Come with Me (Let It Be Me #2) (2 page)

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, then looked at Henry. “So is there anything else?”

There was actually something in Ben’s mind.

“Um, Henry, have you selected the assistant managing director?” Ben asked, trying to act nonchalant. He’s been wondering about it since this morning. 

“I met with three candidates today,” Henry said. He took out three folders and slid them across the table to where Ben and Alex were seated. “One stood out. Her name’s Elizabeth Hatton. Ben, she was the one you met this morning.”

Ben nodded, of course remembering her. “Obviously she’s not right for the job,” he said, thinking out loud. 

Alex looked at him curiously. “Why is that?”

“One look at her and you’d know she comes from a rich family,” Ben replied. She probably didn’t think he would notice, but he knew her clothes were all designer. And her demeanor was quite telling. “She won’t last long here.”

“She does come from a well-off family,” Henry supplied. “Not sure how you guessed that, Ben. Her father is Robert Hatton. He’s a known corporate lawyer here in the city. He and his wife have attended a couple of our functions and have contributed to our causes, not sure if you’ve met them.”

Alex shook his head. “I may have met them, but I couldn’t quite remember.”

“Elizabeth has a journalism degree and an M.A. on International Relations,” Henry continued. “She’s been active in charity work for years.” 

“She’s over-qualified,” Ben said, opening the file to see the photo of the girl he met that morning. She was actually quite pretty with her dark hair and brown eyes that were quite expressive – so expressive that he sensed she was uneasy when they met. 

“Isn’t that good for us?” Alex asked. “If she’s willing, why not?”

Ben was quiet, still not convinced. He just didn’t have a good feeling about Elizabeth Hatton. 

“She can be under probation for six months if you’re not sure about her,” Alex suggested.

“Aren’t the other two candidates qualified?” Ben asked, looking at Henry. He noticed Alex looking at him searchingly, but Ben ignored him. Ben looked at the other files to scan the resumes of the other two.

“They come from good schools too, but they don’t have any experience with any philanthropic work,” Henry said. 

“There you go,” Alex said. “So looks like we have a winner.”

“Ben?” Henry asked.

Ben stilled, knowing he was losing the battle. Sighing, he eventually gave in, saying, “Fine. But put the probation in.”

“Okay, I’ll have Miranda call her tomorrow. I’ll have her start next week,” Henry said, standing up, then walked out of the room.

“Get rid of that chip on your shoulder, man,” Alex suddenly said as he turned his chair to face Ben, when the door closed behind Henry.

“What are you talking about?” Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You can’t assume someone who grew up rich won’t work hard or can’t work here,” Alex said, matter-of-factly. 

Ben looked at Alex. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “Okay. But if she leaves in a month I’ll be the first to say ‘I told you so.’” 

Alex smirked.

Wanting to change the subject, Ben quickly said, “I’ve gotten the filming schedule for Hawkman 2. We’re flying to L.A. next month. Your scenes will take three months.”

“Three months?” Alex asked, disappointed.

“Don’t worry,” Ben said, laughing. He already expected his friend to complain. “I asked them to spread out your schedule so you’d be able to fly home every other week. That was the best they could do. Good enough for you?”

Alex nodded slowly. “Kayla and I can manage that. Thanks, man.”

“You’re welcome,” Ben said. “I know how whipped you are. I was positive you wouldn’t agree to be away from Kayla for that long.”

“Your time will come too, my friend,” Alex said, laughing, patting Ben’s shoulder.

Chapter 3

Liz

“Cheers, Mother Teresa,” Emily kidded, raising a shot glass of tequila.

Liz laughed as she raised her glass to toast with her friends Brian Morgan and Emily Perkins. They downed the shot and grabbed a slice of lemon each. 

She got the good news this morning when Miranda called to inform her she got the job. To be honest, by the end of yesterday, she was pretty discouraged, so the call this morning was a welcome surprise.

She called on her friends to meet her for drinks that night to celebrate. Even if it was a Wednesday, her friends were more than willing. So there they were at The Brass Monkey to get a couple rounds.

“I forgive you for working in a non-profit organization and making peanuts, since you get to work with The Alexander Stone!” Brian said. “You might get Emily and me to volunteer too!”

