CHRISTOPHER

I watched her mouth move over her words. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she elaborated on personal success. And never once did she slip and call me CJ or even ask about the name I had given her all those years ago. The man I was when I met her was not who I was now, but I also wasn't the man I had been the day before I met her.

Meeting her hadn't changed me, I had met her in the middle of my big switch over from loser party boy to successful businessman. Maybe it was the timing, maybe it was that she was truly amazing, but she was unforgettable. And I almost couldn't believe she was sitting with me now.

I didn't have any intelligible questions left to ask. I had only prepared enough questions to fill a short amount of time, not the rest of the afternoon.

“I think I'm out of questions,” I confessed. I did not say that I was disappointed because I wanted to keep her with me, that would have been a little too desperate, even for what I was feeling at the moment. “Do you have any more questions for me?”

She shifted slightly in her seat and sighed. “I could probably come up with a few hours’ worth of questions.”

“Ask away," I hoped one of those questions was going to be about me being CJ, and if I remembered her. My answer was ready: how could I forget her?

“I should probably start with; do you realize what time it is? The HR representative said we only had about twenty-five minutes and it's been over an hour. I know you have to be a busy man, and these interviews have already taken over a good deal of your day”

I glanced down at my watch. Shit, we had gone over time. But time with Alicia was well spent.

“I guess you're right, I haven't been watching the time. Thank you for being conscientious for me. And unfortunately, that means I need to wrap up this conversation. But I feel like I owe you one last real question.”

Her hair bounced as she shook her head. “You've already answered so many questions, and I've taken up more of your afternoon than you had scheduled. I should let you get back to your business.”

“Keeping me on task and you don't even work for me?” I lifted a brow in question.

“That would be part of my role as your executive assistant, would it not? Think of this as a demonstration of my skills, and not as me trying to get out of asking you more questions.”

Alicia gathered her things and stood, holding out her hand to me. “Thank you for your time, and for spending extra with me. Hayes Imaging Solutions seems like an exciting place to work.”

I'shook her hand again, and I still felt the pinpricks of electrical charge between us. I stood and walked with her to the front reception, accepting her visitor badge before handing it over to the receptionist. We shook hands one last time, and she left I watched her walk out of the building, her hair bouncing with her mass of curls, and her a*s bouncing with a completely different rhythm and sway. She moved with grace and confidence, and a complete lack of awareness as to who I was. The doors closed behind her and she was blocked from my view. I kept staring even though she wasn't there, I could still see her in my memory.

“Mr. Hayes?"

I finally heard the receptionist trying to get my attention.

“Did you need anything, Mr. Hayes?"

I shook my head. “No, I was just reviewing the interview in my head. I need to go write down my notes.”

She gave me a noncommittal smile as I left. I went back to the conference room and gathered the files. I should get my notes to Joan. But I needed to get my thoughts better aligned. I needed to focus on finding a replacement, but all of my attention was still locked on Alicia.Content © copyrighted by .

That was Alicia, my Alicia. She was here interviewing to be my new assistant. Her smile, her voice, the warmth she emanated were all the same. She gave off serious sexy secretary vibes in her suit. The way it hugged her curves would be a complete distraction on a daily basis.

“How did it go?" Valerie asked as I strode back into my office.

I shrugged.

“That last candidate must have really impressed you."

“Why do you say that?”

I stopped and set the candidate files down on her desk.

“Well, you were supposed to be back here an hour ago. You were only supposed to meet with her for about twenty minutes, and you were there for over an hour.”

I pulled my browns together, that couldn't be right. I had barely spent any time with Alicia. Well, at least that's what it felt like. I could have sat there all day getting lost in her eyes.

Valerie started flipping through the file folders. “This one looks good, too.”

ignored her, my mind lingering on Alicia's sweet voice, and how at ease I was in her presence. It rankled that she didn't seem to remember me. Maybe she did, maybe she had been as caught off guard as I had been. She hadn't been flummoxed atall by my presence. If she had remembered me but was trying to process the surprise, she had handled it perfectly well. “Why don't you go through my notes, see if anyone jumps out at you” I pushed the folders a little closer to her.

“Who did you like? You are the one who has to work with them. If HR advanced them for a meeting with you, then their qualifications aren't the determining factor. Who did you vibe with?"

“You really didn’t just say vibe with?"

Valerie smirked. “I did, and don't act like you are some kind of an old man who doesn't understand the language of this generation. I won't buy it. You know exactly what I meant. Who had a personality you felt was a good fit, and who would blend in with our corporate culture? Who else did you want to spend an hour with that you didn't get to because the schedule was so tight?”

I gestured at the files. “You tell me. Let's compare notes in the morning. I've already blown off my schedule and will be staying late getting this analysis back to development ASAP. I really can’t spend any more time on that today.”

I left the files and my notes with Valerie and stepped into my office. I couldn't spend any more mental energy on her replacement, but it was going to be a struggle to keep Alicia from infiltrating every last thought I had.

I had found her, or she had found me. Or maybe I had to accept that circumstances were purely random, and it wasn't fate but chance that brought us together again. After all this time I finally had a full name and contact information. It would be s far removed from professional behavior to take her information and call her and ask her out.

I stared at the numbers and struggled to keep my focus.

“Valerie? Can you order some coffee for me?” I asked into the phone intercom.

“Sure, you want caff or decaf?”

“Caf, all the caffeine.’

“Add a shot of espresso?”

“That wouldn't hurt” I ran my hand over my eyes. I needed to be able to look at the spreadsheet and see the connections and growth in projections. Instead, I saw smiling eyes, perfect pouty lips, and the bounce of golden curls.

“Better make it two shots of espresso, I'm in for a long night”

Within twenty minutes Valerie handed me a large coffee, still steaming hot.

“That's going to keep you up all night. I went through those candidates.”

I picked up the coffee and sat back, shifting my focus from the computer monitor to her.

“Oh yeah?"

“You clearly had favorites. According to your notes Alicia, Danica, and you called them the Texans, cute.”

“Their names are Austin and Dallas, what else am I going to call them?”

She laughed. “Well, those were your top four based on your notes. And I agree.”

“Fantastic. Send them on to HR for the next round. Also, I want you to interview them. You know what I'm like, what this company needs”

“Christopher” she started.

“I value your input. You're the one leaving me in the lurch.”

“You keep that up, I'l report you to HR for harassment,” she countered my teasing. I needed someone who could be like Valerie and know when I was teasing and know when to be serious and know when to set me back on the right path. “I'l tak care of these in the morning. And get the next interviews set up. You need to focus. Do you need me to have some dinner ordered for you? How late is tonight looking?”

I was drinking a double espresso at the end of the workday; I was in for the long haul.

“Yeah, have something delivered. Thanks.”