T W O

SOMETIMES I WAS WORRIED FOR MY COUSIN.

Bretton White was many things; a seasoned athlete, an over-achieving student, and a good friend to give you company. But the fact that he had such a soft heart always stood out amongst that. You could make him do anything for you, you just needed to ask of it from him. It went from asking him to go out and buy me a chocolate cake or to drive my friends and I to the movie theater, to paying your bills if you were short or calling in sick pretending to be your worried lover - we were step cousins, so there was nothing incestuous about it, though I'd never even consider and neither would he. He was just easy to bend, and I knew that much from the girl he came to Claver's with.

Claver's was a fancy café downtown that provided a romantic atmosphere for just about any occasion. It was a place I frequented, leading to me developing a close relationship with the staff, staying until the closing time so I could take advantage of the free wifi for I had none of my own. I was dead broke and single in Philadelphia, spending up to five hours a day trying to search online for hiring opportunities. I had quit Happenstance a month ago because of some misinformation I heard about a big job in Washington D.C. opening, and Katie always would remind me that I could come back for my job at any time, but something about the way I left felt like there was no going back for me.

I happened to be in Claver's today when Bretton came in, his arm draped over the shoulder of some blonde who didn't really seem to care about him or why she was here - which I could easily assume was a date. In fact, ever since his career in Major League Baseball took off, I found him spending time with lots of women though none of them were the one for him, the one he deserved. Sure, you couldn't win with everyone, but you to had with someone at least.

He had left to go to the bathroom, leaving me with the blonde girl who was sipping on a latte and checking her phone while I searched through pages and pages of advertisements, trying to avoid making any conversation with her so that I wouldn't jump into the obvious negatives that presented themselves here scare the poor girl off. I loved my cousin and I disliked the girl in front of me, but after enough meddling with his love life, it was time for him to burn and learn from his mistakes so that he wouldn't even accidentally do them again.

But if you didn't poke the bear, chances were, it would poke you first. "Who are you," the girl said with an air of distrust in me. "Are you like another girlfriend or something because I can leave you two be? I don't want any drama, honestly. From me to you, he's only average in bed, we really don't have to fight over him."

"No, I'm not his girlfriend," I said in a low voice, trying to keep myself from growling at her because that would be more embarrassing on my end than intimidating to her. Much to my dismay, even if that wasn't what I was going for, she still didn't even flinch at my words, maybe her eyes flashed in realization that we weren't dating, but it was more of a short flicker before she returned her focus back to her phone.

I wanted to explain for her so that she would get it, but the door to the bathroom opened, Bretton White stepping out of it with a smile on his face. "You two seemed to have talked. Getting along?"

Thankfully, there was no one else here besides us, and the staff who didn't pay attention to us, because they would've known that we were doing anything but. Not that she had been outwardly rude to me, but because I couldn't trust her and she didn't seem to take me seriously. It was only a matter of time before she broke his heart and that scared me more than anything.

But I shut my mouth and nodded.

-

THE NEXT MORNING, I WOKE UP LATE, SO I DECIDED TO TAKE A SHOWER BEFORE GOING TO CLAVER'S.

I had no plans whatsoever, and it always got to a point where things felt physically draining in my life. I didn't have much of a social life besides family these days, only spending time with Bretton which wasn't bad because I enjoyed his company and he promised to cover my bills until I was back on my feet - his offer and not mine - since my only other sibling was overseas and my parents lived in a retirement home. I couldn't exactly life there with them, that would be terribly awkward.

After I was totally clean, I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my chest before I saw that the screen of my phone was lit, meaning I had missed a call or a text. I crossed over to the coffee table and picked it up. Sure enough, Bretton had called me a few minutes ago while I was still showering. I pressed the call button and held it up to my ear. After a few rings he finally answered with a firm, "hello."

There was the all-too-familiar clinking sound of metal and machinery, so I could tell that he was in the gym right now. If Bretton was calling from the gym, it has to have been something serious because he was devoted to personal fitness - "he didn't want to be one of those overweight baseball players," he told me on one occasion when I called him in an urgent situation and he didn't respond for three hours.

I smiled at the remembrance of that moment and was glad that he couldn't see me right now. "Did you call me?" I asked rhetorically, leaning the phone closer to my ear for better leverage.

He likely rolled his eyes, knowing that I was teasing him with the question. "Yes, I did, in fact." I heard the sound of a dumbbell being rested onto its proper rack and the unmistakeable rustle against the microphone that told me he was switching which side of his face he held his phone to. "You know how you were looking for a job, Fiona?"

If my phone weren't cordless, this would've been a moment where I would twirl the line around my fingers in anticipation, but it was unattached so I settled for a lock of my limp, black hair. "I'm interested, Brett. Go on."

