Authors: Summer Cooper
With that thought she got to work and several hours later everything was in boxes. She walked into the living room to see that there wasn’t anything left to pack and the movers were simply stacking all the boxes so that they would be easier to move the next day. She saw the same thing in her bedroom and was amazed they had gotten it done so fast. “Ma’am? We are done for tonight. We will be here at eight in the morning to start moving. Once we have loaded up the truck you are welcome to ride over with us, unless you would prefer to meet us there?”
“I will probably go over after you get here and look at the apartment so I have an idea of where things should go.”
“Very well. I’m assuming you know where to go?”
“Yes, I do. Mark gave me a card with the address and the access code for the elevator.”
“Excellent. We will be coming up through the service elevator once we are ready to move things in. Lydia will be there as well to help.”
“You seem very familiar with the building and with Mark.”
“I am. Lydia is my wife,” he answered with a smile. “I own this moving company and usually don’t help myself, but when Mr. Carren asks for our services I always supervise to ensure excellent service.”
“I must admit I’m impressed so far. I will see you in the morning.”
A
my looked
up at the building in front of her, and double checked the address on her card. This was it, this was where she would be living from now on. The canopy that lead to the street indicated you really didn’t have to get wet if you didn’t want to, even when leaving to go somewhere, and the doorman was smiling at her as she simply stared.
“Good morning Miss Taylor,” the doorman greeted as he opened the door for her. Amy looked surprised for a minute before realizing he had probably been well informed about her arrival.
She walked to the elevators and once she got in, she put in the code she had been given. She noticed there were no floor numbers, just a keypad and she assumed everyone had their own code so nobody could get to any of the floors without one. She had to remember to ask how that worked with friends, since she had a feeling she wasn’t supposed to simply give out the number she had.
As she stepped out of the elevator she noticed two doors, one to the right and one to the left. She was apartment B, which was the one to the right, and suddenly realized she didn’t have a key. That problem was answered when the door opened and a middle aged woman with kind eyes and slightly greying hair stepped out. “Antoine let me know you were on your way up. Antoine is the doorman. Make sure you give him your approved list, those are the people who can come up here. As long as they have ID on them Antoine will use his code in the elevator to allow them to come up, and then notify you of doing so. I’m Lydia, let me show you around. I must say it’s nice to have another woman around here. John and I live a couple floors down, but with our schedules we don’t interact with a lot of the other residents.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I will admit I’m still a bit in shock and overwhelmed.”
“Understandable. Mr. Carren can have that effect on people. He spoke very highly of you, and you must have made an impression on him to get him to move so fast.”
“I have a problem with speaking before I think sometimes, and I simply told him what I thought. He seemed to like it, which is now turning out to be a good thing.”
“Apparently so. Alright, this is the living room, as you can tell,” Lydia said as she started the tour. Amy looked around as she followed Lydia and found herself really liking the place. The living room was done in cream colors with a few burgundy red accents throughout. The couch looked comfortable, and the sitting area was in front of a fireplace she was excited to try. She could see herself curling up on that couch with a good book on a cold winter night. The main living area was open to the kitchen area, which made the room look much larger than it probably was, with a dining table separating the two. The kitchen was done in whites, and while it was nice it wasn’t overly large which Amy liked. She could never see herself living in a huge mansion, wanting the comfort of something feeling like home not a museum. Off the side was a laundry room, which Lydia promptly told her was her domain and she’d better not catch Amy there. Down a hallway were several doors, the first of which opened to an office. It was the size of her bedroom in her old apartment, and already had bookshelves lining the walls and a large wooden desk in the middle. The comfortable chairs in front of the desk indicated she could have people visiting her even while she was working.
The next door Lydia opened was a guest room, which was done in simple soft yellows and blues. “Each bedroom has its own bathroom,” Lydia said simply before closing the door again. She knew Amy would explore in more detail later.
The next door was another guest room, this one done in yellows and greens, before Lydia opened the third door, this one next to the office. “This is the master suite.”
