Surprises

I have been working diligently for hours. So far almost everyone has gone home. I’ve been sifting though the images and names of the students from the university for awhile now, noting down each one I will be displaying. At my request, the school even provided me with artwork that has been sitting in storage, abandoned by their creators. These go back decades it seems. And then I see it. My center piece. A beautiful statue. A Maine Coon. The precision that was used for this is extraordinary. There are no flaws that I could see. I look for the artists name, but all that’s listed is AJ. I don’t know if that’s just a first name or someone’s initials combined. But regardless, this is what I’ve been looking for. I email the university back with details of all the artwork I’ll be displaying and hit send. My day is done. Tomorrow starts the physical process.

I start to get up to leave when I notice Mr. Jones standing in the doorway. He seems to be waiting for me. “I have all your bags in the car, please allow me to drop you off at your motel”. Surprised, all I could do was give him a nod. As we walk out of the elevator I couldn’t help but notice that the eyes of the remaining employees staring at me again. My mind couldn’t process why. So I pushed the thoughts away. Little did I know, I was still wearing his jacket around my waist.

As we pulled up to the motel I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. I know it’s not much. Cheap. “Thank you Mr.Jones for dropping me off. I’ll see you at work tomorrow” I say as I start to open the door. “Wait! I would not be comfortable letting you stay here under these conditions Allie. And please, I have introduced myself to you as Atlas during your interview. You may call me by my name whenever we are in private. I’ll admit, your interview is the only one I’ve attended personally, and I didn’t have the intentions of you knowing I was your boss at first. But that’s because I see something in you. As to what that will bring, only time will tell. But as of right now, a friendship is what this is. And I, as your friend, could not let you stay in this place. Go pack your things and settle your bill at the front desk. We will be leaving as soon as you are finished” he said, with a pained look on his face while looking out the window at the crappy motel I’ve been staying at for the past week.

Once inside the motel room I begin to pack. I don’t have much. I bag up my shampoos and body wash so that they don’t spill their contents on my clothes in my suitcase. I make sure that everything looks exactly like the way it was when I arrived, I smirked. No. It looks better. I make my way to pay my remaining bill and say my thanks to the owners and exit the building.

I return to the car and he’s waiting outside to help me with my bags. I only have one. He srunches his face when he sees me. “Is that all you have?” I give him a weak smile, “yeah, I don’t have much. I only brought the necessities. A few office clothes, some day to day clothing, my computer, and a few books. Everything is packed due to my specifications and fits perfectly in my bag. I had to fly all the way out here you know. Can’t exactly bring an entire house with me”. I laughed lightly.

After we put my suitcase in the trunk we were off. “So, um, where exactly will I be staying if you don’t mind me asking. I don’t think it would be appropriate if I took up a room in your place” I said shyly while playing with my fingers. “Well that is the first option. But I also have another place you could stay if that would make you feel more comfortable. Although, I might add that it is a little ways away from the office. But, getting you to and from there isn’t a hassle. I wouldn’t want you to get a cab with the distance. I’ll have a driver ready for you in the morning if you choose to stay there” he said, looking at me, trying to read my expressions.

“I think it would be for the best that I stay there. I don’t want to over step. Besides. I’m a noisy sleeper, so I wouldn’t want to keep you up all hours of the night hearing me snore from another room” I said, a look of embarrassment on my face. He started to laugh. “Let me tell you a secret” he leans in to my ear, whispering. “If you were to stay with me, who says you’d be in your own room?”. A look of panic crosses my face as I jolt back. He’s got a wicked grin from ear to ear now. As if sensing my shock, he looks away and tells the driver to go to the apartment he mentioned. And then we were off.

It took about 30 minutes to arrive. He was helping me carry the shopping bags while I carried my suitcase. He swiped a card to enter the complex. We walked to the elevator and he pressed the top floor. We waited in silence. It was deafening. As if sensing my unease, he started to whistle. It was a familiar tune. But I couldn’t quite place what it was. It was old, I know that. When we finally reached the floor, and approached the door I memorized the room number. But looking down the short hallway I didn’t seem to notice any other doors. As we walked inside, I dropped the bag that was in my hands. This was, this was too much.

The living room was shades of soft green. Sage to be exact. The furniture, all cream. A large flatscreen was on the wall. Leaf shaped coffee tables and matching end tables on either side of the couch and love seat. The floor was light grey wood grain panels. Paintings of rainbow succulents on the walls. Indoor plants hanging from the ceiling. And a cat tower in the back corner and on the wall. I spun in the room. It was beautiful. Perfect. Everything I ever wanted. And yet, almost to the exact specifications to my personal home design that I created. I saw the kitchen next. An antique stove caught my attention. The kitchen is what almost every girl could dream of. Or at least what I dreamed of.

I couldn’t hold in my excitement and walked down the hall checking out the large bathroom. It had no showerhead. Confused, I was trying to figure out where the water would come from when I heard a booming voice behind me. “It comes from the ceiling little one” he said laughing at my confusion. But I then turned my focus to rub my hands along the actual stone work of the shower. The placement of the stones wasn’t flush, some stuck out. Perhaps to hold my shampoos maybe. But there were a few that were lower to the ground. Maybe it’s just to add character. I put the thoughts out of my head for a moment and turned to look at him. With a grin on my face.

“How? How did you know?” I asked. He formed a smirk once again. And I couldn’t help but go weak for the man before me. “I just had a while guess. But if all this surprises you, perhaps you’d like to check out the bedroom”. At his words I quickly brushed past him and made my way to the next room. Nothing would prepare me for the sight I would see.

The first thing I noticed as I walked in was a reading knook in the window, with built in shevles below and beside it. I an my hands across the books. All from my favorite authors, and a few I didn’t recognize. I sat down and tested out the plush cushion that the seat had to offer. I looked around the room. And there. The bed. A magnificent four poster canopy bed. The bed of my dreams. Intricate carvings all over the wood. Cherry blossoms and branches. Blush pink everywhere. And on the walls, paintings of the Eiffel Tower with cherry blossoms, traditional Japanese paintings, and a painting so unique I couldn’t identify. Splashes of color, and cherry blossoms everywhere. And a very light outline of a side profile of a face. A woman no less. But as I looked closer, in the corner, the initials AJ were barely visible.

I looked at him with wonder in my eyes. And I could see his face soften, just a little. But the next thing that happened, I heard a light meow. I began to look around the room trying to find out where it was coming from, perhaps I was hearing things. And there, hidden in the pillows, was a familiar friend. He cleared his throat from the door frame, “I had originally had this place prepared for you for the end of the week, once you got the contract. But I couldn’t allow you to stay in that place. It’s been ready since yesterday. But the little furball was brought here after we left the cafe. All he needs is a name, one fitting of a Maine Coon”. I took the little thing in my arms. “Titan” I said. “Titan it is, good choice. I’ve also had groceries delivered here when you were packing your things. And take out is on its way here. I ordered enough for the both of us, but if you’d like me to leave while you unpack I could be on my way”. I turned to look at him, “if you’d like to stay you may, thank you for doing all of this for me”. I said. And he gave me that cheeky grin again and walked out of the room.