CHAPTER FOUR: ANDRE CANYON

            Fifty five degrees and I am out here showing off my legs, arms and cleavage. Though I felt chills here and there, I didn’t regret my choice of clothing. Sexiness is something that I wear day in and day out. And I can only imagine what people were thinking about me, when they saw me withstanding the cold. Listen, if you can be sexy wearing turtleneck sweaters and jeans, great. That is good for you, but for me, I love showing the skin. I am comfortable in my skin, so why should I show it? Why shouldn’t I walk around it, letting everyone see? Why does what I wear affect other people? In my mind, I say it because they're jealous. They don’t have the balls to wear what I wear, to wear it so proudly, so confidently. In my eyes, it’s what makes me stand out. I had lunch at the same place every Tuesday, with the same person. I heard my heels hitting the concrete with every step I took, tightening the black thin trench coat around my body. The walk was short. It only took five minutes to go a block and a half. I spotted the red umbrellas just as I crossed the main street, the entrance located on the corner. I pushed hard on the wooden door, peeking through a small window, seeing that my date had beaten me there. It made no sense for me to stopt to check in because the staff knew me by name. I was there that often, sitting at the same table, and ordering the same drink. 

“Good Morning Raine,” a pretty red headed woman said to me, as she cleaned glasses off one of the tables. 

“Good morning!” I said, never saying her name. It wasn’t out of disrespect, but simply because I couldn’t remember her name. She had a name tag, and I was reminded every time I came, but it still never stuck. I guess it was because she wasn’t important. Not to me anyway. I slid into a seat across from Andre Canyon, his pretty blue eyes connecting to my face. 

“I thought you forgot about me,” he spoke, his voice kind of deep, but the ends of his words expressed some sort of femininity. 

“Forget about you?” I said with the arch of my brows, “not a chance.” Andre was one of my oldest friends, right behind Alisha. He knew me when I was nobody and stuck around until I was somebody, and I did the same for him. Andre Canyon. Thirty years old and gets paid to give house tours in big mansions for a high end real estate company and on the side, when he is bored, he makes really nice cocktails at a local bar. His passion is sex, alcohol and money, no wonder we get along so well. He has thin dark hair on top of his head, which leads down the side of his face, into a thick, attractive beard. His pink lips seemed to shine through, though thin, they were very desirable. His grin was bright and perfect, and his laughter was loud and contagious. He sat at 5’8, medium build. He rocked dark gray slacks with a light gray shirt and white tie. Daring, but he pulled it off nicely, and brought more attention to his eyes. The way he walks and even the way he talks you’d think he was as straight as they come, but he was far from it. 

“I already ordered our mimosas,” he said, picking up a large menu, and bringing it a bit closer to his face. 

“Thank you.” 

“How was last night?” He asked. I shrugged. He glanced over at me as if he knew that I was lying through my teeth. “What?” 

“You’re shrugging. Either the sex wasn’t that good, or you didn’t find anyone.” I chuckled. Man, he knew me well. 

“It was good,” I answered, “but he was young.” 

“Aren’t they all?” he quipped. I rolled my eyes.

“You know what I mean,” I started scooting in a little closer. “I love the younger ones. I don’t know why, I just do. It surprises me when they know what they’re doing. A very welcomed surprise.” 

“You can have that same surprise with someone your age you know,” he started. I shook my head. 

“No Andre, you don’t understand.” He shrugged. 

“I guess I don’t. But, as long as you had fun.” 

“I always have fun,” I said with a chuckle, eyes now on the menu. We sat in silence for a short sixty seconds before Andre placed the menu down flat on the surface between us. 

“What are you having?” I shrugged. 

“Part of me wishes I could have Jordan Cumming’s.” Drew chuckled, his laugh catching the attention of other lunch goers. I shushed him as best as I could. 

“I was talking about the food,” he said, “though Jordan is a nice snack.” I grinned. “Did you bump into him today?” He sat a little straighter, ready for the gossip I had to offer up. I gave a slight nod. 

“Yes.” 

“Is that sexual tension still there?” I smiled. Though I tried to act like it wasn’t, it was always there. And though he was a jerk that talked down to me, I couldn’t help but to imagine what he’d be like in bed. Something told me he was an animal. Rough. Something that I didn’t get a lot of, and that was probably why he was so appealing to me. But I would never mix business and pleasure. “I know it is. The smile on your face says it all. What happened?” 

“Nothing. As always.” 

“I hate your rules. You might as well fuck him and get it over with.” I smacked his arm. 

“Don’t use that kind of language in public,” I jokingly said. Again he laughed, and again, I shushed him, stifling my laughter as much as I could. “Actually we were called to a meeting.” 