Liz laughed. “You’d be more than welcome, even if your intentions aren’t that pure,” she teased. 

They laughed.

Emily has been her friend since junior high in a Catholic all-girls school. They were both active in the student council and several clubs. They both went to Columbia for college and met Brian. Brian was their first gay friend. He was fun and smart, and drop-dead gorgeous. He had a toned body, a face that could start on a sitcom, and hair that was always styled perfectly. Emily and Liz had crushes on him until they found out he wasn’t straight. 

For the two, Brian was refreshing to be with after all those years being surrounded by girls in school. They kidded him that he enjoyed being the different one among the three of them.

“Have you broken the news to your parents?” Emily asked. Brian and Emily have met Liz’s parents in several occasions already.

Liz nodded. “I called them this afternoon. They seem happy that I got it – or maybe just resigned to it.” She laughed. She kidded about it but she knew her parents supported her. Her dad told her that he never expected her to make a lot of money. He even told her that he was glad Liz took after her mom and her mom’s generous heart.

“And it turns out they’ve met the managing director before, so that helps. I think my dad’s pretty okay with my career choice since I’m dating a lawyer.” She laughed.

“And speaking of, where is Jack?” Brian asked.

“I spoke to him earlier,” Liz said. She checked her watch. “He said he will follow. It’s already eleven. I better call him to ask where he is.”

She fished for her phone in her bag and dialed Jack’s number. It took him a while to answer.

“Hey, where are you?” she asked. She was starting to get tired of asking him where he was or if he was busy.

“Still in the office,” he said. “Still have to go through a lot of documents for a case. Sorry, babe, don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”

Again. 

“This weekend then?” Liz asked.

“Of course,” he assured. “I’ll see you then. And I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she said half-heartedly. She didn’t want to be selfish, but she hoped the night would be about her. Was it too much to ask from a boyfriend?

“I love you, Liz.”

“I love you,” she said back automatically.

She put down her phone and pouted at her friends. She also slightly felt embarrassed that her boyfriend was ditching her.

“Uh-oh, he’s M.I.A. again,” Brian said. 

“That’s what I get for having an ambitious lawyer as a boyfriend,” Liz said, shrugginh.

“But for how long can you take it?” Emily asked. “He’s hardly around.”

“I’m not one of those needy women,” Liz reasoned. “I don’t need to see him all the time.” She said the words, but she wasn’t sure if she meant them. Maybe she was just trying to convince herself.

Her friends looked at her hopelessly.

“So shall I order another round of vodka tonic?” she asked, in an attempt to raise everyone’s spirits again, mostly her own.

“Hell yeah!” Brian cheered, and Emily nodded in agreement.

Liz waved over the waiter and asked for their drinks. 

They chatted about Brian’s day at work. He was a personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman. He loved his job. He got to dress a number of affluent people – some of them were even celebrities.

“The new Givenchy collection has arrived,” he announced. “It’s divine!”

“Well I can wait till your clearance sales,” Liz said. “And with your employee discount on top of it, hopefully I can get a piece or two within my budget.”

“Ah, Liz, I don’t know if I should strangle or applaud you for choosing to live a simple life,” Brian teased. “Your credentials and your parents would have connected you to a higher paying job.”

“Which isn’t what I want,” Liz said indignantly.

“That’s why I love you, my dear,” Brian said sincerely. What Emily and Liz loved about Brian was that on the surface he may seem shallow but they could really depend on him to support them with the decisions they make, and would also give sound advice if they weren’t sure.

The waiter came back then with their drinks. 

Raising her glass, Liz said, “To my awesome friends who would lend me money when I go broke.”

They laughed as they clinked glasses and took a swig of their drinks.

“Hold on, I think I see someone I know,” Brian said, standing up, holding on to his drink. 

Emily and Liz watched as Brian sauntered off to the bar to greet an attractive guy they assumed was gay too. 

“Brian gets all the gorgeous men,” Emily said, kiddingly. Brian wasn’t seeing anyone, but he had a lot of good-looking gay friends. Emily has kidded that it broke her heart every time she found out a hot guy wasn’t into women.

