After hours

First impressions often disappoint

"It's the first impression that is truth, all that follows is merely the excuse of memory."

If you asked me if I knew the moment I met him that I loved him, I would laugh. I thought he was attractive, but arrogant. I thought he was a pompous fool, a spoiled rich kid who had gotten a multimillion dollar business handed to him. I didn’t think he had any clue what he was doing.

If you asked him the same question, he would probably tell you he didn’t remember the first time he had seen me. They had a lot of girls going in and out of the office. Usually young, inexperienced. The job didn’t require any schooling and paid decently so they saw a large deal of interest. It was, however, not as easy as it appeared on paper, the hours were long, and there was a need for constant availability, so most who took the job didn’t keep it long. He knew the girls who were hired found him attractive. On the first day most would dress professionally, but after meeting him, and as the days wore on the shirts seemed to get lower, the skirts shorter, and the heels higher.

He was married, and he usually found these girls annoying. A polite wave or hello in the morning was usually the extent to his interaction with these women. In fact, he had called me Laura for my first three weeks on the job. He hadn’t even noticed when one assistant had left and the other started.

The first time he realized my name wasn’t Laura, my impression of him got even worse.

He was breezing past me as he did every morning, not bothering to spare me a second glance as he walked past. “Laura I need the newest poll on the Benson deal no later than 10:30, uhm, bar graph would be the best format. Cancel my 1pm meeting with the Frank’s, tell them I’ll be in touch. I need a full report on the progress of the new plant and do me a solid and find a decent groomer for Bernard. And for the love of God would someone see to it that that bathroom gets cleaned.”

It was like this everyday. He would walk past me at 8:07 every morning with his coffee in one hand, his breifcase hanging off of his shoulder and a newspaper in the other hand. He'd bellow out a ridiculous list of commands while still reading his newspaper, never bothering to even glance up or let me get a word in before he disappeared into his office.

“It’s Ryan.” I said loudly.

He took a few steps backwards, out of his office and back into my view. “I’m sorry.”

“My name is Ryan and you pay for a nightly cleaner, I have the expense report right here and everything if he’s not cleaning the bathrooms to your standards perhaps you should look into a different cleaning company. I could probably find a new provider at a lower rate if you give me a day or two.”

“Ryan? Why, isn’t that a boy’s name?”

I frowned. Everyone had the same reaction. It was a boy’s name. My parents were told I was a boy, when I came out as a girl, they decided to still use the name they had already choose. It was practically unisex, right?

“I guess so.” I sighed. I had gotten so tired of repeating the same explanation, why bother anymore?

He set his coffee down on the table. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.” He held his hand out. “Daniel.”

I took his hand. “I know, I’ve known for weeks.”

He smiled. “Yes, I’m sure you have.”

And that was it. My first official meeting with Daniel Metzgar.

~~~~~~~

A/N:

Alright ladies and gents here's your first look at After Hours and the characters in it. 

I'm pretty excited about this story, and it really doesn't dilly dally around, I'll get right into the action within the first few chapters so stick around, and if you really like the story and want me to keep publishing it after the first few chapters make sure you let me know that! 

Vote and comment and all that jazz, but to be perfectly honest as much as I loove votes and comments I really do care more about reads. So don't hesitate to share this or add it to your readinglist.

As stated in the first part I like productive criticsm, so if at some point in my novel you have an idea on what could make it better, let me know. Feel free to correct my spelling and grammar if I make a mistake, you guys are my beta readers! Anyone who helps to make my novel the best it can possibly be gets a chapter dedication or shout out! I've got thick skin so don't be scared to offend me. I want to know what parts of this story you absolutely hate and what parts make you fall in love! That's what will help make me a better writer! (:

Anyway, I don't really consider this a chapter, just sort of a prolog I guess. So the next chapter will be up soonish for your reading pleasure.