After the Christmas Party

As she sat upright the blanket slipped off her naked body. She blinked a few times, then realised that Claudia was gone. A clear outline of where her boss had slept was visible, but there was no sign of the woman.

As Linda swung her legs over the edge she was surprised by how warm the floor felt under her bare feet. She should have known that her boss would spring for floor heating.

The first thing she noticed as she surveyed the room was that Claudia had apparently taken the time to carefully clean up Linda's dress before slipping out of the room. A black plastic clothing bag hung from a clotheshanger on the door to the wardrobe. Just as the question as to what she was going to wear struck her she noticed that a pile of folded clothes sat on the corner of the bed with a yellow post-it note on top of it.

Linda picked it up and read her boss's neat mechanical handwriting. 'I'm in the kitchen making breakfast. I took the liberty of hanging up your dress for you. Feel free to help yourself to my bathroom, first door to the right as you come out of the bedroom.'

The clothes in question turned out to be a long-sleeved t-shirt and some leggings. Probably not enough to get home in, but enough to cover herself up as she moved about.

As Linda stepped out of the bedroom hugging the pile of clothes against her body she immediately felt her stomach growl in response to the smells that filled her nostrils. Tomato was the main ingredient, but there were other things that she couldn't place right away. For a moment she considered skipping the shower entirely.

In the end her need for hygiene won out and she turned to the door on the right, stepping into a bathroom that, Linda couldn't help but observe with a pang of jealousy, was larger than her apartment's living room, complete with a tub that looked big enough to seat two. By now she wasn't surprised to find that Claudia had laid out a neatly folded towel and some washclothes on the sink nearest to the door. There was even a brand new toothbrush for her to use. Linda couldn't help but smile wryly. Who was the personal assistant here?

It took her about twenty-five minutes to take care of everything she needed to do in the bathroom. Her make up gave her some trouble since she hadn't had the chance to remove it before falling asleep. She hung the towel she had used from the chromed towel rack and stepped out of the bathroom dressed in the clothes that Claudia had provided for her.

Linda ended up finding Claudia rather quickly by following the droning sound of a male voice that she assumed was a news anchor.

Claudia turned off the news broadcast that was coming from a speaker standing on the bar that ran along the countertop she was working at as soon as Linda stepped into the kitchen.

Claudia turned out to have dressed in leggings similar to the ones she had provided for Linda, although her upper body was clad in a white cotton bathrobe. Her hair was still damp from the shower she had taken before Linda. The younger woman couldn't help but wonder whether the apartment just had great insulation against noise or if she had slept unusually deep.

Upon closer inspection Claudia was wearing an apron. She was stirring in a cast iron skillet with a wooden spoon. She allowed Linda a brief peek that mostly hinted at simmering tomato sauce before turning around, smiling at her personal assistant. "Good morning Linda, breakfast is almost done... take a seat at the bar. I took the liberty of charging your phone for you."

Linda blinked a few times. Her phone had been pretty much the last thing on her mind but now she noticed that her purse was sitting on the far end of the bar, a white USB cable running from the nearest outlet and disappearing inside it. Claudia really had thought of everything.

Further evidence of that was provided by the fact that Claudia had found the time to set the table at the bar. The lacquered terra cotta bowls taking centre space on the cloth placemats looked surprisingly homely compared to Claudia's usual style. There was also a tea pot with barely visible tendrils of steam curing upwards from the spout. It smelled vaguely minty as she poured tea into the two mugs, Linda reclaiming a modicum of her professional pride in the process.

"There we go..." Linda smiled, turning off the stove. Linda was surprised to realise that her boss cooked with gas burners. She had expected an electric or induction stove. But all thoughts about trying to correlate the kitchen to her boss's personality vanished as she got a direct smell of what was put in front of her. "I hope you like Shakshouka."

Linda had never had it before, but she seriously doubted it would be any less than delicious. Now that she could smell it more directly she could make out carraway and cumin. Several poached eggs floated invitingly in the sauce, and the dish was made to look all the more festive by the shredded fresh parsley that had been sprinkled over it. Her stomach growled again, noticeably louder this time as Claudia filled her bowl with a plastic ladle.

"This... this smells amazing." Linda said honestly, drawing a smile from Claudia.

"Thanks, I learned how to cook this from an aunt... I don't normally have time to make it but... well, I don't have anywhere else to be today..."

Claudia nodded. She picked up her spoon for want of anything else to do, stirring up her breakfast a little. She watched as Claudia pulled a strip of flatbread from the basket and then held it out for Linda to take some bread as well. She accepted it with a sigh. "Yeah, me neither..."

Claudia nodded and set the basket down. "I know... but I think I should call you a cab when you're done with breakfast."

"Yeah..." Linda nodded in agreement. She hadn't wanted to be the one to bring it up. Seeing Claudia like this, cooking her a wonderful breakfast, and with the way her boss had taken care of all her needs this morning, part of her wanted to stay for as long as possible. Once the front door of Claudia's apartment closed behind her she'd be the older woman's personal assistant again, which was exactly why it would probably be best if Linda left sooner rather than later.

Sooner turned out to be about forty-five minutes of awkward small talk, excellent food and a bit of fussing over what clothes of Claudia's Linda could borrow to get home in a warm enough state. They ended up settling on a pair of jeans and an old sweater. Both didn't fit Linda's more slender frame very well, but well enough to get her home at least.

As Linda crossed the lobby she noticed that the doorman on duty wasn't the same that had greeted them the previous evening. Linda gave him a polite nod.

As she stepped outside she was almost blinded. The previous night's snows had cleared to leave the sky a sharp blue, the sunlight reflecting harshly of the snow that was piled up on the sidewalks. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and spot the cab that Claudia had called for her. She got in the back with her dress and her head full of conflicting emotions about the past night.

Linda's head was still a jumble as she climbed the four flights of stairs that led to her apartment. It was only the accusatory mewing of her cat as she pushed the door open that briefly brought her back to the real world. "I know, I know..." she said soothingly as the middle-aged tabby looked at her accusingly from across the hallway, its big yellow eyes revealing the deep sense of betrayal it felt at not having its bowl filled in the morning.

Linda kicked off her heels and stepped into her apartment's narrow kitchen. She opened the fridge to find the half-empty can of wet food that would hopefully buy her cat's forgiveness. As she ladled its contents into the food bowl under the feline's watchful eye a mental picture began to form, one involving pinstripe slacks...