Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop: Recognition & Admiration

Another piece from Amy’s Story. You might want to read here before going on

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. Amy tried to get focused on the next big campaign her group was working on (she had to research the competition to see what sort of advertising had been done in the past so they didn’t duplicate any of it) but it was extremely difficult. Thoughts of Abigail dominated: Abigail at the front of the room; hair perfect, breasts threatening to explode from her low cut, body clinging sweater, and legs that just went on forever. The ideal woman on the outside. The kind of woman that the executives would promote because she looked good AND appeared to be a marketing pro. After this, Amy wondered if all Abigail’s “successes” were really hers.

Most of the staff had taken the excuse of the celebratory lunch as a reason to not return to work. Since it was a Friday leading into a long weekend no one would say anything. As a result, the office was eerily quiet. Amy liked not having the constant bustle of a busy office surrounding her usually. She managed to get some of her best work done when it was quiet like this. But today, all she could think about was Abigail. Abigail the Deceiver. Abigail the Bully. Abigail the Bitch.

Amy stopped herself. This kind of thinking wouldn’t get her anywhere. She needed to take action. If most of the office was empty, it shouldn’t be too difficult to snoop in Abigail’s desk. Maybe she would finally find something to show the executives exactly the kind of woman she was.

Unfortunately, Amy wasn’t too certain where Abigail sat. She knew it was at the other end of the office but she had never physically been to that side. If Abigail was true to form, surely there would be mementos, pictures, ‘awards’, etc decorating her space. Her vanity would need to be stroked 24/7.

She made up her mind to take a chance. In case anyone questioned her, Amy sent a random email to a printer in that area. That way she could say she’d clicked on the wrong print target and was coming to pick up the email she’d needed.

The office felt like a ghost town. Every single cubical was vacant. Amy wondered briefly where Charlotte had disappeared to. Perhaps she had taken the opportunity to leave early once she knew Amy was going to be okay. For all her faults, Charlotte was a very caring human being.

She reached the aisle where Abigail’s team worked and began to inspect the cubicles. Some were obviously not hers. She couldn’t picture Abigail as a sports nut or the furry animal freak. It came down to two spaces. One had a watercolor print hung on one wall and some expensive looking knick knacks artfully arranged on a shelf. Papers and file were haphazardly stacked on the desk and credenza. The other was quite empty really. All she could see at first glance were a few silver frames with smiling faces in them and a vase with a slightly wilting bunch of flowers.

Amy glanced down the hall each way and then ducked into the cubicle with the vase of flowers. The desk was practically clear. All the pens were neatly placed in a cup and a small file rack was neatly organized by color. A small notebook lay precisely in the middle of the desk. Amy gently opened it to find the name Rosa El Velez written on the inside cover. She quickly closed the book and backed out of the space.

At the entry to what she believed was Abigail’s cubical she paused. Abigail was obviously clever. She couldn’t have gotten where she was without some intelligence. Would she leave incriminating evidence lying about for everyone to see? Quickly scanning the desk she lifted up some messily stacked papers and tried to skim through. As she reached for another pile her hand brushed the mouse and suddenly the computer screen flashed to life.

Amy looked at the screen and saw that Abigail had left her email open. Perhaps in the rush to go out for lunch she had neglected to shut down her machine. Or perhaps she planned on returning later. At that thought Amy went to turn off the monitor and leave the cubicle when suddenly a name caught her eye.

Abigail had her email set up to show a preview of the email that was currently highlighted. As Amy scanned the message on the screen she began to get a massive knot in the pit of her stomach. She had suspected Abigail was involved in underhanded methods to get ahead but this…this was more than she expected.

She hit the print button on the email and then shut the monitor off. The printer was thankfully just outside the cubicle. Amy grabbed the email, plus the document she had sent over as her excuse and headed back to her own area. Her mind raced with the information she had discovered. In the wrong hands this could be extremely dangerous.

What do I do?

Preoccupied with her thoughts, Amy wasn’t watching where she was going and suddenly crashed into a very large, very firm, body. Feelings of déjà vu flooded her and she immediately thought she was crashing into Charlotte again. As she stumbled back arms reached out and pulled her back, tight and close. Amy could feel her heart pounding, instantly realizing whoever she crashed into wasn’t a woman.

She looked up felt herself pulled into the soulful gaze of the most magnificent eyes she had ever seen. The silvery grey reminded her of the misty mornings of her childhood, when the mists closed in about her home and made walks to school feel like she was trespassing through a fairy kingdom. After a moment Amy realized she’d seen these eyes before.

“Sorry!” she said, pulling back slightly. The man smiled at her with a look in his eye that brought warmth flooding through her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She could feel her cheeks flushing.

“It’s my fault. Considering what you’ve gone through today I’m sure your mind isn’t necessarily on your surroundings.”

Amy gaped at him. Did he know? Did he see her in Abigail’s cubicle? She tried to think of a quick and easy way to end this conversation. Her thoughts were brought swiftly to a halt as he continued.

“After you fainted I wanted to wait around at the clinic to make sure you were okay. But the doctor there said there was no need so I…reluctantly…came back to the office.” He paused and looked deep into her eyes again. His gaze was like fire. Amy felt herself pulled into it, all thoughts of Abigail and what she had discovered gone.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, his words caressing her. Such a simple statement, yet it meant so much coming from him.

Stories of love at first sight had always caused Amy to scoff. Love wasn’t instant. You had to work at it, get to know someone, share tidbits and memories and events of your life with a person. Amy wasn’t even sure of this man’s name. But somehow, that information didn’t matter. All that mattered was this moment, this second, this instant.

His hands tightened imperceptibly on her arms and Amy felt that electric current run through her again.

“Amy?” he said, a touch of worry in his tone. Amy felt herself melt a little more.

“I’m fine,” she breathed. “Everything is fine, now.”

This post is part of Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. This week I chose the prompt: “The last time my heart melted…” Clearly this isn’t the LAST time for Amy but that’s what you do with a prompt: you take it and run with it