Center Stage Ch. 03

She leaned over and gave me a huge hug. I pointed at the box on the floor.

“What is that?”

“It’s a thank you present from Sydney and Dale.”

She leaned over and pulled the lid off. After a few seconds a tan furry head popped up.

“Madison?”

At the sound of my voice Madison sprung from the box onto the couch. She immediately pounced on me and began to cover me with sweet puppy kisses.

“What is she doing here, Ariel?”

“Dale and Sydney were actually planning on finding her a new home since she was having so many problems with Dale. After they saw the way she reacted to you…well they hoped that you would want her. They thought it was a perfect thank you gift.”

I scratch Madison behind the ears and grinned at Ariel.

“Do you want to live with me, Madison?”

She let out a tiny bark and then curled up in my lap. She fell asleep in about 5 seconds.

Ariel and I both laughed.

“I guess that answers the question then. She stays.”

“So, Cam…about your job…” Ariel began.

“Please let’s not talk about it. I did quit tonight. I can’t go back there.”

Ariel looked at me curiously.

“Did you really tell him that you hate him?”

I nodded my head.

“Do you really hate him, Cam?”

I paused for a second and took a deep breath. I asked myself that question about a hundred times since I left the party. I did a lot of soul searching to find the answer.

“No I don’t.”

Ariel reached over and put her hand over mine.

“Why did you say it?”

“I knew that no matter what I said he would most likely not care. You asked me to get through to him any way I could. I figured that if I could break through everything and make him feel, really feel, anything then it would most likely help him. Once he realized that he wasn’t as cut off from everything as he thought he was it would make his journey back an easier one. I didn’t actually plan on telling him I hated him, but he just pushed me to that point. The next thing I knew the words were out of my mouth. I wanted to take them back. He really does piss me off a lot, but I can’t honestly say that I hate him. When I looked at his face though I know that the slip was actually better than anything I could have planned. I didn’t just get behind his walls Ariel. I completely obliterated them. Well…I at least thought that I had. Not even two seconds later his mask was back in place. Suddenly I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

I paused to take a breath and then continued on.

“When I first started working there I was so excited to be working at CPS. I had heard such wonderful things about the company. I thought that Mr. Grey and I might actually become friends. Reality hit on the first day. We were certainly not going to be friends. After he put on his boss mask again tonight I just got tired of it. I couldn’t take dealing with him anymore. So I quit.”

Ariel squeezed my hand.

“Zack brought up a good question tonight. One that I’ve wanted to ask myself actually.”

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s the question?”

“Why don’t you ever call him Zack?”

I sighed.

“I never used his first name because that would imply I thought we were friends, and we weren’t. Even though I was supposed to be his ‘boyfriend’ tonight I still couldn’t cross that line. I couldn’t use his first name. I still can’t. Does that make any sense?”

Ariel nodded her head.

“It makes perfect sense. You know there was another reason I came here tonight.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…Zack thought I could talk you into coming back to work.”

I opened my mouth, but she put up her hand to stop me.

“After talking to you though I don’t see that working out. I think Zack needs some time to realize exactly how much you did for him. Here is my plan.”

Ariel went over the details of her idea for the next fifteen minutes. I had to admit it was a great idea. It might just actually work.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Two weeks later I stood in the elevator at CSP on my way up to his office. Once again I was wondering if I was doing the right thing by listening to Ariel. I guess I will have to wait and see. Ariel called me about 10 minutes ago. She just got back from lunch with him and they had a meeting with a prospective new client. There has been a temp in at my desk for the last two weeks. From what Ariel told me everything was running like shit. She had advised the temp right before the meeting that I would be in today after being out on sick leave. I would take over without him even realizing it. That is until Ariel called me in with some information for their meeting.

I walked into the office and found a very bored looking woman sitting at my desk. She was obviously bullshitting on the phone with a friend of hers. My desk was destroyed. It would take forever for me to get it cleaned up. I stood in front of the desk for a few moments waiting for her to acknowledge me, but she never did.

“Excuse me, miss…”

She held up her finger signaling me to wait a moment.

After a few more minutes I tried again.

“Miss…”

She put her hand over the received and shot me an angry look.

“I am on the phone here. What are you blind?”

I quickly moved around the desk and snatched the phone out of her hand.

“Hey!”

“I am sorry but please don’t ever call back here again. The bitch has been fired.”

I slammed the phone down and glared at her.

“You are sitting at my desk. I suggest you get your fat ass up and grab your shit and leave. I wouldn’t suggest you doing this on any other jobs because this incident will be reported to your agency. Now get the hell out.”

It took her a few moments to get her things together. She finally stormed her way out of the office. I found my headset in one of my desk drawers. I put it on and plugged it into the phone. I hit a button on the phone and got connected to security.

“Security speaking. What is the problem now, miss?”

Obviously the temp had no idea how to work the phone system.

