You Again

Thursday, August 12, 2023

I had the meeting of my life in five minutes. Shannon had my papers laid out across my polished desk along with some pens, lavender Post-its, and a fresh legal pad tucked into my brand-new leather portfolio. Everything was perfect from my new outfit and stilettos that had cost me two months' rent to my flawless presentation. At least until I walked into my office, snagged my heel in the fluffy beige carpet and spilled my Starbuck's down the front my white blouse and all over my desk. Who knew that a grande latte could cover so much horizontal space? This was my moment to shine and I ruined it before it even got started! Jamming my finger onto the little red button on my desk phone I shouted for my assistant.

"Help!" was all I could get out.

Rushing barefoot through the door, Shannon's black eyebrows shot up, she spun on her heel and bolted for the closet. Retrieving the towel from my gym bag she immediately began raking the items that couldn't be saved into the trashcan while I rescued what I could. Fortunately my laptop had survived the tidal wave along with my portfolio and my cell phone. Unfortunately, nothing I needed for my meeting was salvageable. My papers were soggy, coffee dripped from my hair and I just stood there sputtering like an idiot while Shannon cleaned up my mess. Dazed, I staggered to the mirror in the closet to see the damage to my clothes.

"Well this is just perfect," I muttered, kicking off my shoes.

There went that hundred bucks, I thought as I stared at my startled reflection. My formerly pristine white silk Chanel blouse now sported a massive tan stain that would likely never come out. A sharp ticking brought me back to reality and I glanced up at the clock that hung between the windows. I had exactly sixty seconds to get reassembled and into that meeting. My boss was waiting to show off her star protégé and nearly everyone on the corporate ladder would be at that huge table with her. The company's president, vice president, CEO, the new COO, the board of directors and the corporate attorney had all flown in for the occasion. I was supposed to be the next big thing, the girl with the brilliant plan to pull the company into the next millennium but I can't even walk into my office without making a bloody mess? Just my fucking luck.

Suddenly Shannon grabbed my arm and shook me back to the real world.

"Just take off the shirt and wear your jacket," she said gently, pushing a shopping bag into my hands. "Put this on under it."

I looked down at the Victoria's Secret bag and dumped out the lacey bra I'd bought on my lunch break. My mouth fell open as I held it up and looked at her with a questioning look.

"All they'll be able to see is the top edge, if anything. It'll look like you're wearing a cami," Shannon reassured me. It wasn't exactly what I'd choose to wear around the people who could make or break my career, but it would have to do. Changing quickly I started to run out the door when Shannon shoved my portfolio and shoes into my arms.

"I made extra copies of everything," she said. "Just in case."

Sweeping my hair into a low ponytail I gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek

"I couldn't live without you," I said brightly and dashed off to the conference room, my heels swinging in my hand.

I took a moment to collect myself before I stepped through the heavy wooden double doors and into the shark tank. Drawing in a deep breath I slipped on my shoes and fluffed my bangs.

"Showtime!"

About two dozen very expensive black and gray suits milled around chatting quietly over coffee and pastries. Hardly anyone looked up when I entered the room.

"Ah, here she is!" called a voice from across the group. The clump of visitors parted as my boss strolled over to greet me. Judith Green was a woman who liked being the center of attention. Everything about her, from her shimmering auburn hair to her six-hundred dollar stilettos demanded she be noticed. Now she practically glowed with pride as she introduced me to the room. Her pale hazel eyes sparkled as the powers that be congratulated her on discovering a phenomenon. Even my own mother has never been presented me as her "life's greatest accomplishment," and I'm an only child. I shook hands with everyone Judith steered me over to. They were all very friendly and polite. I was in the middle of making small-talk with the vice president when I noticed his eyes flick over my shoulder. Taking my hand he led me over to the conference table where a tall slender man in a gray-on-gray pinstripe suit was turning to face us as he set down his coffee mug.

"Savannah Michaels, I'd like you to meet our new Chief Operating Officer," Mr. Richards announced in his warm baritone, patting the man on the shoulder. "This is Charles Gregory."

