Are You The One?

Chapter 3

“Yes can you please tell him it’s Brittany Spencer,” Brit said to the receptionist. It was her fifth call.

“I’m sorry but he is in meetings all day. I’ll give him your message Ms. Spencer,” the receptionist apologized.

Brit had so far been unable to reschedule her interview and she seethed in anger. George Adams had wasted her time and prevented her from getting the job she truly wanted. She would never forgive him. He let her drone on and on about her writing skills, even asking her questions when he could have simply told her from the beginning she was in the wrong place.

She went to the gallery still angry and began snapping at everyone there. She hated working there, imagining that right this minute she could be writing for the magazine instead.

“I said the black napkins Allison,” she barked, sending Allison scurrying for the napkins on the verge of tears.

One night she was also rude to a guest.

“Every time you come here you ask about that painting. Are you buying it or not?” she demanded.

Stefan approached.

“Brittany I need to see you in my office,” he said.

“Stefan, I…” she began as soon as she entered the office.

“Brit have a seat. I don’t know what is going on with you this week but I can’t continue to allow you to abuse my staff and even worse my clients. I’m going to have to let you go,” he said.

“Stefan no please I need this job. I’m really sorry. I’ve just been having a terrible week,” she plead.

“You need to keep your personal life separate from your professional one,” he remanded.

“I know. I’m so sorry. Please,” she begged.

“Fine. You’ve been a great employee. Look why don’t you take your vacation this week. Come back next Tuesday refreshed and sans this attitude. Okay?”

“Of course. Thank you Stefan,” she said gratefully.

“Okay. I’ll get Allison and Tara to finish up here. Go home Brit. And it goes without saying, one more incident and I’ll have no choice.”

“I understand,” she said.

Brit drove home, and called Mr. Collier one more time. She was placed on hold which seemed like a good sign until ten minutes later the receptionist informed her that she would have to call back. Frustrated she tossed her cellphone on the passenger seat, raised the volume on her car stereo and sang along angrily to Avril.

The next two days she spent eating ice cream in her pajamas while calling Metro News an embarrassing number of times. She could hear the annoyance in the receptionist voice. It was a bad sign and made her even more depressed. She decided there was nothing she could do. George Adams had cost her, her proverbial foot in the door.

She spent the rest of the week, mostly sleeping and moping around, feeling sorry for herself.

“If I ever see that George Adams again I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” she said to herself.

*****

Her week of vacation had passed and nothing from Metro News. She finally gave up calling. She returned to work, without the attitude but with not very much enthusiasm either. As she faced another weekend alone and miserable she could barely handle it and seriously thought about leaving California and just going home.

On Sunday she was surprised to find Tara sipping coffee alone in the kitchen. She held out a steaming mug to Brit.

“Hey Brit.”

“Hey. Where’s Eric?” she inquired. 

“He went home.”

“Everything okay between you two?”

“Yeah everything is great. I just missed spending time with you. Want to have a girl’s day?” she asked.

“Sure I could use one of those,” Brit replied happily.

They spent the afternoon getting their nails and toes done and finally to a local restaurant for lunch and cocktails. Brit felt cheerful, she and Tara had not had fun like this in over two months.  “So what’s been going on with you lately?” Tara asked carefully.

“What do you mean?” Brit asked.

“You’ve just been really snappy. I was wondering if you were mad at me,” she replied.

“No. Not at all. It’s just…oh Tara I had an interview with Metro News,” she said with a frown.

“And the interview went bad?” Tara guessed.

“No the interview never even happened!”

“Why not? If you needed me to cover your shift….”

“No nothing like that,” Brit began. “Do you remember the gorgeous guy I told you about the night you met Eric?”

“Yeah but what does he have to do with Metro News?” Tara asked slightly confused.

Brit launched into an explanation about her disastrous meeting with George Adams. She left out the small detail about their kiss however.

“And then he laughed at me,” Brit said, her face pink with irritation.

Tara laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Brit demanded.

“No sorry. I’m not laughing at you but you have to admit it’s a little funny. He was probably wondering what the hell your writing had to do with a job as a CPA,” she chuckled.

“I suppose,” Brit conceded. “But he is so, so arrogant,” she said stabbing her cherry in her cocktail with her straw.

“Wow,” Tara observed.

“What?”

“I just have never seen you so flustered by anyone before,” Tara replied.

“I don’t know. Something about him just irritates me,” Brit said laughing for the first time. “Do you know he offered to give Metro News a donation to reschedule my interview? The nerve of that man.”

“I think it was very nice of him. Why didn’t you let him?”

“I don’t know, it was just something he said beforehand. It aggravated me. Now I kind of wish I did let him help. I haven’t been able to get Mr. Collier on the phone since,” Brit sighed.

“You’ll get another chance. You’re a great writer Brit.” 

“So what are you and Eric doing tonight?” she inquired nonchalantly trying to change the subject.

“We’re going out on his father’s boat for dinner and sailing,” Tara said slowly.

They had avoided the topic of her relationship with Eric thus far. 

“Sounds fun,” Brit answered sipping her drink.

“You don’t like him very much do you?” Tara asked with a frown.

“What? No I like Eric. He’s good for you,” Brit exclaimed in surprise. “Why would you think that?”

She wasn’t lying. She did like him. Eric was a really great guy and he doted on Tara. When they weren’t together he checked in with her, and not just a text like most men, but an actual call. When business called him away he would send her flowers and stay up all night talking to her

like teenagers. He spent almost all of his free time with her and had already introduced her to his family and friends.  It wasn’t like Tara’s relationships in the past and for once this seemed like he might actually be the one.