Amy walked in and her jaw dropped at seeing it. The large king size bed was done in beautiful mahogany, and there were matching side tables and a dresser. To the left was a sliding door, which revealed a walk in closet, while to the right was a door that she assumed opened to the bathroom. That appeared to be correct when she walked into a bathroom with double sinks, standing shower and whirlpool tub which was situated right in front of the large window. She knew immediately that the view would be stunning at night when she could see all the city lights and she smiled as she turned back to face Lydia. “This is amazing. I’m not sure what to do with all this space, but it is done really well.”
“I’m sure you’ll find something. The building has a pool and a gym down on the ground floor, which you are free to use. If you take the elevator down to the ground floor, push the button for gym after putting in your code and it will open the elevator doors on the other side to give you access. It’s not overly large but it will suffice for what you might need.”
“Thank you Lydia. I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions later on but for now I need to get ready for the movers to get here. I won’t need any furniture so it’s really just my belongings. My bed in my old apartment was Queen sized so I suppose I need to get new sheets and all that.”
“John already gave me the heads up on that last night so I’ve ordered some that I think will go well in this room. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, thank you. I really don’t like shopping so I’m glad I don’t have to.”
“Excellent. I love shopping so anytime you need anything feel free to let me know. Now have you had breakfast?”
“I had a banana so I’m fine.”
“That’s not breakfast. Come on, I’ll fix you something. I have several batches of muffins and cookies and the like for the men once they get here, but you need something substantial. Once they are here you likely won’t be able to stop and sit for a while. Do you like eggs? Bacon?”
“Yes to both, but really I’m fine.”
“Nonsense. So how did you meet Mr. Carren?”
Lydia and Amy talked amicably as Amy sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen while Lydia cooked, both about Lydia as well as Amy’s introduction to Mark. Amy hadn’t realized how much time had passed until the movers started showing up and they all got to work, which for Amy meant pointing to a room and for Lydia making sure the movers ate her baked goods. It was well into the afternoon when they finally finished, and the second Mark walked into the apartment Lydia and John also left.
“What do you think of the apartment?” Mark asked as he looked around.
“It’s very nice. Those movers were amazing, I didn’t even have to unpack! Lydia took care of unpacking my clothing so she’d know where everything was, or at least that’s what she said. I have much more space than I know what to do with. So I thought you worked all the time, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you would like to have dinner with me? I gave Lydia the night off since she worked so hard to prepare for your arrival and while I have no doubt you can take care of yourself I’d like to take you out to dinner.”
“I’m actually a terrible cook and microwave meals are my friend. So while we are here, are you my boss or are you simply the guy who lives above me?”
“I’m your neighbor. Would you prefer somewhere casual or more fancy?”
“Casual. I’m wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and have no intention of changing.”
“Excellent. I know a Greek restaurant that I think you’ll like, it’s just around the corner. I’ll run upstairs and change out of my suit and I’ll meet you down in the lobby, sound good?”
“Perfect.”
When Amy saw Mark come out of the elevator, wearing jeans and a cashmere sweater, she almost fainted. Nobody should look that good in jeans she thought, and clearly his tailor made suits were hiding what an incredible butt he had. Despite the fact that the clothing were clearly still designer, they made him look younger and much more laid back. She decided then and there to always suggest things that would get him to wear jeans.
Amy also immediately knew the doorman was gay, considering he gave Mark a very appreciating look as he walked out which Amy immediately countered with a look that told him Mark was hers and to back off. “I saw that,” Mark commented casually as they walked down the street.
“Saw what?”
“That look you just gave him. It’s flattering, I won’t deny it.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself.”
“Of course, wouldn’t dream of it.”
Throughout dinner they talked about fairly inconsequential things, and Amy found herself having a wonderful time. When she was in bed later that night, she found herself replaying it over and over in her head, wondering if she was really falling for her boss. She had always told herself she would not be one of those girls who starting dating someone at work, only for it to fall apart and become a complete disaster. Now she realized she wanted nothing more than to spend time with Mark, and she hoped she would be able to hide it.
Monday morning came quickly, and when Amy was getting ready for the day she realized she was incredibly nervous, which is why she was very thankful to see Lydia in her kitchen when she walked out. “I assumed you’d want a good breakfast before your first day. Mr. Carren said the meeting is at eight.”
“Thank you. That gives me thirty minutes to eat breakfast. It smells amazing.”
