Chapter 12: Part 3

Sera walks into work and finds the whole office abuzz. The elevator doors open, and she feels a dozen eyes on her. No one seems to be at their desks; they have flocked to the area between the cubicles and the elevator in little groups. When they notice it's only Sera, they continue whispering to each other.

Navigating her way through the dense crowd, she heads for her desk. Amanda spins around in her chair, blowing on her nails. The air smells of freshly polished nails.

"Are you wearing lipstick?" Sera drops her purse down on the desk.

"Maybe." Amanda pops up a shoulder and slips her red nail polish into her purse.

"And... eyeliner?" Amanda's eyes are vibrant against her olive complexion.

"Cindy says—"

“Oh, Lord. Not this again.”

“You’ll be eating your words, Seraphina Cross.”

“I doubt it.” Sera sighs, "So, my whole speech on inter-work-relations went in one ear and out the other?"

The elevator chimes with another delivery. The third floor grows silent around her. So quiet she can make out the clank of the elevator locking into position and the swish of the doors as they open. A singular figure walks out from the elevator. He stands a head above all the ladies that have begun to crowd him. All Sera can make out is his dark features, hiding under a thick perfectly trimmed beard. He shuffles like he has something in his arms as Mrs. Valentine, our manager, greets him. This poor guy doesn't stand a chance.

"I'm going to go introduce myself." Amanda adjusts her bags and pulls her hair from behind her ears.

"I don't know why I bother," Sera mumbles, collapsing into her chair. Her desk has a cloud of spicy smelling perfume and residual nail polish remover lingering from Amanda as she heads toward the flock of women. The only men we get up here on the third floor are maintenance men to repair the ancient copier or a florescent light bulb. To have one working with us every day will be... different. Sera's checking her email when she hears Amanda's flirty tone.

"You must be Gabe, I'm Amanda. I'm in billing, so I'm sure you and I will be working pretty closely. My desk is right here, so if you ever need anything, you know exactly where to find me."

Sera peeks around the cubicle wall and struggles not to roll her eyes. Amanda stands before him, looking up with her puppy dog eyes. Sera's seen that move a thousand times. Men fall at her feet, usually. This guy only shoots her a nod. He then steps around her and continues on his way. Sera's mouth drops open while she lowers herself back into her chair. The new guy passes by her cubicle, and she gets a better look. Cindy from H.R. is right; this guy is a total hunk, but something about him makes her insides twist. Her heart rate elevates. If she had to guess, he's full-blooded Greek or Italian with his dark hair and dark eyes paired with that tan skin; too tan for New York in the middle of December. His cologne is strong and spikes her heart rate even further. In his hands, he's carrying folders, many folders. He gets a few steps past her when he pauses, sniffing the air. Maybe, he smells the nail polish remover.

Curiously, she watches as his head slowly turns back toward her desk. When their eyes meet, she can swear his pupils dilate slightly. She blinks, and he's at the entrance to her cubicle.

"Hi, my name is Gabe." Slowly, a smile spreads across his face. It looks strange on him, almost like he's not used to smiling. It's awkward.

"Uh, hi—I'm Sera."

"Se-ra," he repeats. Her name sounds weird coming from him. The fact that he got it correctly on the first try makes her slightly uneasy.

"Would you be able to show me to my desk?"

"Um," she looks around for help, but Amanda and the other women look on curiously from behind the other cubicles. "Sure, why not."

His smile deepens showing teeth, even more awkward. She climbs to her feet, wobbling slightly on nervous legs before facing him. He stands there, dark eyes studying her, before she points down the hall.

"It's this way."

He finally steps aside allowing her a millimeter of space to slip past him. Sera's shoulder brushes his chest as she does so. "It's this last cubicle in the corner." She continues down the corridor, more than happy to put some space between them. He follows her, closely. "Here it is."

Silently, he walks around her and places the files down on the empty desk. "What do you do here, Sera?" His voice is deep, calm, and calculated.

"Billing, aged accounts, insurance follow-up, appeals, that sort of thing."

"I'm in collections."

"I'm aware." She glances back, feeling eyes still on her.

"I'm sure we will be working pretty closely on the same cases."

"No, not necessarily," she deflects, maintaining a hint of friendliness but trying to be firm.

"You don't seem like the rest of the women here." His statement is a surprise and she takes a few seconds to respond.

"If by that you mean, am I going to fawn over you, favor you, and drool every time you walk by, the answer is no. I am not like that."

"Too bad." He winks at her—he actually has the audacity to wink at her.

"Well, I'll leave you to get settled."

"You don't have to—"

With that, she turns to leave. The office women drop their heads back down to their desks when she faces their direction. So nosey. For years she's tried not to become the subject of gossip—now she has the feeling that's not going to be the case anymore.

Sera makes it back to her desk to find Amanda once again swirling in her chair. "Soooo, what happened?" Amanda leans in.

Sera sits on the edge of the desk trying to figure out exactly that. "I have no idea."

"What did he say?" she presses.

"He came up to me and asked me to take him to his desk."

"And..."

"And I did."

"That's it, that's all you're giving me? Your closest friend? Really?"

"Amanda, there was nothing said except..."

"Except?"

"He said I wasn't like the rest of the women here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I wasn't hobbling over everyone else to get to him."

"I wasn't hobbling." Suddenly, her nails become interesting as she avoids Sera's gaze.

"He gives me the creeps," Sera mentions.

"Good." Amanda's on her feet. "More for me." With that, she leaves Sera rubbing the goose bumps off her arm.