Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
C orinne. Friday
There was a common area in the call center that was a somewhat more relaxed spot with potted plants, where people sometimes went when they stepped away from their cubicles for a break. I was sitting there with Brett and Jerome, talking about calls we’d had, when I had a truly startling moment.
“So, what’s the funniest call you’ve had so far, your first week?” Brett wanted to know.
“Definitely the music critic,” I answered.
“The music critic?” Brett asked, while Jerome just shook his head.
“Yep,” I said. “Someone didn’t seem to like the music that we play while you’re on hold. They gave me a critique of it.”
“We get that sometimes,” Jerome said. “One of the more classy things about this place is the taste in music for hold times. But, some people aren’t into jazz. They think it’s music for snobs when it’s just art that you listen to. They don’t usually complain, but every so often, we hear about it.”
“Well, I got an ‘every so often’ this week,” I told him. “He actually started giving me a playlist of things we ought to play instead of jazz, if you can believe it. I could tell what generation he was probably from with some of his choices: Zeppelin, The Stones…”
From over my shoulder came an unfamiliar voice. “I hope you didn’t feel as if you had to take notes about that.”
I glanced in that direction, replying, “Excuse me, I’m talking, if you don’t-” The sight that loomed behind me stopped me cold. Where did he come from, this incredibly gorgeous guy in what I took to be a very expensive suit, and what was he doing here instead of at a photo shoot for Gentlemen’s Quarterly ?
The words tumbled out of my mouth: “C-can I help you?”
“Actually,” he said, “I was wondering if I could do anything to help you. ”
I was aware of Brett and Jerome also staring at the hottie in the suit. I didn’t know the two of them very well, but I hadn’t thought they were gay. There must have been some other reason for the rapt attention that they were paying this person. I soon understood what it was when Brett said, “Good morning, Mr. Bennett.”
I whipped my head around for another look at Mister GQ. I recalled my conversation with Ben the fitness trainer at the supermarket and connected the dots from that conversation to the man I was now looking at.
I had assumed that as one of Ben’s clients, this guy would be well put-together. What I’d failed to consider was that he would look like the result of a planning committee for How to Design the Perfect Guy. The way he filled that suit was impressive enough, but then there was his face.
This thirtyish guy had leading-man features, as if he belonged on a Broadway stage or in a romance movie on Cable TV instead of some corporate office. He had the most perfectly wavy, thick, sandy-brown hair, crackling, electric blue eyes, and an absolutely toe-curling smile. I’d seen some handsome guys in my life, but this one was enough to make every artist in the world lay down his paintbrush and say, I can’t top that.
This was my new boss? And, I’d practically scolded him for butting into my conversation? A teenage-girl voice inside my head squealed, Oh my GOD!
“I hope I wasn’t interrupting,” Elijah Bennett said.
My words began to trip over each other. “Interrupting? Oh no, no, not at all; of course not. I mean, it’s your…” I glanced back over at the bemused expressions of my co-workers, then back at the cover model standing just inches away from me. “That is, you’re, the, uh…”
He held out his hand. “I’m Elijah. And, you are?”
Gulping, I forced out my own name. “Corinne Gordon.”
“Very nice to meet you, Corinne,” said Elijah. “Sometimes, you will get an…interesting caller. It goes with being in the part of the company that deals with the public the most.
“When we have someone new at Customer Service, we like to come down and let them know we appreciate them taking on this role, as it isn’t always easy. My partner, Leo, would be here with me, but he was called to business out of town. So for now, I’m welcoming you on behalf of both of us.”
“Th-thank you,” I said, barely able to catch a breath. “You…you really weren’t interrupting; we were… That is, the guys and I were…just making small talk. It’s my first week, and all. I’m liking it, really.” I liked the job almost as much as I was liking what I was seeing.
“Good to know,” said Elijah. “I’m glad you’re settling in well.”
This was looking like a better place to work all the time.
_______________
My sister found my day hilarious. On our video chat that evening, she cracked up, making me happy in a perverse way that I could provide her with such entertainment. It was more entertaining for her than it was for me.
Between peals of laughter, she choked out, “You actually told him not to interrupt you? Oh my God! ”
“That was pretty much my own reaction,” I said with either a frown that was really a smile, or a smile that was really a frown. “It’s a good thing he was such a good sport about it.”
“I know!” Leanna said, having to slap her hands down on her desk from laughing so hard. “Just think, you could have gotten an introduction and a pink slip on the same day!”
That put a sick look on my face, which only made her crack up more. My sister and I loved and supported each other, but we found each other’s embarrassments amusing in that way that only siblings can.
“And after only a few days in this apartment, too,” I murmured, shuddering inside at what a complete disaster the whole thing could have been.
I gave Leanna a chance to calm down. I also told her about the funny coincidence of meeting the boss’s personal trainer before I actually met the boss.
“Well, that’s interesting,” she said. “In such a big city, it turns out to be a small world, huh?”
“Really,” I said. “What are the odds?” I sighed and brushed a hand through my hair, slightly relieved that she was calmer now, though I would probably never hear the end of the “telling my boss not to interrupt me” story from her. She’d probably find inopportune times to bring it up in the future.
“So, except for putting your foot in your mouth today, you really like the job?”
“I really do,” I replied. “I really like the job, and I really feel like I’ve done the right thing and I’m in the right place.”
“Oh, Addie, I’m glad,” said Leanna. “As upset and depressed as I was about you moving away, I’m happy for you that it’s working out.”
“Thanks, Sis,” I said. Knowing she was happy for me made me miss home a little less.