Love Is Blind

Beginnings

  The next morning I had woken up and gone through my typical routine, content to do the same things each morning, never changing a thing. It was a comforting routine I had created for myself, not some sort of rut that I had gotten trapped in.

  My walk to work was a little faster than normal, but of course I had attributed that to the quickly chilling air. It wasn't like I was in that much of a rush to get to work. Even if Lacey was there. No, especially, if Lacey was there. I didn't want to train an intern. No matter how sweet and funny she had been when I had met her the day before.

  Walking in, I called a hello to Marv as I walked by, almost consciously having to slow my pace down to an average speed.

  "Hey, Jacob," He called back and I let a small smile tug at the corners of my mouth, knowing that he would be surprised if I answered.

  "Have a good day, Marv," I responded and headed towards the elevator, stepping in when I heard the chime of the doors opening up. Pressing my thumb to the five button, I waited for the screech as the doors slammed shut, sealing me in the car.

  I relaxed a little in the elevator, cane resting lightly against my hip and the wall as I smoothed down my shirt. It shouldn't have mattered, but I didn't know if Lacey could see and for some reason or other, I wanted to look good in case she did.

  Only a few people in the building could actually see anything anyway. Roslyn, a girl on my floor who had a tendency to give out cookies every other week. Timothy, a janitor that had an apartment just downtown. And Natalia, a girl whose voice was so shrill and high I could've sworn she was a child the first time I met her. At least, those were the few that I knew of.

  When the ding came again, I picked up my cane and scraped it over the carpet, heading out and towards my office. Bustling around me was everyone else on this floor, a few calling greetings to one another. I couldn't wait to get away. I didn't like that many people swarming around, even if I couldn't see them surrounding me.

  As I opened my office door, the scent of coffee wafted to my nose and I almost imagined floating towards it like cartoon characters do when they smell things that are particularly delicious.

  I made my way towards it, as well as towards my desk, and I sat down in my chair, reaching my hand out slowly for a cup, hoping I didn't spill it. Any chance of me spilling it was wiped away, because a warm mug was slipped into my waiting hand.

  "Your coffee. Just the way you like it, Jacob," An arrogant voice informed me, just across from me, coming from the leather chair in front of my desk. Lacey.

  Ignoring the odd way my heart seemed to jump when I heard her voice, I smiled, "Why thank you, Ms. Webber," I replied with a laugh. Taking a cautious sip of the scalding liquid, I relaxed and let a grin plant itself on to my face.

  "You are good. Got it just right. Good work," I praised, setting the hot cup down on the desktop, smiling some.

  "Thanks, Mr. Anderson," Lacey replied, almost sounding a little flustered at the appraisal.

  "Okay. So, you were here early and you got me coffee. Now I feel pretty bad about telling you that you're just gonna be filing things for me all day.."

  This time she laughed, a soft and sweet thing, warm and rich like honey in tea on a cold winter's night, "That's alright. I signed up for this. I'm happy to do it."

  Rolling my eyes, I let out a short laugh, "Yeah. Happy to sit around and blister your fingers with Braille and then file everything all away for hours at a time."

  She laughed and I could hear her shrug, the clothing rustling as she did so, "Yeah, well. If it's written by you, I don't think I'll mind all that much," She   admitted.

  Feeling the heat rise on my neck, it took me a few seconds to realize that she hadn't corrected me on the Braille statement. So she was blind. She hadn't met her soulmate yet. For some reason, it had made me happy, even though it shouldn't have. "Well, thank you for that, Lacey. You'll be doing plenty of reading my reviews and the reports on the manuscripts I've edited."

  I could hear her stand, "Fine by me. Just tell me where to start, okay?"

  I nodded and shifted around, swiveling my seat so I could reach inside my desk drawer. Having an intern would actually be really helpful with the workload that had been piling up lately. Someone keeping me up to date on all my filing needs would work out a lot better than going nights on end with no sleep just to try and catch up.

  Handing her a thick stack of folders, I sheepishly explained, "There's a couple things there. Shouldn't be too hard to file and get down."

  I could almost hear her nod, her hair lifting and brushing against her shirt or dress, "Okay. Well, that shouldn't take forever. Anything I can help you with before you start on whatever you've got to do?"

  Shaking my head, I pulled my laptop from my briefcase, fingers brushing against the initials carved into the side of the case, "Nope. I'm gonna start writing my last review for this week and then I've got a stack of manuscripts I have to start working on."

  She didn't really reply, just made a small noise of recognition. Using her cane, she made her way to the other side of the room. Once in the far left corner, near the entrance, she sat at the small desk there and began to go through the folders I had given her.

  As I wrote out my review for the newest Bone Collectors book, I listened. The creak of the metal filing cabinet, the shuffling of documents and papers, and even the occasional slam of a door out in the hall was comforting.

Office life didn't suit everyone, but it was my favorite thing. The scent of new books, freshly printed. New universes each day. I had even met quite a few of the authors that wrote these books. Feedback wasn't always appreciated in the writing world, but when it was, they certainly liked to thank whoever had given it.

  At some point around lunch time, I had stood and stretched, pushing my chair back, the wheels screeching quietly against the wooden flooring. "You okay?" Lacey asked, sounding more than bored.

  "Fine. Just going to head out for lunch," I answered, smiling a little even though there hadn't been a trace of true concern in her voice.

  "Okay. Have a nice lunch then. Think I'll break later. See if a friend from college can come out or something," She remarked, obviously more to herself than to me.

  Biting my lip, I considered the idea that had crept into my head for a few moments. After s few seconds, I decided to at least give it a shot. What could it really hurt?

  "Hey, Lacey?"

  "Hmm?" She mumbled, not seeming to really pay attention to me, probably lost in filing. As simple as it was, it could easily absorb you due to the mind-numbing nature of the task it was.

  "Would you like to go out with me? To lunch, I mean. You sound like you could use a break, and I can guarantee that you need one."

  Pausing, she seemed to consider her options for a minute. Impatiently, I began to think that maybe it had been a bad idea to ask her to come out with me.

  Finally, she answered, "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I would love to go out with you for lunch. Sounds better than sitting here and being a file zombie."

  Laughing, I nodded, listening to her stand as she stood and grabbed her purse and cane. "Okay, let's go."

  I nodded and opened the door, my own cane held securely in my right hand, "Let's."