“Hey, Ted, It’s Cameron. That temp is on her way out. Stop her and search her. Make sure she didn’t take anything on her last day here.”

“Cameron! It’s great to hear your voice buddy! Welcome back! I will make sure to check her out. She’s been putting everyone through hell.”

“Thanks, Ted, it’s good to be back.”

While I was waiting for Ariel to buzz in I started to clean up my desk. It took me about an hour to get everything back to where it should be. Just as I was finishing up the intercom sounded. I took a deep breath and hit the answer button. I didn’t say anything though in case he decided to page the desk himself. Luckily Ariel’s voice came over the headset.

“Hello. Could you bring in the files for the most recent show CSP has worked on please?”

“It will be my pleasure, Miss Bennett.”

I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Thank you so much.”

The line went dead. I stood up and entered the door that was hidden in the wall behind my desk. All the company’s records were kept here in one place. This way it was easily organized. All anyone had to do was call up or email me and I got the information sent down to the correct department. I grabbed the correct files and picked up my notepad. There was a good possibility I would be asked to stay and take notes, but there was the other possibility that he would ask me to leave. I headed down the hallway and stopped at the double doors. Here goes nothing.

I knocked gently on the door and waited to be admitted.

“Come in.”

I heard his voice through the door and took a deep, calming breath.

I entered the office and gently closed the door behind me. I had my best professional smile on my face. His office was big enough that a small conference table was set up in the corner. Ariel was the only one to look my way when I came in. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. There were two ladies sitting at the table with them. I walked up quietly and set the files down next to him.

“Here are the files you requested, Mr. Grey.”

“Thank you…” He said as he looked up. “Cameron.”

I expected to see the mask firmly in place, but it wasn’t. Shock was written all over his face. I had to cover this up quick. I turned to the women at the table.

“Good Afternoon, ladies, could I get either of you something to drink?”

They both smiled up at me, but politely declined. I turned back to him.

“If you need anything else, sir, I will be at my desk.”

I turned to go back to my desk, but he stopped me.

“Cameron…would you mind sitting in and taking notes for me please?”

I turned back and he had an expectant look on his face. I gave him the best smile I could.

“Of course, sir.”

I sat down next to Ariel and began taking notes. I noticed a few times throughout the meeting that he looked my way every now and then. Ariel reached under the table at one point and grabbed my knee. I glanced over at her and she mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to me. All I did was nod back at her. Twenty minutes later the meeting ended. He got up and escorted the ladies out of the office. As soon as he shut the door behind them Ariel gave me a huge hug.

“This so totally worked!”

“I do have to admit it seemed pretty good. I can’t believe he actually looked shocked. I didn’t really expect a reaction.”

“He’s really been trying, Cam, though I must admit I haven’t seen that much reaction from him at work before. I think it’s a good thing he asked you to stay. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens when he gets back.”

Suddenly the door to the office swung open and he practically ran into the room. He shut the door quickly behind him. Emotions flashed across his face so quickly I couldn’t even distinguish them. Ariel stood up and gathered her things.

“I have to get to my meeting with my staff. I will call you later Zack to give you an update on the casting for that new show.” She turned and looked down at me. “Great to see you again, Cameron.”

She walked past Zack and patted him on the shoulder. She quickly exited the office. I stood up and walked around the table. It was time to face the music.

“Cameron…what are you doing here?”

It wasn’t the best conversation starter, but at least he was trying.

“Ariel can be very persuasive when she wants to be. It was either come back to work or wake up at the bottom of the river. So here I am.”

His face crumbled a bit and he turned to go back towards his desk. Damn it Cameron. Can’t you ever say the right thing?

“Wait, Zack…”

He spun around quickly.

“The truth of the matter is that I really missed my job. I would have come back sooner, but I thought with everything that happened it might be a good idea to wait a little bit. We really should have cleared this with you first. Maybe this was a bad idea…”

He just stood there staring at me. I sighed and turned to head out of the office. I hadn’t taken more than two steps when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around to face him. I looked at him and there was an unreadable expression on his face.

“What did you say?”

“I really missed it here and…”

He shook his head and cut me off.

“Not that. What did you say before that?”

Oh!

“What do you mean, sir?” I asked with a grin.

“Cameron…”

His face tightened.

“Zack…”

His face lit up with that rare smile. Maybe Ariel was right. This might be able to work out after all.

“Cameron, I want to start over. I’ve been a total prick and we’ve both said some horrible things to each other.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but he held his hand up.

“Give me a second. It doesn’t matter if we meant what was said or not. Can we just start all over? I would like it if we could be friends. Could that be possible, Cameron?”

He stuck out his hand.

“Hi. I’m Zachary Grey. It’s nice to meet you, Cameron.”

I looked at his hand. I just shook my head and laughed. He looked at me with confusion.

“My friends call me Cam. Besides…friends don’t shake hands.”

