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“How did you know what I eat for lunch?”
Her eyes darted to Erika and then back to me. “I asked Erika yesterday.”
Turning to Erika, I noticed the woman’s eyes narrow, but then she smiled. “Yes. She did.”
“I didn’t realize you paid so much attention to my eating habits, Ms. Jackson.”
“Neither did I,” she murmured.
As I stepped off the elevator, a man holding a coffee opened the door to the stairwell.
“Hey, Fran—”
“Oh, good! Your lunch is here.” Ava raced toward the man.
“Yeah, I had to take the stairs. The elevator wasn’t working.”
Ava grabbed the coffee and tapped her foot while he pulled a brown paper bag from his carrier. “I’ll see you later,” she said, and pushed him toward the stairs and closed the door.
I turned to Erika, wondering if I was the only one who thought Ava’s behavior quite strange. But Erika didn’t look up, focused on her keyboard.
“Should I put this on your meeting desk?” asked Ava with a smile, but her eyes shifted between Erika and the empty stairwell.
“Sure,” I said, wondering what the heck that was all about.
I watched her saunter away from me, her skirt hugging every curve. When she reached my office, she removed the items from the bag and placed them on the desk.
“What about you, Ava? Did you not order something for yourself?”
“No. I brought my lunch.”
“Why don’t you join me then?”
She sucked in her lips and looked down the hallway. “Um.” She seemed to ponder the question longer than I thought necessary. “I really shouldn’t.”
“It’s just lunch,” I told her.
“All right. Just give me a minute. I usually go to lunch with Erika.”
“Usually? But this is your first day.”
Her eyes rounded, and she swallowed hard. “Ah… I mean… I planned to go to lunch with Erika since we met up at the Deli yesterday. I’ll just go tell her I can’t make it.”
I nodded but found her explanation strange. My new assistant was a little jumpy. Taking a sip of my coffee, I sat down at the desk. Ava and Erika looked to be arguing. Erika’s hands were on her hips while Ava ran her fingers through her hair. Finally, Erika grabbed her purse and stormed toward the elevators. I couldn’t look away from the scene. Then Ava stopped her and squeezed Erika’s hand before letting her go. She’d mentioned the two of them were friends.
Is there more between them than just friendship?
“Is there something going on between you and Erika?” I asked when she returned holding a floral pink reusable bag.
She stopped mid-step. “What do you mean?”
“Just that you two seem very close. Is there something I should know?”
Her cheeks reddened and she pushed a curl behind her ear. “No. There’s nothing you need to know.”
Huh. I think I was just dismissed. She was right, of course. It was none of my business, but dammit, I wanted to know if I had a shot.
What are you talking about?She’s your assistant. There is no shot to take.
