Play It By Ear

Tapioca Filled Danishes

 I yanked the frosted glass door of the café open and was immediately blasted with a gush of cool air. It had been especially humid that morning and I could already feel my body protesting the thick black dress pants and equally heavy blazer I had hastily thrown on before leaving the house.

            The interior was sparsely decorated, obviously going for the sleek, simple, and chic style that seemed so “in” lately. Personally, I liked the simplistic style of decorating but the stiff white couches and ultramodern coffee tables seemed so unwelcoming. There were a few people scattered about, all clad in expensive business suits, who were either checking emails on their phones or making last minute calls before heading into the office. Not totally untypical for that part of town at that time of day.

            I walked over to the glossy black bar counter and glanced over the extensive list of drinks, my eyes glazing over in the process. It was a good thing Mr. Leighton had already given me his order or else I would have run the risk of having my head implode. I hadn’t even known there were that many different types of coffee! I pulled out my phone and glanced over the list again before tapping on the little bell that sat next to a tip jar bursting at the seams.

            The high pitched ring earned me a few harsh glances from the other customers but I just shrugged it off. People over-reacted so much these days. After thirty seconds give or take, the back door swung open and a worker came running out. He was tying a black apron with some sort of white pattern around his waist and his long hair was pulled into a small ponytail on the back of his head.

            “How can I help you?” he asked without looking up, his voice rushed as he grappled with the strings of his apron. I let out a low chuckle at the rather pathetic sight and waited as he tightened the knot and spun it back into position.

            “Blueberry muffin, two black coffees, a toasted chocolate chip bagel with butter, and do you happen to know what ‘one of those fancy pastries from Spider’s Hole Café’ might be?” The guy grabbed a pad of paper from beside the cash register and quickly scribbled down the order.

            “Probably our world famous Spider’s Nest. It’s kinda like a Danish but chocolate and it’s filled with tapioca and drizzled with this really yummy cream thing on top. I swear  I would live on that stuff if I could.” He looked up and smiled, and I must admit that it was utterly dazzling. A real genuine smile. My eyes scanned his face, taking in all the detail. He wasn’t classically handsome like Mr. Leighton was but he sure was cute. He was tall and lanky, probably about five eleven or so with strands of his light blond hair falling out around his pale face. His face still had a slight boyish roundness to it but it made him all the more endearing.  Well, that and his thick framed glasses that covered his pale blue eyes.

            “Hmm, I don’t know. Sounds…inedible.”

            “Trust me, it’s amazing. Maybe you’ll just have to wait until I’m on my break and let me buy you one to try.” He shot a sly wink at me and I could feel myself blush a bit. Sure, I’d had boyfriends before but they had all been friends first and nobody had yet just outright hit on me and basically implied a date. I twisted my mouth into a sweet smile and decided to flirt back. Heck, what would some harmless banter do? I hadn’t had a date in a long time and I was young. I deserved some fun.

            “I dunno. Maybe I will and maybe I won’t. I’m George,” I said, sending a sinfully flirty smile up his way which he immediately returned.

            “Dean. Is your name really George? Please tell me you aren’t like…secretly a dude or something!” I laughed at his slightly panicked look.        

            “Short for Georgiana.” His face visibly relaxed slightly with that and I fought to suppress another laugh at his expense. We continued to flirt shamelessly for a few more minutes before somebody angrily cleared their throat behind me. It was then that I realized there was also the steady rhythm of the impatient tap of their foot accompanying that attention grabber and I sighed.

            “Well, looks like I better get that stuff for you,” Dean said as he spun around and began messing around with the machine behind him. Within minutes, I was walking out the door and floating along with the crowd towards work.

            Despite the helpful little cardboard cup holder thingers, I could still feel the heat radiating off the cups, burning my hands. It was then that I really started to regret not taking Dean up on his offer of giving me one of those cup holding trays. I hit the up button on the wall by the elevators and jiggled my wrist trying to relieve it of the weight from the plastic bag holding all of Mr. Leighton’s food. Gosh, this stuff was HEAV-EY.

            Being a relatively new building and early in the morning, the elevator came within seconds and before I knew it I was walking past Ms. Wilburstein’s harsh glare and towards my own little desk area right across from Mr. Leighton’s office. All of the three offices on the floor had glass French doors with nifty little blinds that came down with a push of a button. I had watched Mr. Leighton do so the day before. His were closed now and I put his breakfast down on my basically empty desk. I highly doubted he was in, seeing as it was barely seven.

            I lightly ran my hand along the top of my desk and smiled. The cleaning crew must have been impeccable because there was not even a reminisce of dust on the pristine dark wood desk. I flopped down unceremoniously in my swirly desk chair and smiled. I could totally see myself having fun in that chair. I closed my eyes and basked in the awesomeness that was my new job. Sure, my boss was hot –could be either a pro or a con depending on how you looked at it- and he was so annoying –even though I had barely interacted with him- but it paid well and was definitely going to give me a boost for later.

            After a few minutes, I stood up again and stretched. One of the other assistants was getting off the elevator and I didn’t want to seem totally unprofessional. Annoying as they were, first impressions mattered a lot in life and business. The current floor we were on only had seven people working on it, the joys of being high up. The lady had redish brown hair that was chopped in a short bob and freakishly tan skin considering her hair color, which didn’t look fake surprisingly. I watched as she strolled across the floor after a quick greeting to Ms. Wilburstein and dropped her designer purse on the top of her desk. Yep, definitely a secretary.

            I shrugged off my blazer and smiled as my body temperature dropped a bit. Even in the freezing office building, that darned thing still made me over heat. I made a mental note to never wear it again. I was kind of glad that I had chosen to wear a silky loose fitted muscle shirt. It was office appropriate but still summery. I draped the blazer over the back of my chair and safely tucked my bag under the desk by the filing cabinet.

            I looked at the rabidly cooling coffee on my desk and then the time on the phone. It was only seven ten but I figured that maybe I would put Mr. Leighton’s food on his desk that way it was there when he came in. I snatched the bag and cups off of my desk and walked over to his doors. I tentatively tried the handle and the door swung open.

            The blinds were down on the window that made up the entire wall of his office and the room was almost completely dark save the few blinking lights from random technological devices scattered about. Strange. I felt around on the wall for the light switch and right as I felt it I heard a low snore.

            Snore?           

            “Hello?” I called lowly. Why? I hadn’t had the slightest idea to divulge the truth. If whoever was in the office was snoring, they were asleep, and if they were asleep they wouldn’t have heard me anyway. I considered leaving but stood frozen when I heard a groan and then felt a presence behind me. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and my eyes shut to adjust to the sudden fluctuation in light.

            “Georgiana, have you ever heard of knocking?” A hoarse voice asked from behind me and I jumped a mile high. I bit my lip nervously and spun around to face him.

            And my, what a sight he was.