Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
He pressed his lips hard against mine and pulled away.
“Got plans tonight?” he asked.
He wanted to see me again.
Right away.
I almost said, no, I did not have plans, because I wanted to see him too.
Then I remembered cocktails with the girls.
“Yeah. I’m having drinks with my friends.”
“’Kay. Call me. I want you Saturday night.”
That was so happening.
I smiled at him.
He touched his mouth to my smile and then he walked away.
I sat at my desk in my office.
I’d selected four candidates to interview, and as such, next week would be busier than normal because of those appointments. This meant, to keep on top of things, I had to work this weekend.
Not unusual.
Along with that, the fact I’d decided to take this next step had me nervous, so I felt the need to score a few more clients. With an additional staff member, I’d have time to see to them, but mostly I wanted more money flowing in to cover the additional going out.
This was because I didn’t want to be one of those employers who fucked over their employees.
Whoever I chose, I wanted her to have an excellent experience working with me. I wanted to pay a salary that wasn’t just competitive, it told her I valued her as a human and wanted her to be able to afford to live a decent life. I wanted to contribute to her 401K. I wanted her to have proper time off so she could live a full life and refresh, which in turn I hoped would keep her sharp and loyal. And I wanted her to think outside of being a PA and pay for courses she could take should she wish to expand her knowledge and skills base.
I could do this now by the skin of my teeth.
But I wasn’t a fan of living by the skin of my teeth, so I needed to expand.
For the most part, I got clients through word of mouth.
But I had my own social media accounts for my business, and part of my contract with my clients included the fact I could use my work for them to score some more.
I needed to get on that.
Before I did, I had to do something else.
I picked up my phone and texted Core.
You and Nanook want to come over for dinner on Saturday?
It was maybe five minutes later and I was jotting down some thoughts on how to push out a new client call when Core responded.
No. I’m feeding you. My place. Five too early?
I was smiling when I replied, No. That’s perfect. Can’t wait. xx
See you then, baby. Bring clean panties, he sent back.
Translation: we’re fucking and you’re spending the night.
I had no argument with that.
As I stared at his text, feeling the excitement at all that was happening with Core, I made a decision.
I’d moved on, and it was only fair that Bryan was free to move on too.
Decision made, I called him and wasn’t surprised I went to voicemail.
To ratchet up his billable hours in his bid for partner, he made my sixty to seventy hours a week look like I was a slacker. He was probably neck-deep in motions or sitting beside a client in court, and without a doubt, he was not going out for drinks with his buds tonight. Or if he was, he’d show up at around nine.
I realized then, it was not only one of the reasons why it took so long for me to understand he wasn’t the one for me, it was one of the reasons we worked well together for so long.
He didn’t give me shit about the time I spent on my business. I did the same for him.
But in reality, what this meant was that we hadn’t spent a lot of time together.
Bryan would stay the night a lot. We’d meet up for lunch here and there. We’d make plans to share an entire Sunday together every once in a while. We’d make “special dates,” which were dates where we made an effort to carve out time to go out for nice dinner or to a movie. On weekends, we sat beside each other on my couch with our laptops, in each other’s presence, but in our own worlds, working.
In other words, we slotted each other in when we could.
It was on that thought that I knew what I felt for Bryan had completely faded away.
When we were together, I knew his schedule. I knew when he’d be in court. In an abstract way that didn’t break confidentiality, he talked about his cases, and I enjoyed listening. His work was fascinating.
But right then, not knowing if he was in the office or in court didn’t bother me.
So yes, for me, it was over and this had nothing to do with starting things with Core.
“Hello, this is Bryan Thomason. I’m afraid I can’t take your call right now. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. If this is urgent, phone my assistant, Joelle, at…”