Sweep Me Off My Feet

“Angela, hello. I am Michael O’Brien. New owner of the store.”

“It is nice to meet you, sir… Mr. O’Brien.”

Michael smiled at her.

“Please, Mr. O’Brien is my father. Michael works just fine.”

Angela shook her head.

“I don’t know if I could call you that, especially in front of the rest of the staff.”

Michael nodded and sighed loudly as he drummed the desk.

“Well, I guess that makes sense.” He looked up and forced a smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually deal with everything on the ground… it is just that with everything happening, I am sure you have heard of the allegations against me.”

“I prefer not to engage myself in petty company politics,” Angela said simply.

“Smart of you but anyway, because of everything, I am kind of taking a more hands-on approach,” he went on. “That is why I wanted to meet the people who make this place run like a well-oiled machine and word is, you are the person to talk to when it comes to that.”

Angela shrugged.

“I don’t know whether I would call myself as the person responsible. I just make sure inventory is done and people don’t take long on their breaks.”

He forced out another laugh and exhaled loudly. He was now giving her the same look she had been giving him earlier. It was almost like he was looking right through her.

“Mr. O’Brien?” Angela raised an eyebrow at him. “Is everything all right?”

He nodded.

“Yes, it is just that… seeing you here…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It is just that you look so familiar.”

She smiled.

“Well, perhaps we knew each other in a past life.”

He forced a smile.

“Yes, perhaps. So, would you like to sit down?” He looked around and sighed.

It was quite obvious that this office had been put together in a hurry at his behest. Apart from the seemingly new IKEA desk and chair, the room was totally and completely empty. The once dull, old paint on the wall had been replaced by a quick single-color job that could have done with something extra. Maybe some stencil patterns or perhaps some art. Whatever it was, Angela could tell that the space needed so much more than just a desk and a chair. Her ‘broom closet’ walls were actually better than this room.

“I should have probably asked for the office to be well furnished in case I wanted to have meetings in here.”

She smiled.

“I don’t mind standing.”

“Okay, then I will make this fast. Tell me about the store.”

Angela took a long, deep breath.

“There is not much to say.”

“Let me make this easier. How are we doing in terms of brand names?” he asked, and Angela shrugged.

“Well, I guess we are not doing so badly. As usual, Chanel and Gucci are the customer’s top favorites, but we also have more and more people coming in for other designers.”

“All right, that’s good. Do you have anything by The Big O?” he asked, and Angela nodded.

“Yes, we do, but we have not had very good traffic with The Big O in the last couple of months… I could bring you the books. Everything is really well detailed in there.”

“It wouldn’t be too much of a bother, would it?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“Not at all. I’ll just be a few minutes,” she said before he nodded. She smiled at him and quickly walked out of the office before making her way down to her small office all the while wondering why she was feeling the way she was about him. She did not know if it was the way he looked or the way he spoke to her. Something about him was drawing her to him, almost like it was calling out to her. She just didn’t understand what it was that had her all wound up. It was a new feeling for her. She was always so put together until now. It was like dealing with a whole new different person. She did not recognize herself. She did not know what had happened to the usually relaxed, composed person she knew herself to be. When she got upstairs, she could hear Michael talking to someone and she had half a mind to simply walk in and put the files on his table, but what he was saying made her stop in her tracks.

“…J.J., I don’t know what to tell you, but I cannot get that girl out of my mind…. no, I never took her number for some reason. Or maybe I probably did and forgot all about it? I did have one too many cocktails that night… yes, and the weird thing is that I came to the store in town to get the lay of the land and I could swear I was looking at that girl again… yes, the same one from the club… but I guess it was one of those nights… yeah, that’s what you get for taking me to a club called Rehab…”

Angela suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. Rehab was the same club Candy had taken her to the previous weekend. Suddenly, everything made sense. The way he thought she looked familiar and she him. The way she had felt that instant closeness when she saw him. It was too much of a coincidence. Waiting out there seemed like forever but she could not bring herself to walk in while he was still on the phone. When he finally hung up, she walked into the office and placed the files on the desk.

“You can ask me whatever it is that you don’t understand. I’d be happy to explain it,” she said, and he nodded.

“Sounds like a plan even though the notes you have attached are… fully comprehensive,” he said, smiling when he flipped through the pages to see the differently colored post-it notes in there.

Angela nodded and then turned around. She had just taken a few steps towards the door when she suddenly stopped. She turned back around, biting her lower lip.

“Did you forget something?” he asked, looking up at her.

“I should probably not mention this at the risk of sounding unprofessional…” she started, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Color me intrigued.”

“I couldn’t help but overhear that you were at Rehab over the weekend?”

He nodded and gently put the file in his hand down on the desk.

“Yes, I was.”

“I know it is none of my business, but is there any chance that was on Friday?” she asked, and he frowned even more. She could tell that he wanted to move closer to her, but was doing everything in his power not to.

“As a matter of fact, it was.”

“I was there with my best friend and I met someone that night. Someone who looked a lot like you, but I’d had a few drinks so… I might be wrong.”

“Did you dance with said person?” he asked, and she nodded.