“Was it serious?” Andre questioned, hearing the change of tone in my voice. I was no longer joking. 

“It kind of was, in regards to a promotion. I am up against Jordan.” Andre chuckled, this one a bit quieter. 

“Well that’s not much of a competition; you’re going to wipe the floor with that pretty boy.” 

“Don’t be so sure,” I murmured, just before two tall glasses of Mimosas were sitting between us. You’re not supposed to drink on the job, so that’s why I drink on my lunch. And if I happen to go overboard, I get a coffee to go, and I have mints in my purse. I was always prepared. I brought the glass to my lips, taking a sip and when I looked up; I saw his blue eyes staring me down, his mouth slightly opened in disbelief. I waited for the waitress to leave before I said anything. “What?” 

“What did you just say? Did you just doubt yourself… out loud?” I shook my head. 

“I do not doubt myself,” I explained, “I am simply acknowledging that Jordan is good.” 

“And you’re better,” he shot back. 

“He is worthy competition,” I said. “That is all.” 

“You are going to get this promotion,” he started, “you will get it by any means necessary. I know you. You will use any and everything you have…” Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it depends on who you are. I nodded. 

“You’re right.” 

“I know,” he said, “Now order. We only have forty minutes left.” The blond came up again, and this time, my eyes wandered over to her name tag. Sam. Duh. How many times have I seen that?

“Your same order?” she asked. I looked over at Andre. 

“Two Chicken Stuffed Valentines, please,” Andre ordered, having us stick to the same thing. Sam nodded her head.

“I’ll have that right out,” she said, rushing off. I watched her for as long as I could before she disappeared behind a thick white wall, towards the back of the restaurant. Whenever I saw her, she was always smiling. You'd think it was because she was forced too, after all, she was in customer service, but ever so often I could tell she was genuinely happy. If I were in her shoes, I’d probably be miserable. She spent most of her days on her feet, running around fetching people’s orders and cleaning up their messes for a small pay. What kind of life is that? 

“Helloooo…” I blinked a few times, feeling my eyes water from the dryness I had exposed them to. I hadn’t even realized that I was staring off into space. How long has Andre been trying to get my attention? I looked at him, giving a soft smile.

“I’m sorry what?” 

“I don’t know where you go in that head of yours,” he grinned, “but the amount of times you stare off into space a day is concerning.” 

“I just… always have something to think about,” I responded. This answer was simpler than what I really wanted to say. Honestly when I’m in my head I’m either talking shit, thinking about sex, or trying to rise in my career. I am a determined, yet selfish asshole… I would also settle for the word Bitch. It seems simpler and straight to the point. 

“Well, what I was saying was, are you going out tonight?” It was Thursday night. No matter what day of the week, there was always something going on in the night life. Tonight, I knew of a few places where ladies drink free. It wasn’t like I needed free drinks, I was well off on my own, but I found these nights were one of the best to go hunting. For the most part, men would show up to ladies night, willing to pay the ten dollar cover because they figured there were lots of females crowding inside. They were right. While they thought they were choosing me, I was always choosing them.

“I probably will,” I said, before taking another sip of my drink. “Why? Are you thinking of stepping out tonight.” 

“I might,” he answered.

“It sure would be great,” I said in response. “We missed you last night. And I’m sure you are long overdue for some trouble.” Andre’s slight red cheeks went up as he grinned, a mischievous look upon his face. It had only been ten minutes and Sam showed up with our meals. I looked up at her. “That was quite fast.” She nodded. 

“You guys always order the same things,” she started. “I figured it was about time that I start being prepared. The day you guys switch up on me, I will be screwed.” Drew giggled, as I gave a grin. Sam’s hands went to her face, as she blushed a little, probably thinking that she shouldn't have said anything along those lines, but oh well, the words were already spoken and heard. 

“Well, thank you,” I said. “We really do appreciate it.” I could tell that she took a deep breath, probably thankful that we didn’t say anything negative towards her comment. Finally she was calm, and gave a nod before walking away. Again, I watched her. To be in her shoes… I would die.

            By one pm, I was back at work. Instead of locking myself away in my office, I walked the floor, seeing my group finish up a few of their smaller projects. The project for downtown Berkeley was off limits until tomorrow morning. Everyone seemed to be hard at work, but sometimes looks could be deceiving. That’s why I found it necessary to check in with them at last two times a day. Though I seemed to have fallen behind a bit today. Karen had finished her project early. It was something small. Designing a limited time fruit snack packet. She knocked that out within forty eight hours of me giving it to her. Now, her idea was already in my email, and we were just waiting for the Friday meeting, where we could present. She was a free agent today, but I could guess what she was doing. I stopped at her desk, seeing her eyes glued to the laptop screen in front of her, her fingers moving swiftly against the keys. Her lips moved silently, as she talked to her. I cleared my throat to get her attention. 