He chuckled. "Well, one of my mates' girlfriends just quit this job yesterday. Said her boss was an asshole and she wanted to get as far away from him as possible after all the stress he caused her. Grade A psychopath who should be checked into an institution. How does that sound?"

Quite horrible, actually, I wanted to retort. But I knew as well as Bretton did that he couldn't afford to pay all of my expenses forever. What would happen when he's retired from the team or he's off because of an injury? Not only would I finally be regaining my dignity, but I would be giving him his sense of self back. Our families were always not the wealthiest, even when they merged together, old age and college didn't even help change things for us. Bretton, sadly, was the only one who really made something of himself and pretty much became the breadwinner of the family.

So I sighed, gripping the phone a bit tighter as I asked, "is he hiring?"

"Oh, definitely. He's some billionaire who needs a personal assistant now, especially since Kelsey skipped out on him. They just put up ads today."

I nodded, remembering Kelsey from one of the parties I attended with the team. It was a casual dress affair with lots of booze and topless people dancing, so she really stood out when she was sitting at a table in a pencil skirt and blazer as she typed away on a tablet. I just had to get used to it, I guess.

"When should I show up," I said with a huff of finality, trying to avoid sounding too desperate. After all, I had no clue what I was getting myself into at this point. All precautions were necessary and justified.

"Tomorrow at eight-thirty sounds good," he said. "That's what it said on the advert."

I nodded, releasing the strand I held and running a hand through my whole head of hair. In all honesty, I was rather nervous. Not only would I be working and providing for myself again after so long, but apparently under the ruling of some tyrant boss who sent the girl who I was replacing running for her life.

"Thanks, love," I said and made a smooching sound as if I were blowing him a kiss and he was physically here. "Just send me all of the details when you leave the gym today. What day is this for you?"

"Biceps day," he said with a chuckle, "my second favorite one."

"What's your first?"

By the snicker I heard through the phone, I knew I had to prepare myself for an illy-executed joke, it was all a part of the package. "Ass day. What can I say, the ladies love me, especially my backside."

"You wish," I retorted. "That's only because wearing vertical stripes make you look taller. If you changed the uniform to horizontal ones, I'm sure your butt wouldn't be as 'famous' as it is. Speaking of the fame, that was only like one blog post by some horny teenager."

"Who pays your rent again," he asked with a chuckle. "I'm hanging up."

Before I could protest, he did just as he said.

-

IT WAS HARD NOT TO GASP.

I would've, but that would be terribly embarrassing, no matter how warranted of a reaction it was in this situation. The information that Bretton had given me led me to the tall, sleek building for Baldwin Industries' headquarters. It was one of the most imposing buildings in the skyline, from where I stood it looked only a few stories shorter than the Comcast Center, a monstrous building that cast an eerie shadow over me and stretched on for many miles.

It took me a minute before I gathered my bearings and made my way inside. From there, I went to the receptionists desk where a man named Elijah directed me to the forty-fifth floor where the interview would be held after giving me a visitors' tag so no security officers would try to send me back.

After thanking him, I went to the elevator, pressing the button. When it opened up and I stepped in, people I hadn't even noticed all came in behind me so I found myself surrounded by total strangers. I was pushed way into the back of the tiny space where I basically wasn't even spared a second glance. I didn't recognize all of the faces I served when I was in the catering business, so the possibility that I was here with someone who saw me in my grey uniform made me shudder.

It went up like this for about ten more floors, the same people except sometimes one or two got off, until at one floor, someone actually came in and threw everything off balance. Well, they came in with a blonde woman I didn't recognize, but it wasn't enough to discredit the tremor in the air that I felt from his presence.

Because sure enough, the man from the party had just stepped inside of the elevator, wearing a navy suit and not a black one, but I could tell this man from anyone. He was as much of a heartthrob as he had been, his features still elegantly attractive and just looking at him made my heart nearly stop.

Thankfully, being towards the back of the elevator hid me from his view while he talked to the blonde woman obviously flirtatious in tone and I wanted to gag. He definitely was a heartthrob by the way she looked so animated around him. I wondered if that was his girlfriend.

Things however, were too good to be true, for around the thirty-fifth floor, everybody who has remaining seemed to all get off at once, even the blonde woman who winked at the man before turning the corner. I was left alone with him, despite how much I didn't want to be. He knew about my catering job, as well as the fact that I had made a complete fool out myself around him. My heart was telling me to go again, but not along with him this time. This time it told me to run for my life and I had listened.

The elevator was nearing the thirty-sixth floor and he still hadn't looked back, so my plan of action was to make a run for it, but it was too late he'd taken a quick glance at me before turning forward. I sat there, waiting for him to turn back around and face me, but he didn't. Maybe he forgot what I look like, maybe I was in the clear.

"Small world," he asked with a chuckle, "isn't it, little minx?"