The man standing in front of me smiled back as his slender fingers curled around mine. He leaned forward to kiss the back of my hand and grinned up at me, his dark eyes glittering with amusement. I barely had time for the shock to register on my face before the meeting was called to order. Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse. My ex Charlie was not only here to enjoy my failure, he was the new COO everybody had been talking about. Great, just fucking great. Now instead of giving my amazing presentation, I'd be thinking about the bastard who'd ruined my life. As far as bad breakups go, ours was the worst. And Charlie just settled back into his chair with his stupid haircut that hadn't changed in over fifteen years and his smart-ass grin lighting up his chocolate-colored eyes. With one look I remembered how much I hated him, and missed him. My skin still tingled from where we'd touched and I clamped my teeth down on my tongue to stop the wave of emotional and physical memories from sweeping me away.

The presentation, thankfully, went extremely well. Afterwards Judith invited everyone to lunch on her tab. As we all filed out of the conference room I struck up a chat with Patricia Fisher from the board of directors. Her daughter, as it turned out, went to school with my son. Patricia was in the middle of describing the birthday party she was planning for little Mackenzie when Charlie swept up behind me and snaked his arm through mine.

"Mind if I steal our new wunderkind?" he purred with a wink, pouring on the charm. Patricia beamed back at him as she nodded. Charlie dropped back a step so that we ended up taking the elevator with Judith and Charlie's boss, Darren Towler, the CEO. We stood behind them as they chatted and when Charlie went to slip his arm around my waist I wrenched away with a furious glare. Taking a step towards him I stopped just inches from his chest and hissed in his ear.

"Never touch me again."

Even in my six-inch heels Charlie was still taller than me. He smirked down at me as his gaze traveled over my body and came to rest at the lapel of my jacket.

"Why Savannah Elizabeth Michaels, are you not wearing a shirt?" he whispered into my hair, his lips brushing the edge of my ear. He traced a fingertip slowly down my neck to my collarbone then quickly side-stepped the elbow I aimed at his gut. He chuckled softly and smoothed the front of his thousand-dollar designer suit jacket. His dark eyes glittered with wicked glee.

No matter the deep-seeded resentment I still held towards him, that fleeting touch sent a shiver up and down my spine. Gritting my teeth I pressed my back against the cool brushed-metal wall of the elevator and clenched every muscle in my body. After all this time, after nearly twelve years Charlie still knew exactly where my buttons were and how to push them. I hated him for it. At six-foot-four with clear brown eyes, chiseled features and full lips, Charlie was gorgeous, and he knew it. His glowing confidence was just this side of arrogance and the years hadn't changed him.

I stared resolutely ahead and watched him out of the corner of my eye. Quickly pulling up my mental calendar, I realized that he had recently turned forty and had aged rather gracefully. His thick, wavy brown hair was laced with silver along the temples and his sparkling eyes were edged with fine lines. He was watching me too, although Charlie was never one for subtlety. He slouched against the adjacent wall, arms and ankles crossed, facing me and grinning. He was loving this. I wanted so badly to knock his perfect teeth down his throat but as soon as I felt myself smile at the image of him crumbling to the floor in his custom-tailored Armani suit the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

Judith paused a moment on the patterned rug in the hallway and turned to face us.

"Savannah, dear, ride with us?" she asked, beaming. The CEO, Darren Towler looked to Charlie and raised his eyebrows in silent question. Charlie lightly placed a hand at the small of my back and guided me closer to the other two.

"Love to Mrs. Green," he said, his brilliant teeth flashing. He offered her his arm which she accepted. "Let's take my car."

I was left with Darren, a tall man in his late fifties with salt and pepper hair and a crisp black suit. His pale blue eyes swept over me as we turned to follow Judith and Charlie through the glass and marble lobby. We made small talk which I barely paid attention to and suddenly we were outside in the blinding sunlight. Charlie was helping Judith into the front passenger seat of a candy-apple red 1966 Mustang convertible with creamy white leather upholstery and matching rag-top that was folded down in the New York summer. He grinned at me as he offered a hand to help me into the car, my car. That was the car I'd told him I wanted, ever since I was little and the asshole was standing there holding the keys.

"Coming Savannah?" Darren called in his Jeremy Irons voice.

My eyes flicked back to Charlie.

"Nice car," I said through my clenched teeth as I stepped into the backseat and slung my purse into the floorboard.

His grin widened.

"Thanks babe, I bought it just for you," he whispered in my ear.

I frowned up at him and suddenly it dawned on me.

"You bastard, you knew I'd be here today."

