." Since their night together she had dutifully ignored him in the office. She had gotten phenomenally good at taking the long way back to her desk, never needing to pass by Jamie at all. She had spent the better part of the two days oscillating between hating him and wanting him. Sometimes she hated that she still wanted him despite all the things he said to deter her. She still wasn't sure what to believe. His actions and his words were wildly separate and she was having difficulty making sense of either.

He tried making small talk. "This is a nice event, it's good you will get to meet everyone."

She felt the annoyance bubbling up. He was talking to her like she was a child again. She didn't need to be told what to do. If anything, she should remind him that he was at a corporate event and shouldn't be flirting with every bimbo that walked by.

"Excuse me, but is this my long-lost son?"

It took a moment to register, but as Jamie launched out of his seat, Lydia put the pieces together. This must be Andrew, Jamie's dad. They were the spitting image of one another. Lydia vaguely knew about Andrew from google and his reputation in the industry was solid. Slapping each other on the back as a way of greeting, Lydia could see the resemblance. Same eyes, same nose, same crinkle when they smiled. She was overwhelmed by how similar father and son looked.

"And I don't want to be presumptive but are you Jamie's Lydia?" Andrew smiled at her before returning his gaze to Jamie.

"I'm sorry I'm being so rude. Dad, this is Lydia Barrows. Not 'my Lydia.' She works with me."

Rising from her seat, Lydia extended a hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Chancellor."

"Please, call me Andrew. It's lovely to finally meet you in person."

Lydia flushed from the attention.

"Lydia, any time he steps out of line you just give me a call, okay?"

Lydia noticed Andrew's eyes glowed with laughter the same way his son's did.

"Don't worry dad, I think she's doing a fine job of keeping me in line."