The Bridesmaid

17|It's Part of the Job

The last week went by in a blur for Natalia. From countless assignments and readings, it was safe to say Natalia needed some well deserved rest.

Unfortunately for her, she had already made plans with none other than Anthony Rizzo (a/n yea Natalia. Because that's such a bad thing smh 🤦🏻‍♀️😂).

Heading out of her apartment, she locked her front door and greeted her neighbor with a smile.

"Morning Cassie," Natalia grinned at the young brunette.

"Hey, Nat! I feel like I haven't seen you in awhile," Cassie replied.

"I've been busy between school, and well, now the wedding," Natalia shrugged.

"Right! I saw that on your Instagram the other day. Give Kris and Jess my best," Cassie said as she waved Natalia goodbye.

"Will do," Natalia smiled as she walked down the hallway towards the elevator.
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Putting in the address to Anthony's apartment, Natalia hummed the song on the radio. Truth be told, she was anxious for the day.

No matter how many times she had told herself nothing would happen, she couldn't help her childish thought. After all, her and Anthony would be alone for a good couple of hours.

Natalia scoffed at her thoughts as she followed her GPS's instructions. Of course nothing would happen. She wouldn't let it.

Although, deep down, she knew that was a lie.
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Arriving at Anthony's building, Natalia wasn't surprised to see a grand and elegant lobby. The whole place looked like it cost more than her house back home.

She looked at her phone once more as she got into the elevator and confirmed the floor number.

This place is huge, she thought to herself as she looked at all the numbers in the elevator.

She quickly pushed the button for the top floor, and it quickly took her to her destination.

As she walked, Natalia felt her nerves skyrocket. She straightened out her sweater for the 5th time since she got out of the car, and knocked on his door.

The door swung open a few seconds later, revealing a very smiley Anthony.

"Nat, hey! Come in," he said as he opened the door wider to let her through.

"Hey," Natalia smiled, "This is a really nice place you have."

She took in the view of the Chicago skyline. Anthony had a view of literally the whole city all around his penthouse.

"Thanks," Anthony said, "I'm not even going to lie. I got it for the view."

"I don't blame you," Natalia said, but then shook her head of her thoughts.

You came to plan. Not talk about his penthouse, she scolded herself.

"So, anyways," Natalia said, before internally face palming at her awkwardness, "I was thinking we could start with the gift."

"We have to get them a gift," Anthony asked in confusion, "Isn't that part of everyone else's job?"

"Yeah, but this is Kris and Jessie we're talking about. They deserve our best effort. Besides, it's part of the job," Natalia said as she took a seat on the leather sofa overlooking the city.

"Okay, so what did you have in mind," Anthony asked as he sat beside her.

"That's where it gets tricky," Natalia sighed, "I have nothing, so we have to brainstorm."

"Can't be that hard," Anthony said as he began to think about possible gifts.
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An hour went by and the two hadn't made any progress. Natalia was now laying on the couch throwing her bracelet up in the air and catching it, while Anthony was walking around in the area behind the couch.

"Calphalon Classic Cooling Rack," Anthony suggested.

"Jess already has one of those," Natalia sighed for what felt like the hundredth time.

"A cake dome?"

"They have like 10 of those already. Jess loves to bake and Kris likes to eat," Natalia shrugged.

"A hand blender," Anthony suggested.

Instead of responding, Natalia sat up and turned to look at him, "Are you looking this up?"

Anthony chuckled as he said, "Maybe."

Natalia couldn't help but laugh at his solution to their problem.

"What about a trip," Anthony suddenly said.

"Like a honeymoon? They're already taking one of those," Natalia said as she laid back down.

"No, not like a honeymoon," Anthony insisted, "It could be like a tour of someplace."

Natalia thought about it and said, "That could actually work. Jess has always said that memories are the best gift one can have."

"Great, so now we just have to figure out where to book it to."

"How about here in Chicago? Believe it or not, they've never been sightseeing here," Natalia mentioned.

"We can book them a tour to all the landmarks," Anthony said as he started googling possible tours.

"Like the bean," Natalia gasped, "I've always wanted to go see it."

"You've never been," Anthony asked in shock, "That's like a must when you come to Chicago."

"I might just have to book this tour for myself too," Natalia joked, "Clearly I've missed out on the Chicago experience too."
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It had already been a few hours since the two had decided to book a tour for Kris and Jessie. At this point, as much as they both denied it, they were just enjoying each other's company.

When Natalia saw the setting sun through the glass, she said, "The view really is amazing up here."

"It is," Anthony agreed, "Before games, I like to just sit here and watch the city. All the people walking about their business, all the cars driving through the city. Something about it all just calms me down."

It was quiet, until Anthony said, "This next year is going to be pretty cool, especially because I get to spend it with you and you're pretty chill."

Natalia smiled at his comment, but didn't turn around because she just knew she was blushing.

"You're not that bad either, Rizzo," Natalia smiled, "We're going to throw the most bomb wedding party ever."

Even though she managed to keep her cool, Natalia couldn't help but think about why the next year was going to be exciting.

Anthony had said he was looking forward to it, and now she definitely was too. If not for her feelings, than definitely for the wedding.

After all, it's just part of the job.

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So Anthony called Nat a "chill girl" and I'm like 😫 so close yet so far off 😂

If you guys think I'm taking it to slow, I just like this better because I feel like it's more realistic. I mean, we've all (mostly) had that crush that we don't really act on and every little thing they say that might be considered a compliment, we fawn over. I really want to convey this with Anthony and Natalia. Both obviously like each other, but neither makes a move.

Anyways, the character Q & A still stands. You can send in questions for characters or even for me, the author, if you wanted to 😊

Until next time,
Gabby