“Chocolate chip waffles with bacon.”
“Don’t do that every day, I’d be twice the size I am now by Christmas,” Amy chuckled.
Lydia just smiled as she put a plate in front of Amy before also putting a large cup of coffee in front of her. “Mr. Carren mentioned that you need coffee in the morning. He actually asked me to make you a large pot and make sure you drink at least two cups before leaving the house.”
“He has a point,” Amy said, trying not to smile at the fact that Mark had not only remembered, he also cared enough to let their housekeeper know. “My first talk to him was when I was low on coffee.”
“Mr. Carren is the same way, he drinks a lot of coffee. It is the first thing I do for all of you when I get up here in the morning.”
Amy thought about that while she ate her breakfast, finding it interesting that Mark had never mentioned his love for coffee in all his time with her, even though he had brought up hers several times. She also realized she was going to be late if she didn’t finish eating, and soon she was rushing out the door. A larger man, in his mid-forties she thought, with a friendly smile walked out of apartment A right around the same time. “You must be Amy.”
“I am. Kevin?”
“Sure am. You ready for your first day?”
“I just hope they accept me. I take it you don’t live at the office either?”
Kevin chuckled and shook his head as he pushed the button to go down to the lobby. “I do not. I love my job, but there is a limit to everything. So what did you do to get Mark to love you so much? He stopped by last night to tell me he hired you, which I knew he had been trying I just didn’t know he was successful, and he couldn’t stop talking about you.”
“I have no idea. Maybe it was simply time someone told him the truth?”
Kevin laughed out loud at that one and looked at Amy sideways as they walked out into the morning sun. “I like you. Assuming you’re as good at accounting as you must be for Mark to hire you, I could see us working together for a long time. I’d like you to meet my daughter, she’s coming next weekend.”
“I’d love to but I will tell you upfront I’m not great with kids.”
“Fair enough. If any of the employees give you a hard time, let me know. Don’t tell Mark, he’d just fire them.”
“Thanks. I’m sure I can handle it but it’s good to know I have people who will back me up if needed.”
The introduction to the employees went much better than Amy could have ever predicted. They welcomed her with open arms and it was clear the accounting department was happy to finally have leadership again. Susanna admitted that they’d all felt lost, and she had liked Amy from the moment they had started working together and was looking forward to that continuing.
Amy immediately got to work after the company wide meeting and called a small meeting with just the accountants and support staff. She made it clear that she wanted them to come to her with any questions or if they weren’t sure on something. She would also be evaluating their workloads and seeing where extra training might be needed. She made it clear to them that everyone could do everything if they were properly trained, and that she didn’t want one person having too much work while another held coffee breaks all day.
When she arrived home that evening and found Mark on her couch, holding out a glass of wine for her to take, she kicked off her shoes and gratefully took it before falling down on the couch. She knew it didn’t look graceful, but she was in her own home and if he chose to be there when she got home he better get used to her getting comfortable. “Thank you, this was just what I needed.”
“Julia is in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. I heard good things about you, and I won’t deny that I did a little bit of spying on your staff in the break rooms. They love that you’re there, and you are approachable and they love that you’ve taken charge right from the start. Do you want to go change into something more comfortable? You look great in that skirt, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t imagine it’s comfortable in any way.”
“It’s not, but I have this boss who I don’t think will appreciate me showing up to work in sweatpants. You are right though, I’m home now. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Mark laughed as Amy left the room, to return a few minutes later wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Amy didn’t miss the fact that his eyes roamed over her body when she walked back in, inwardly smiling as she knew that she had picked the sweatpants that framed her butt the best. Before she could sit back down there was a knock on the door and with her glass of wine still in her hand she went to open it. “Kevin! Come on in. I see you’ve brought a friend?”
“Wine? Sweatpants? From what I heard your first day wasn’t that bad,” Kevin laughed as he walked in, a young girl right behind him.
“Uncle Mark!” she yelled as she practically launched herself at the couch to hug Mark.
“Your daughter?” Amy asked.
“Yes. Caroline, be polite and come meet Amy. She’ll be living here.”
“Hi Amy,” Caroline said, not getting up from her place on the couch.