Private Relations

Part 1

         Sarah just wanted the day to end. Work had been a mess all day and now that the clock finally hit 5 PM, she was more than ready to go home. It was a non-stop day of angry phone calls, three different meetings, and being snuffed out of the leadership position of a project that she had been working her ass off to get. "I need a long, hot bath when I get home," Sarah thought to herself as she locked her office door. At 25 years old, she knew this kind of stress was not healthy for her, but the money was good and paid the bills. She walked the short hallway to the elevator bank. The receptionist gave her a smile and a wave good-bye, which Sarah barely reciprocated as she pressed the down button. The elevator dinged and she boarded it to take the 15-story ride to the lobby. Sarah reached for the button marked L but was beaten by a very tall, handsome and wealthy looking man. "I'm sorry," he said to her, which came out as more of a whisper than a normal octave voice, "Were you going to a different floor? I just assumed..." he trailed off. She looked up at him. He had very strong jawline but angelic features and the way that his hair swooped over his forehead gave him a boyish charm. But it wasn't the hair or the way he held himself that made her voice get stuck in her throat. It was the twinkle in his eye and way his top lip curled up when he talked. Sarah knew she'd been staring at him for God knows how long, so she finally mustered up some words. "Lobby was right." "Okay, good," he purred as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his beautifully tailored suit. She slumped against the cool elevator wall and watched the floor's buttons light up as she made her way down the building. Sarah couldn't help but sneak peaks at the handsome man next to her. He looked so calm and put together, obviously made a lot of money from the looks of the suit, but it didn't show in his expressions. The air between them was electric and thick; she had never had this sort of a connection to a complete stranger before. She wanted to say something to him, but what? Her brain couldn't focus on anything but his body. The elevator ride felt longer than usual although not long enough. Once it hit the lobby floor, the doors slid open and he held his hand to them so she could get off the elevator first. "Have a nice evening," he told her as she walked past him. His voice was so soft, like melted butter to her ears. It made her melt too. "Thank you," she croaked and bolted to the exit door. The cold air hit her flushed face as she stepped outside and onto the pavement. It was a short enough walk that she didn't need to call a cab to get home. She took a deep breath and a sharp left from the building and made her way to her apartment.

She was lucky she left when she did; the minute the door shut behind her rain began to fall. "Talk about perfect timing," she muttered to herself. Sarah dropped her keys into the porcelain bowl that sat on the mahogany table next to the door and shed her purse, blazer, and heels from the day. It took too much effort to put them away where they belonged so she decided to leave them on the floor until later. She made her way down the hallway to the quaint little kitchen and looked at her answering machine. The tiny, red number 1 on the box pulsated. She pressed the button and listened to her machine. One new message received at 4:56 PM: "Hey Sarah, it's Chad. I know you're still at work so you'll get this when you get home. Hope you didn't forget about our dinner tonight. I'll pick you up around 7:00; we have reservations at 7:30. See you soon beautiful, I love you." Beep. No more messages. "Crap," Sarah said as she looked at the clock on her stove, which read 5:30 PM. With all the craziness and stress at work she had totally forgotten about her dinner date with Chad. Sarah felt awful; she had never forgotten plans with Chad, not in the three years that they had been dating.

Chad had come into Sarah's life when she least expected it. She had just moved to San Francisco a month prior when she bumped into to him at a nightclub, literally bumped. Sarah was a terrible dancer, combine that with a couple of Mojitos and you have one uncoordinated girl. While in the club with her only friend she had here, Tiffany, Sarah was dancing like a maniac to the techno beat thumping from the speakers. Drink in hand and girl friend dancing beside her Sarah was having the time of her life. That was until she twirled around and knocked into the cute blonde guy and spilled her drink on his shirt. Sarah was mortified; Chad was smitten. When they went to go try and clean the misfortunate mixed drink off of his coral polo, Chad seized the moment and asked her for her number. They've been dating ever since. Chad was good to Sarah, he made her happy and vice versa. He'd asked to move in together since it had been so long but she just couldn't. She liked having her own place and being able to have some alone time when it mattered most. Like after today.