The Delivery Girl

65. Welcome

Julie

I finally shut the cardboard box full of everything I kept at my desk. I didn't realize how much stuff I'd accumulated over the last nine months. Pens, messy notes, snacks. Tiny pieces of a life I built here without even realizing it.

"Well that's it," I say, dusting off my hands. "What are you planning to do with the desk?"

Callen thinks for a moment. "I originally thought I'd just get rid of it, but having an extra assistant has actually been really helpful. I think I'm going to hire a replacement."

My brain betrays me and I suddenly picture someone sitting at the desk here. A tall beautiful woman with a chronic flirting problem.

He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. "Don't make that face. No one will ever top you."

I laugh and lean against him, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne. "You might want to get a new desk though, something is wrong with the top drawer." I demonstrate, opening the drawer and trying to close it. It doesn't fully close, sticking out a few inches.

"That's odd." Callen crouches down and peers inside. He uses his key as a screwdriver to remove some screws and takes out the drawer entirely. He reaches inside and digs around. "There's something stuck in the tracks," he mutters.

I gasp as Callen pulls out my old keycard ID, now dented and scratched from being crushed in the drawer mechanism. "That's where that went! I got a replacement after losing this one months ago."

Callen stands back up and examines it. The corner of his lips tug upwards in an amused smile. "You look so nervous in the photo."

I laugh sheepishly. "It was my first day. As if that wasn't enough, Hayley was the one who took the photo." I was terrified. Terrified I'd mess something up, or embarrass myself in front of Callen. Terrified I didn't belong here.

And now I'm leaving as a different person. The realization makes something heavy spread in my chest.

He traces his thumb over the faded photo. "Can I keep it?" he asks with a small smile. "My memento of your time here."

"Of course."

Callen tucks it into his pocket before picking up the box and we head out.

I stop at Hayley's desk. Her sharp blue eyes flick up to me from her screen. I try not to flinch. "Hey Hayley," I say a little awkwardly, "I'll see you around. Thank you for everything."

To my surprise, she smiles. "It was nice working with you." To my bigger surprise, she gets up and hugs me. "Good luck with him," she mumbles quietly, out of Callen's earshot.

We both get into the elevator. And just like that, I catch my final glimpse of the office as the doors slide shut.

The place where I met Callen.

The place where I fell in love.

The place where my life changed forever.

–

Callen comes outside with two glasses of champagne. The firepit crackles quietly, casting warm orange light around us. The summer night air is cool but still comfortable. Above, stars twinkle against the dark sky.

Callen hands me a glass and sits down next to me on the sofa. "To a new beginning." He raises his glass and we lightly clink them.

"A new beginning," I chime.

I feel something lingering between us, and I know Callen feels it too. It's something under the surface that neither of us want to acknowledge. We've finally found some sense of peace and neither of us want to disturb that.