He's The Boss

5

I honestly don't know what I'm doing here. I mean, if I cared about keeping my job at all, I would be staying away from Nate Li, instead of showing up outside his apartment.

Yet, here I am, right outside his door, hesitating about whether or not to knock.

At that moment, my phone starts going crazy in my purse. I'm almost afraid to see who it is, but it's just Keith, my infamously picky client who got shoved around by my co-workers endlessly before I finally decided to take up the challenge.

"Hello?" I answer, sauntering down the hall for more privacy.

"Hi, Caitlin."

"Are you at the restaurant?"

"Yes. Lindsey hasn't arrived yet. I'm ... I'm a little nervous about this. I mean, our first date didn't go that well."

"Give it another chance, Keith. I really think you two could be great for each other."

"Why? We don't have anything in common."

"Based on our interviews and surveys, you share a lot of the same values and attitudes. Now, look, I'm not asking you to go out and buy her a ring or anything. It's just that a lot of times, one date isn't enough for our clients to get to know each other."

"I don't know. I think I read people very well."

That's not true at all, but I play along. "Whatever happens, I'm sure you'll have gained something after tonight."

"Human insight?"

"Well, I was thinking more like a meal at one of the city's finest restaurants, but insight's good too."

He laughs on the other end of the line, but then it fades off, becoming a sigh instead. "I don't know, Caitlin."

"Listen to me, Keith. You need to start looking at what's in front of you, you know? You need to stop freaking out and give people a chance. Give yourself a chance to get to know someone a little better. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised."

"Wow. Even after everyone else at the agency gave up on me, you still believe there's hope for me?"

"Of course I do. When it comes right down to it, you're a great catch, Keith. I'm sure you know that, and it's definitely necessary to have standards ... but it's also a good idea to be open to things you never would have considered before."

"Hmmm." He starts to say something else, but then stops himself. "Oh, she's coming. I'm going to hang up now."

"Alright, bye – "

Click.

"Well, he really did hang up."

I put my phone away, returning to the door of Nate's apartment. Somehow, talking with Keith helped steel my nerves, and it's easier now to do a firm, insistent knock.

The door opens a minute later, and standing before me is a shirtless James, of all people. My boss.

"Uh - !" I go, my face flushing red. Did I make some kind of mistake? No, this is definitely Nate's apartment. But what the hell is James doing here??

"Oh, hey! Caitlin, right?" He doesn't seem surprised or bothered to see me standing there.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry. I think I have the wrong apartment or something ... "

"Who is it?" a third voice sounds as Nate appears behind him, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans. Nice. The casual look works well on him. Maybe better. "Caitlin," he says in surprise, and James opens the door wider, looking curiously between us.