“You’ll find your own gorgeous man soon enough,” Liz said encouragingly. 

Liz has wondered about Emily. Emily was gorgeous. She was tall, had good curves, fabulous blonde hair and great skin. She was also smart and funny. She was in human resources for a multi-national company so she met a lot of people. But she hasn’t dated anyone for months now.

She’s witnessed guys asking her friend out, but Emily would immediately turn them down. She and Emily have discussed it before. Emily had certain standards – which Liz totally supported – since Emily deserved the best. And she and Emily were only twenty-seven years old. There was no need to be in a hurry anyway.

“So you start next week right?” Emily asked, taking a sip of her drink. 

“Yup my training starts Monday,” Liz confirmed. “I’m kinda nervous.”

“No reason to be,” Emily said.

“One of the bosses seemed pretty unwelcoming,” Liz said, then recounted what happened when she met Benjamin Wright.

“Maybe it was just a bad day for him,” Emily said consolingly.

“Maybe,” Liz echoed, though unsure. “I hope.”

“But the awesome thing is, you wanted this opportunity,” Emily said, “and you have this chance to prove yourself to them.”

“Yeah,” Liz said, smiling. She had some ideas for fund-raising and projects that she hoped she can pitch to the board later on. “And it will be my first full-time job. No more juggling studies and work.” She has worked part time as a teacher’s assistant, a tutor, and even worked in a senator’s campaign while going to graduate school.

“I’m excited for you, Liz,” Emily said.  

“Thanks!” Liz exclaimed, sipping from her glass. She truly was thrilled for the opportunity that was just offered to her.

Brian came back then with a wide grin. He sat on his chair and said, “I have a date this weekend!”

“Ooh,” Liz and Emily sounded simultaneously. Brian never ran out of dates. Among the three of them, he had the wildest love life. Emily and Liz lived vicariously through him.

“Is it with the hottie by the bar?” Liz asked. 

He nodded, bouncing his eyebrows. “His name is Dave. We went to dance lessons together before after college. Haven’t seen him in years! He looks still as sexy as he was then.”

“Will wait for the deets!” Emily said, then realizing what she said, made a face. “Okay maybe not all of them.”

They laughed as they finished their round.

Chapter 4

Liz

By the time Monday morning came, Liz has mentally prepared herself. She was really excited, but she wanted to manage her expectations. Her objective was to prove that she deserved the job and she would do well in it.

She left her apartment early to make sure she would get to work on time. She was still gauging how long the travel time was at that hour, taking the train and walking to and from the station.  

She ended up being thirty minutes early. There were only a few people entering the building, since it was only a six-story building and probably housed only a few offices.

She was greeted by a different security guard at the building lobby. The guard this time looked more awake than the previous one, probably still energized from his morning cup of coffee. He was an elderly guy who had a jolly face. He reminded her of Mickey Rooney. 

“You must be Elizabeth Hatton,” he called as she made her way to the desk. “I missed you last week when I took my leave. Miranda told me to expect you this morning and have you go straight up.”

“Thanks!” she exclaimed, pleased with the welcome. “And since you already know my name, may I know yours? Since I would be seeing you every morning.”

“It’s Gary, ma’am. Gary Holbrook,” he said proudly. “Been working here for thirty-three years.”

“That’s amazing,” Liz said. “Nice to meet you, Gary. I should head up.”  

“Congratulations on the new job, ma’am,” he said.

“You can call me Liz!” she said, as she headed to the stairs.

Since she knew she was going to take the stairs, she only wore her low heels. Then she wore one of the good steals she got through Brian – a Helmut Lang pair of cropped pants that she happily got for $50 – paired with a chiffon button-down shirt she got at Urban Outfitters. Brian has definitely influenced her fashion sense. 

As she entered the RHS office, it seemed like Miranda wasn’t in yet. When she spoke to Miranda on the phone last week, she was told to wait at the reception area. She walked around to see more photos. She recognized Henry, Benjamin and of course Alexander Stone. They all seemed happy and friendly – sides she hasn’t seen from both Benjamin and Henry. Liz hoped Emily was right and that Benjamin was only having a bad day last week. And as for Henry, he just seemed so formal.