“Ahem.” 

“Raine,” she said, trying to not reveal that I had startled her. “Sorry. I didn’t see you standing there.” 

“I see,” I said with a smile, as I took a few steps to now stand behind her. I put my hands on her shoulders as I took a glance at her work space. The start of her PowerPoint had two words. Barber Shop. Oh lord, I thought. A mom and pop shop? There was no way they’d be able to afford us. Then again, it was wrong of me to jump to conclusions. Maybe Karen knew something that I didn’t. “Looking good.” I tried to motivate her. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.” Karen was a really good idea person. At least when it comes to the colors. What goes, what doesn’t? What demands attention and what falls flat?  Right behind her, sat Liz. She was a scrawny Hispanic, who reminded me of a brat doll. Big head, small body. Her eyes were bubbled and dark brown. Her hair was black, cut in messy layers, stopping mid back. Jeans and baggy T-shirts was her style. No matter how many times I told her to do a little better at the dress code. It really wasn’t hard to be business casual! Liz followed right behind Karen, being more like her assistant than my team member. It didn’t affect me none, because when the two put their heads together, they could be an unstoppable force.  One of Liz’s secret talents were her hands, and what they could do. In a non-sexual way of course. She was good at building models, sketching, painting… She was a true artist. The next group sat together at a rounded table that seemed to be in the center of our small space. Paper lay everywhere. Tim, the fat guy who acts as if he isn’t an alcoholic, but everyone knows he is, and Whitney, the man with the girls name, sat together, reading lines back and forth. They were the writers. Whether it was skits, songs, etc. They worked with Jose. He was good with music and slogans. They all seemed to fit well when it came to work. Outside of these four walls, they probably would never associate with each other. To start of Tim was a homebody. Whitney was a dark skinned man. His head was shaven, but you could still see short beady hair. He was tall, about 6’1. Sometimes, he made me feel uncomfortable, the way he would tower over me. There would be times that he would be staring down at me, and I could swear he would sneak a glimpse down my shirt. I had to hide my chuckles of course, but he wasn’t slick. I saw everything. He sometimes talked as if he wanted people to think that he was from the bad side of town, but his parents did well for themselves. Both of them work in the medical field. I never understood why he felt the need to act, but I guessed that was something that made him so good at designing characters.  He had the same style as Jose. Sweaters and Jeans. I guess you could say my entire team ignored the dress code. It simply just didn’t exist. I couldn’t even remember what project they had taken on, but I never had any issues with their work. As long as they were sitting in this spot, they were nothing but serious. Across from them was Jose. He had earphones in, his head bobbing, as he stared down at a piece of paper, seeming to be mouthing the words to the beat. Someone was working on a theme song. I didn’t bother to speak to them, not wanting to disturb their creative atmosphere. Instead, I gave a nod, before walking past. And lastly, at the end of the row were Shawn and David. These two did our promotional work.  They were Social Media and Cameras. Whatever we were designing, whoever we were designing for, they made sure we were talked about. They kept the fan base. When they weren’t doing that, they were the video and audio part of commercials, music video’s etc. Shawn and David were both your average white boys, both rocked the blonde hair, blue eyed look. They walked around as if they were already famous, demanding respect and attention anywhere they went. Unless I was in the room. If I was there, they were the background. Their job was to make me look good, and they understood that very clearly. Shawn was the khaki pants and sweater vests type, while David was more jeans and plain black shirts. I had to admit, I was lucky. I had a very diverse, experienced team. When all of their ideas were put together, they were magnificent. They probably knew this already, but they were going to be my ticket to the top. 

One thirty. The beginning of my day seemed to go by fast, but now, it was like the time was slowing. I sat at my desk once more, picking off bits and pieces of a snickers bar as I went over my schedule for tomorrow. Today may be an early day for me, I thought, wondering if I should clock out at three, instead of five. I need to make a call to Adam Payne, verify those tickets for the LoveLand movie premiere in Hollywood. It always seems to take an hour to get that man on the phone.  I also had a breakfast meeting with Juicy Snax, passing along Karen’s work for the cooperation. That was at 10 am. Then at 1 pm I was supposed to be meeting with Kale Spencer. It was also the last week of this month, so I needed to get started on the team’s monthly reviews, see if anyone was eligible for a raise, or bonus. As well as get started on any nominations for the Employee Dinner Awards. Towards the end of the month, my schedule seemed to thin.  It was mainly phone calls, meetings and paperwork. Yep, it would be an early day. And that would give me more time to prepare for my night out.