Need You

Chapter 26

"These look nice." Amanda complimented as she looked at the pile of flyers of A&H Financial Consulting on the table.

Taking one of the white papers which has all the necessary information about the agency she asked, "When are you going to show me the office."

"Today."

"Really!?" I chuckled at how quickly her face lit up.

"What are these?" Nikki asked as she showed up our table.

"The new A&H Financial Consulting flyers." I answered.

"Mmm."

"I want to show them to Ethel and see if I can share the flyers here."

"She's on her way." Nikki said. I called Ethel before coming to the restaurant so I was just waiting for her. "But you know already that she'll say yes."

I chuckled.

A waiter called her away but she soon came back to tell me that her aunt was waiting for me in her office.

Taking the pile along with me, I walked to the back and knocked on the door. "Hello." I sang happily as I entered.

"Harry." She had her arms wide open for me. We hugged briefly and then she asked me to sit. "You look great."

"Thank you."

"Are these the flyers?" She asked when I placed the pile on her desk.

"Yes. The office is finally ready and will be open tomorrow."

"That's great! I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you." I said with a smile. "I was wondering if they could be shared at the restaurant."

"Of course." The pride and joy was clear on her face.

My mind travelled back to that day I was lying in the restaurant's parking lot, and then she brought me to her house and let me stay there for as long as she did.

"Miss Ethel," The thought got me emotional. "Thank you so much for everything. You gave me the opportunity to make something of my life after coming out of jail and being hit with the reality of what it's like being an ex con. Thank you."

"You're welcome Harry and it was my pleasure. You have no idea just how proud I am to see you at this point in your life."

It was just right - we both got up and hugged each other.

I would always be grateful and indebted to her. Even after I told her about being in jail, something I tried to keep hidden, she still insisted that it wasn't necessary for me to leave the house because of it.

"And guess what?" She questioned happily as she held me at arm's length.

"What?"

"You already have your first client; Ethel's Diner."

"Wow. Thank you!"

We hugged a couple more times and then I left her office feeling very glad. "A&H already has a client." I announced to Amanda when I got back to the table.

"That's amazing!" She exclaimed. "Who is it?"

"Ethel's Diner."

"That's great! I'm so happy for you."

"For us. This is as much yours as it is mine." I stated honestly.

She smiled. "Okay then, do you mind showing me our office then?"

"Of course not. Let's go."

The last time I was at the office was two days ago when I met up with an interior designer. It was on the first floor of a business complex.

When we got out of the taxi, Amanda immediately noticed the banner which had A&H Financial Consulting boldly printed on it, hanging above the office's windows. "I see it."

Greeting the security guard we made our way up the stairs onto the first floor. I led to the office and right before I unlocked it, I turned to her and said, "No. You need to close your eyes for this one."

She grinned. "Fine. Just make sure you hold me so I don't trip." She said with her eyes closed.

"Don't worry."

Unlocking the tinted doors, I opened it and guided her in. "Open." I said gently as I stood behind her closely.

"It's very pretty."

It was a modest area. The varnished yellow wooden desk matched well with the tinted green on the walls. The door was in between the work area and the lounge area which had a dark gray couch with a variety of coloured throw pillows.
There was a matching floor to ceiling  shelf next to the couch.

"This where I imagine sitting with clients and having detailed conversations about the services they need." I said referring to the other half of the room occupied mostly by a round table with the same colour as the desk. "And the tabletop fridge in the corner is to provide some refreshments."

The large windows opposite the door would let in an incredible amount of light during the day.

The office was exactly what I had in mind when I spoke to the interior designer. Taking in a deep breath, I let my eyes roam the room and then eventually they fell on Amanda standing by the shelf.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me?" She asked, smiling.

"I'm just thinking; about how insane it is that we were able to pull this off in under a month."

"Yeah." She responded charmingly.

"You know that none of this would have happened if not for you, right?" I stated, taking slow steps towards the shelf. Maintaining eye contact, I could feel the atmosphere in the room slowly changing.

Stopping right in front of her, my focus slowly moved from her eyes to her seemingly soft lips. In that moment, I wanted to do more than just admire her beauty.

"All of this is because of you."

"It's the least I could do after I got you fired from your job."

"With good reason." I added.

"You shouldn't be smiling. That wasn't your proudest moment."

"That might be true, but it led me, led us, to this." I responded, referring to the agency and to our friendship which I was starting to think could become more than just that.

"Thank you Amanda," I said softly. "for everything."

She stared at me with a wide grin and responded, "It was a pleasure."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was something, wouldn't you agree? Thank you for reading. Please do VOTE. If you're enjoying the story, kindly share it with others. Thank you.