He threw a quick glance over my shoulder at our bosses. Darren was on his phone and Judith was checking her makeup in her compact mirror. Charlie pecked my cheek and quickly shut the door.

"Now how could I possibly have known that?" he said with his devil grin.

He made a special effort to walk slowly to the front of the car, putting his hands in his pants pockets which pulled up the back of his jacket and showed off his fantastic ass. Buckling my seatbelt I sank down into the warm leather. This was going to be a long day.

Taking the car into consideration, oh and the fact that it was Charlie who was orchestrating the outing, we "randomly" had lunch at Dean & Deluca in Manhattan, my favorite restaurant. We parked in the darkened parking deck and Charlie pounced on his first opportunity to humiliate me when he spotted Judith and Darren shrugging out of their blazers.

"It's Savannah, right?" he said loudly, catching their attention. "You can leave your jacket in the car too if you like." He was opening the trunk for the others to leave theirs behind. Judith nodded.

"That's a good idea," she agreed. "It's warm today and I'd like to sit outside. How about you Darren?"

The CEO also agreed. Charlie turned to me with a wicked grin.

"Come on Van," he said softly, holding out his hand. "Let's have the jacket."

I shook my head and stepped away. "No thank you," I said as politely as I could manage.

"Savannah, dear, it's too hot to wear black all day," Judith called as she walked away.

Putting as much ice into my glare as I could I didn't take my eyes off Charlie as I spoke to Judith. "Y'all can go on. We'll catch up. I've got a quick call to make."

Judith's laughter tinkled off the concrete walls as she and Darren strode off to the elevator. "I love it when she says 'y'all'!" she gushed.

I watched them leave then turned back to Charlie. He had put the top up and was leaning back against the trunk. He'd taken off his jacket as well and I could see the muscles in his arms and chest straining against the fabric of his frost-green shirt. His silk tie was off and his top button was undone. He was rolling up his sleeves over his tanned muscular forearms, his head down as he focused on his task, when I stalked over to him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I demanded.

He didn't so much look up at me as peer through his ridiculously thick eyelashes.

"Language Van," he said with a lazy smile.

I jabbed a finger into his chest. "We are beyond formalities Charlie," I said, my voice full of anger and frustration. "I haven't worked this hard to get to today just to have you show up and ruin it for me like you've done everything else."

Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Charlie stood and stretched his arms over his head.

"Look Van," he said mildly. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't actually exist to make your life miserable. I am here for work just as much as you are. Forgive me for having a little fun at your expense."

He turned his back on me, shut the trunk and shoved something soft into my hands when he turned back around.

"What's this?" I asked, looking down at the lilac silk spilling through my fingers.

"My fiancé left her top in my car last night."

I shook my head with a frown and handed it back to him.

"No thanks."

"Van just put it on," he said gently, leaning behind me to open the back door. "I won't look."

Grudgingly I accepted the top and flopped into the backseat. Charlie closed the door and leaned back against the window. When I was satisfied that he wasn't looking I quickly slipped out of my blazer, whipped the top over my head and knocked on the glass. He swept aside and let me out with a flourish and a bow. I couldn't help but smile.

"Why do you think he did that?" Matthew asked as he unpacked our delivered Chinese food and arranged it on the upside-down coffee table that we'd dragged out onto my fire escape. My younger step-brother tiptoed around the tiny steel enclosure distributing napkins, sauce packets and chopsticks to the place settings while I plugged in a string of white Christmas lights that was draped along the steel bars and covered the "floor" in couch cushions and throw pillows.

The night was warm and dry and we sat down to dinner amid the dense urban music of traffic and human noise. Luckily no one was yelling or shooting tonight so it was nice to have some peace and quiet. I smiled and shook my head at that thought. Peace and quiet in the middle of Brooklyn. Yeah right. I settled down onto my pillows and spoke as I reached for my spicy sesame chicken.

"I have absolutely no idea," I said with a wave of my chopsticks. "I mean, yeah, Charlie was always one for chivalry but you'd think that after the way things ended he'd be...oh I don't know..." My voice trailed off as I searched for an appropriate word.

"An ass?" Matt offered.

I laughed with a nod. "Yeah, pretty much."

Matt shrugged as he cracked open a beer and took a long swig.

"Well maybe he really has changed," he said biting into an eggroll. "It's been a really long time."