I was taking a chance, but please let this work. I stepped over to him and gave him a hug. He didn’t do anything for a second, but then I felt his arms wrap around me. I pulled back a little bit and looked at Zack. He still had that smile on his face.

“Thanks, Cam.”

“No problem, Zack.”

The voice that came from behind me made my stomach clench in knots.

“Isn’t that sweet. The two lovebirds made up.”

I turned around and once again came face to face with my new arch nemesis. Lucas Ridgeton.

I couldn’t help the sigh that slid from my mouth. I turned and looked at Zack.

“I really need to talk to security. Any piece of trash could come strolling in here off of the streets.”

Then something surprising happened. Zack laughed. In all the time I’ve known him I have never heard him laugh or even giggle. I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“I am on to your little game, Zachary, I know that this slut is just your PA here. I’ve got a few friends that work in the company and they filled me in. He’s not your boyfriend.”

Zack sighed and look defeated. Lucas had an evil grin on his nasty face. He is so fucking stupid. Doesn’t he remember anything from our last encounter? I couldn’t let him embarrass Zack like this. If we were starting out fresh like we agreed then I had to do something. Friends are supposed to help each other out.

“What goes on here at work is completely professional, Lucas, this is a business. Our personal lives are not put on display for all of the employees to see and gossip about. Besides, how do you think we met?”

The smile faded a little from Lucas’ face.

“I still don’t believe it. Zachary is way too good for someone like you. I don’t know why he felt the need to get you to go along with this scheme, but I would guess he is paying you pretty well.”

“You will NOT talk to him like that you bitter piece of…”

Zack started going off on Lucas. I reached out and pulled him back. Lucas totally deserved it, but I was not going to let Lucas get to Zack like this. Zack was glaring at him and Lucas was laughing.

“Zack…” I reached up and turned his face towards me. “Ignore him, baby, he is definitely not worth the effort. Okay?”

As I was talking to him I ran my thumb over his cheek. His eyes widened a bit and he nodded his head. I am not sure if it was being called baby, or my hand on his face that caused him the shock. I would NOT let Lucas get to him. I leaned over and gently brushed my lips over his. Not actually a kiss, but enough to show there was affection between us. I pulled him against me and turned to look at Lucas.

“Leave. Now. If I ever see you inside this building again I will have you arrested for trespassing. Get the fuck out you piece of shit.”

Lucas glared at me and stormed out of the office. He slammed the door on his way out. Zack and I started laughing at that same time.

“Remind me to never piss you off, Cam, well at least never to piss you off again.”

I smiled at him.

“Water under the bridge. Remember, Zack?”

He nodded at me.

“So what was with the ‘baby’ stuff and the hand on my cheek?”

I couldn’t help the blush that crept over my face.

“Look it may have been over the top, but I had to do something to shut him up. I just went with the flow. I noticed though that you didn’t mention the kiss. Wasn’t it good?”

I grinned wickedly at him.

“I’m glad you think quick on your feet. And do you really call that a kiss? It was more like a brush. Maybe we should try it again.”

Zack smiled at me and took two steps forward. I quickly back peddled two steps. When did this turn into a Paula Abdul video?

“If you call me a cold hearted snake I will kick your ass, Cameron!”

I know I didn’t say that out loud!

“How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked with my voice laced with shock.

“You think that I didn’t pay any attention to you the whole time you worked here, but you were wrong. I noticed everything I could.”

“Why? If you were that curious about me then why treat me like that?” I asked as I stepped towards him.

“It was easier to push you away than it was to let you in, Cam, besides, whenever I play with fire I end up getting burned. You are hot enough to engulf the building in flames.”

He smiled at me and took a step towards me. My breath caught in my throat.

“You are so full of shit, Zack, I have to admit I like saying your name.”

He laughed.

“It has a smoother ring than ‘the lord of all things evil’ doesn’t it?”

I gasped.

“Ariel is going to die a very slow and painful death.”

“Don’t worry about it, Cameron, I’ve known everything you’ve ever said. When you first started working here you used to leave the intercom on. I’ve heard most of this directly from you. Hearing you say those things actually helped me push you away. Not that I wanted to do that though. I felt like I had to. You were the first person in a long time I felt like I could connect with, and that scared me. I didn’t want to connect with anyone or be friends. I just wanted to be alone. I thought that would make me happier.”

“Did it?”

“No. I do have a question for you though. I want you to answer it honestly.”

I looked at him expectantly. He walked over and stood right in front of me.

“Did you…did you mean it when you said you hated me?”

Hearing those words come back to me was like being punched in the gut. Why don’t I think sometimes before I talk?

“No, Zack, I never hated you.”

“Good. I never hated you either.”

I reached out and gave him a hug. It just felt like the right thing to do. It must have been because he hugged me right back this time.

“I’m glad we are friends, Cam.”

“Me too, Zack.”