Jess had rolled her eyes and muttered, “That’s a little dramatic, even for you.”
“Is it?” Winnie snapped before storming out of the room (leaving poor Baxter sitting next to his empty dish).
Jess watched her go, regretting her words. But after days of being told she was selfish and awful and a disappointment, she finally had had enough.
Mike had barely spoken to her since they had it out about her missing her therapist appointment and lying by omission. Even though she denied having any feelings of attraction for Aaron (which was one-hundred percent true), he didn’t like what had happened. Not that Jess blamed him. It would have been one thing if she had told him about the whole therapy mix-up and lunch right away, but for her to have kept it from him for so long? That was the part that made him suspicious.Why keep it from me for ten days if there was nothing to hide?He claimed that even ifhehad been the one in the collision andhermom had been the one who had the stroke, he would have told her. Then he said, “Sand that. I never would have done either of those things in the first place.” And he wouldn’t have. Mike was nothing if not steadfast, and up until a handful of days ago, the same could have been said about Jessica. They were a responsible, dependable couple. The type of people neighbors gave their house key to when they went on vacation. But she had, in one swift move, taken herself out of that neat, orderly category, landing right in the chaotic pile of ‘unstable’ people. But she wasn’t unstable and she knew it. She was a woman on a mission. A butterfly finally breaking through her chrysalis.
Today was her first day at Fillion and Associates. She had picked out her clothes the night before—black wide-legged trousers and a royal blue dress shirt—and left them hanging on display in the walk-in closet. Proof for herself that she was ready for this, and a sign to her husband that no matter how angry he was, she wasn’t backing down. Not this time. She got up extra early to give herself a full hour to shower and do her hair and make-up. Not just lashes and brows, like she usually did. She gave herself the works, and for the first time in a very long time, she actually looked at her reflection while she worked. She stared at her whole face while she dusted bronzer onto her cheeks. And even better, she liked what she saw. She didn’t look twenty-five or even thirty-five, but she looked good. Professional. Lovely, even. With her shoulders back, she walked down the hall to the kitchen to have a slice of toast with some peanut butter on it. Mike, who hadn’t left for work yet, was leaning against the counter sipping coffee from a to-go mug. He looked up from his cell phone at his wife, and for a second, she could see the attraction in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again and set his gaze on his screen again.
Jess knew better than to expect him to tell her she looked nice today or to wish her luck. He was hurt and angry and wasn’t going to give an inch. But that look in his eyes—the way they rounded as he stared at her—buoyed her confidence and gave her a reason to hope that things would thaw between them soon.
The drive downtown was blissful. Jessica was in her new CRV (which had been upgraded nicely in the eight years since they bought her last one). The heated steering wheel warmed her hands while she listened to the radio, laughing along with the DJ’s bantering, which she normally would’ve found irritating. She was on her way to work ata law firm. Yes, she would be a forty-six-year-old assistant, but it was a steppingstone to a much bigger life. The skyscrapers came into view as she crossed the bridge, and she thought of how, already, she was different than that desperate woman steaming her lady bits just a few short weeks ago. It was funny how life could turn on a dime. Wonderful, really.
She stood outside the office door for a second and took a deep breath. She was an entire ten minutes early. New, improved Jessica would be early everywhere she went. She wouldn’t arrive anywhere with the panicky sweats anymore. She’d hear the best gossip at brunch the first time around, thank you very much. She’d be calm, cool, and collected.
Except for right now. Right now, her stomach rolled and her heart fluttered with fear that she was going to screw things up so badly that Aaron would have to let her go before lunch time. Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she gave herself a quick pep talk. She wasn’t going to screw this up. In fact, she was going to be brilliant.
The sound of footsteps down the hall had her turning, only to see Aaron strolling toward her, a brown leather glove tucked between his teeth as he dug around in the pocket of his wool coat. He pulled out a set of keys, then looked up and smiled, which caused his glove to drop to the floor. “You made it,” he said, swooping down and picking it up.
“I did. And I’m early, like I promised I would be.” Jessica gave him a winning smile.
“I knew you would be.”
She stepped aside to let him unlock the door. The air in the office was chilly, and immediately, Jess regretted not bringing a cozy sweater. Not that sweaters exactly said ‘professional,’ but she wasn’t going to enjoy being cold all day.
“First thing I do is turn the heat up,” Aaron told her, walking over to the thermostat on the wall near the coat hook. “Seventy-two does the trick, so if you’re ever here before me, go ahead and do that.”
“Gotcha,” she said, sliding off her jacket and hanging it up.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better, almost back to normal,” she told him, touched that he’d thought to ask.
He walked into his office and put his briefcase down on his desk, then picked up a stack of papers and handed them to Jess. “These are all the employment forms I’ll need you to fill out. We might as well get that out of the way, then we can get on with showing you the ropes. There’s going to be a bit of a learning curve with regards to the filing system and it’ll take a while for you to figure out which clients are PITAs and which ones you can put right through to me.”
“PITAs?”
“Pains in the ass,” he said.
Jessica laughed. “When they call, you’re in with another client.”
“And that’s pretty much all you need to know about being my assistant.”
She laughed again, glad she had somehow fallen into a job with such a relaxed boss. They spent the entire day together, other than when he had to take calls from clients. She had so much to learn, but Aaron was a great teacher—interesting, fun, and thorough. More than that, he wanted to teach her about the law. He didn’t just give her the basics she would need to know to be his assistant, he told her things she’d need to know for law school. He treated her like his intellectual equal. He treated her with respect, satisfying the craving she’d had for so many years.
By quitting time, Jessica had filled half of a notepad with important details that any good assistant would quickly memorize. Her head was swirling as she made her way out to her car, and she knew it would take a long time for her to get it all straight. But she would. She brought her notes home and would type them up into one well-organized document tonight. By the end of the week, she’d know more. And by Christmas, she’d be well on her way to being a valuable employee. She’d study at night for the LSAT and, if all went well, she’d be acing it come February.
On the drive home, she sang along to the radio, surprised that she wasn’t exhausted after such a long day. Maybe people don’t get tired when they’re living their dreams. Maybethat’swhy Kira Popowich seemed to have endless energy. Maybe it wasn’t all the supplements or her perfected sleep rituals or all the running on the beach and Pilates. Maybe it was because she was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing with her life, and when you were doing that, you never wanted to stop. Jessica smiled to herself as she crossed the bridge back to Union Hill, imagining herself feeling this good, thisexcitedevery damn day for the rest of her life.
15
"When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye."
~ Cathy Guisewite
Both her confidence and her optimism evaporated when she walked through the door, only to be greeted by the sight of Mike on his hands and knees cleaning the mudroom carpet. Her heart dropped. “Did Baxter—?”
“Yup. He sure did,” Mike said, without looking up at her. “Can’t blame him though. He’s never had to wait that long before.”