I thought for a moment as I chewed my chicken then shrugged.

"Who would've thought he'd ever grow up?" I smirked.

Matt laughed. "Some men do that on occasion, thank you very much."

He shook his head, sending his loose black curls bouncing around his shoulders.

"I think maybe he was just being nice," he said softly. "Besides, what difference does it make? Next week he'll be shipped back off to LA with the rest of the bigwigs and that'll be the end of it."

I nodded silently while I stirred my Coke with my straw.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Matt asked.

I shrugged. "Kinda," I admitted. I shook my head and tossed my freshly blonde hair around behind my shoulders.

Matt looked back at me with a pensive expression.

"You miss the old Charlie," he said finally. There was no lilt in his voice making the sentence a question. It was a definitive statement.

"Pretty much," I said with a nod. "But it's not like it matters anyway. He's engaged."

Matt raised his beer can in a toast. "And you are happily single," he said with a grin.

I tapped my can against his.

"Amen to that."

We paused for a swig then I snorted a laugh.

"Ugh, her name is Bree," I said curling my lip.

Matt laughed and shook his head. "Go figure."

The next morning Shannon was in the office waiting for me when I arrived, as usual. Her navy blazer and matching pencil skirt looked spectacular against her olive skin. She wore a loose cream-colored blouse under her jacket and she'd swept her thick black hair into a low bun. Her triple-strand pearl necklace clicked softly as she moved. She smiled when she saw me, looking for all the world like Corporate Princess Jasmine.

"How was yesterday?" she asked, handing me a stack of papers.

I shook my head with a half smile and traded her the papers for the second cup of coffee I was carrying.

"Oh it was...interesting, to say the least" I told her.

"Ooo, what did I miss?"

Shannon stepped around her desk and we sat down on the top for our morning chat.

"Did you meet the new COO?" I asked casually.

She grinned, her dark eyes shimmering.

"Yeah," she said with a soft giggle. "He's hot!"

I sighed. "Uh-huh. Remember my ex, Charlie?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's Charlie."

Shannon quickly looked up from stirring her coffee. "Wait, you mean that was the Charlie?"

I nodded slowly. "Yep."

"The bastard formerly known as 'the love of your life'?"

"Yep."

"The man who ripped your heart out and stomped on it?"

"Yep."

"And now he's your boss's boss?"

"Charles Robert Gregory III, newly-promoted Chief Operating Officer of Patrick-Paige Holdings, Incorporated."

Shannon's eyes widened and she sighed heavily. "Oh shit."

My shoulders slumped and I let my head drop forward. "Yeah."

"Now what?"

I shrugged. "Well, as far as I know, you're the only one who knows he and I have a prior connection," I said, carefully taking a sip of my latte. "I can't speak for him, but I'm sure you'll never tell anyone, right?"

Shannon patted my hand. "I promise."

"Me too."

We both whipped around to the smooth male voice behind us. Charlie stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the opened door, ankles crossed and hands shoved in his pockets. His pale gray suit was expertly tailored around his athletic physique and his deep emerald tie brought out the faint green flecks in his chocolate eyes. His full lips curved up into a grin that showcased his brilliant white teeth and his eyes sparkled with some unsaid joke. Each individual piece of him looked incredible, but put together he looked like he'd just stepped off a runway. Damn him.

Shannon quickly stood up while I took my time sliding off the top of the desk. She set down her coffee and stood beside me with her hands together.

"How may I help you, Mr. Gregory?" she asked.

Charlie pushed off the door and sauntered over. He'd switched to a different cologne today I noticed. My heart fluttered as my brain processed the familiar scent, the one he always wore way back when, the one that made my knees weak and my body react in ways that only he could elicit. He could argue all he wanted about not trying to make my life difficult, but wearing that cologne? He did that on purpose. I knew for a fact (because I work in the fashion industry and not because I'd searched extensively online for it) that that particular cologne had been off the market for years. He stepped closer to me and I breathed in deep as he neared, then forced myself not to physically recoil when I realized that the mouth-watering fragrance was mixed with a delicate ladies perfume. She came with him, his fiancé. She kissed him goodbye when he left this morning. I spotted a faint smudge of lipstick on his neck. Turning away from him, I sipped my coffee and looked down at the first fax in my hand. Stopping in front of me Charlie asked "What's the news of the day?"