On Lauren's first day at work, Amanda showed her around the offices and told her about the duties of the job. Lauren listened attentively and kept her responses short. The job details seemed straight forward and nothing that she hadn't done before.
"So that's it really," Amanda said once she had finished giving Lauren the tour and telling her everything she needed to know. "If you come across anything I forgot to tell you about, don't be afraid to ask for help."
"I don't think I'll have any problems," Lauren said, starting to sound bored.
"Do you have any questions about anything?"
"Yeah, actually," Lauren replied. "What can you tell me about Lawrence?"
"Oh," Amanda said, slightly taken aback. "He's a junior executive and he's been working here for a few months."
"I already knew that," Lauren laughed with a dismissive wave. "I mean what's he like. Do you know if he dates much?"
Amanda replied sternly, "You're here to work, not flirt."
"Hmm," Lauren replied thoughtfully. "But aren't you leaving this job because you married a guy who works here?"
Amanda flushed and quickly changed the subject.
"So, how's the old love life going?" Hector asked Lawrence during lunch. When Lawrence didn't reply, he took the frown that formed on his co-worker's face as the answer, instead of a sign that he didn't want to discuss his personal life. "No luck, huh? Sorry things didn't work out with Sal, but I'll find someone better for you next time, I promise."
"No. There's not going to be a next time," Lawrence replied. "I shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place."
"Don't be like that," Hector insisted. "It's just a matter of finding the right girl . . .How about the new receptionist?" Hector asked in a lowered voice as Lauren entered the break room to make a fresh pot of coffee. As she worked, Hector noticed that she frequently stole glances at Lawrence. "She seems to have her eye on you."
"No. Absolutely not," Lawrence said firmly, but Hector paid no attention.
Hector rose from his chair to approach Lauren and a panicked Lawrence followed closely behind. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Hector and this is Lawrence," he said with a smile.
Lauren grinned back, but kept her eyes mostly on Lawrence. "I'm Lauren. And I already know Lawrence. Will I see you tonight?"
"Tonight?" Hector asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked from Lauren to Lawrence.
"We're in the same night class," Lawrence explained shortly.
"You never told me that," Hector said to Lawrence. "Hey, I've got a crazy idea. Why don't you have Lawrence give you a ride to class?"
Lauren's expression turned gleeful, but Lawrence felt panicked. "I'm afraid that won't work out," he said and quickly exited the room.
Lauren sighed and Hector patted her on the shoulder. "Don't give up on him."
"I won't," she grinned wickedly before walking away.
Hector was about to leave the break room to return to work when he ran into Andrew.
"There you are, Burgess. I should have known. Maybe you should spend less time worrying about other people's business and more time doing your own work."
Hector shrugged off the barb. "What can I say? Some people just know how to get their jobs done. Besides I thought I'd give someone else a shot before you went after the new secretary."
Andrew's face reddened as he tried to control his anger. "Enjoy it while you can, Burgess, because when I'm put in charge of this company, things are going to change for you."
When Lawrence arrived at class that night, he tried to take a seat by himself without being noticed, but Lauren jumped up the moment he walked in and blocked his path.
"Hey there, stranger," she said with a giggle.
Lawrence nodded in acknowledgment and tried to step past her, but she dodged in front of him.
"Hey, your friend Hector seems really nice and I think he had a good idea about riding to class together. Maybe we could give it a try next week."
"I don't think so," Lawrence said as he searched for an escape.
"Oh, but it's such a good idea. We should really start a carpool. Where do you live anyway?"
The last thing Lawrence wanted was for Lauren to know where he lived. Luckily, he was saved from answering when the instructor entered and started class.
As soon as class was over, Lawrence ducked into the hallway to avoid Lauren. He had seen more of Lauren that he could stand for one day and wanted to get out of there before she could approach him again. The way things were going, she'd probably find some excuse for him to take her home or to follow him home. He didn't want that to happen so he hurried out of the classroom before she had the chance.
In his haste, he nearly bumped into Eileen in the hallway.
"Hi, Lawrence. What's your hurry?" she asked.
"I'm trying to avoid someone," he explained briefly.
Eileen grinned and then motioned toward the door. "Then let's get out of here before she finds you."
Lawrence was surprised that Eileen would including herself in his escape, but there was no time to waste, so when she opened the door, he followed.
As soon as they were outside Eileen stepped off the sidewalk, walked towards a group of trees in front of the building, and motioned for Lawrence to follow. A few seconds later, when the front door opened, Eileen and Lawrence ducked back into the shadows of the foliage. They peeked through the cover of leaves and watched as Lauren came outside and looked up and down the sidewalk with a confused expression before shrugging and walking away.
"Looks like the coast is clear," Eileen whispered. Then with a laugh she added, "That was kind of fun."
"You think so?" Lawrence asked skeptically.
Smiling, Eileen turned to face Lawrence, but before she could speak she was overcome with the feeling of deja vu. Something about seeing Lawrence standing in front of her in the dark wooded scenery seemed familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on why.
An awkward moment of silence passed before Eileen remembered where she was and asked, "So who was she?"
Lawrence, too, had been lost in a moment, but Eileen's question had brought him back to his senses. "Lauren, the company's new receptionist. She's in my business class." Eileen nodded blankly, so Lawrence reluctantly explained, "We went out once after class. She seems to think we should do it again, but once was more than enough."
"That must have been some date."
Lawrence frowned, "It wasn't really a date. Just drinks."
"I had no idea you were so magnetic," Eileen remarked.
"What do you mean?" Lawrence asked, confused.
"One drink and the woman can't get enough of you," Eileen teased. "You must be hiding something."
Lawrence shrugged off the remark. He tried to remind himself that this woman he was talking so intimately with was a another man's girlfriend. "It's a nice night," he remarked, changing the subject.
Eileen looked up at the sky. "Yes, it is . . .It's like that night we ran into each other when I was on my way to a concert."
"Yes, that was a nice night," Lawrence said his voice heavy with something below the surface. "I'm glad I had trouble sleeping that night."
Eileen turned towards Lawrence, a question to that remark on her lips, when someone came running towards them.
"Cassandra? What's wrong?" Eileen asked.
"A phone. I need to find a phone," Cassandra panted. Her eyes darted wildly and she started to lose her balance. Lawrence stepped forward to steady her, but he was too late. Cassandra collapsed to the ground.
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