Animalistic (Tiger in Her Bed)

“Mr. Hoffman. What a nice surprise. How are you, sir?” Arielle stood from her desk and shook his hand.

“I’m the one who should be asking you that. I heard about the fire; are you okay?” Hoffman patted her shoulder fondly. He was a gentleman of about sixty-years-old with a receding hairline and a dapper figure. Even at his age, he still maintained a trim physique thanks to a five day-a-week tennis regimen. He was a handsome man in his heyday and had charmed many of his paramours with little more than a smile.

“I’m good, sir. I wasn’t there when it happened. By the time I got home, it was all over.”

“I’m so sorry, Arielle.” Hoffman acknowledged Chris’ presence with a nod. “I see that you put in the most billable hours last quarter, Rolland. Impressive work, as always. Is Arielle staying at your place now?”

She and Chris traded glances. Hoffman didn’t know that Chris was seeing his daughter.

Arielle answered quickly before Chris could. “I’ve already got myself a new apartment, Mr. Hoffman. My new roommate gave me a great deal.”

“Oh, you’ve got a new place? That’s good to hear. Well, I just came down here to see how you were doing. Your father would roll over in his grave if I didn’t offer any help. You know that we have a condo in The Bronx, right? The place has been empty for years. I wanted to rent it out, but I don’t feel like dealing with tenants. If you’re pressed for a place to stay, you can have the condo. You know, until you get back on your feet.”

“That’s so generous of you, Mr. Hoffman, thank you, but I’m in good hands. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“How could I not? Your father entrusted you in my care. He saved me many times when we were in ‘Nam. Without him, I wouldn’t have come back in one piece. I owed him my life. The least I can do is help his daughter.” Hoffman beamed like a proud parent. “You’ll tell me if you’re in a pinch, won’t you?”

“I certainly will, sir, don’t you worry.”

The old man laughed boisterously. “Well, then. I’d better get going. I have a lunch date then a few rounds of golf with Judge Stevens this afternoon. Tell my daughter, I stopped by.”

“You’re not going to see Sabrina, sir?” asked Chris.

Hoffman waved him off, making his way to the door. “I’m sure she’s busy or something. Some other time.”

“Dad?” Unexpectedly, Sabrina happened to be passing by in the hallway and saw Mr. Hoffman. “I didn’t know you were stopping by,” she said while balancing a stack of documents in her arms.

“I came to see how Arielle was doing, that’s all.”

Sabrina cast a look in Arielle’s direction. It wasn’t irritation, or a sneer like usual. It was a sad look.

It was a side of Sabrina she had never seen before. Chris was right. Mr. Hoffman treated Arielle better than his own daughter.

“You want to stop by my office, dad? I haven’t seen you in weeks.” Sabrina tailed her father out of the view.

“Some other time. I’m busy.”

Well, that was awkward. Mr. Hoffman made time to see her, but not Sabrina. Arielle could see now why his daughter turned out the way she did.

Judging from his facial expression, Chris seemed to be having the same thought, but he didn’t say anything. He only nodded at her, then left her office.

Arielle retreated behind her desk and sank into her seat. What a day already. The revelation caused her mixed feelings, but the residual anger she was feeling toward Sabrina melted away.

~~~

During lunchtime, Trent stopped by the office, a giant bouquet of sunflowers in hand. It was a pleasant surprise to have him come over with a gift.

“This is from mom,” he said, placing the flowers on her desk. The bright yellow floral arrangement was coupled with sprigs of baby’s breath. “She insisted you get this today. To lift your spirits. She knows work isn’t fun. So how are you doing?” He slyly checked out his surroundings. “You have yourself a nice office. Killer view too.”

“Lucky me. When I got demoted, I got to keep my office. And my paycheck too. It seemed the firm wanted me to work less with the same perks.”

He laughed. “Explain to me how the demotion was a bad thing… How about your secretary? Don’t associates usually have one?”

“Well, except my secretary. She was reassigned to a new associate. No big loss. She wasn’t terribly good at her job anyway. By the way, how did you get in here? I know the receptionist doesn’t usually let visitors go straight in.”

“Really? She was very nice to me.” Trent pointed behind him.

Arielle realized there was a flock of women milling around her office door, staring dreamily at him. Emma, the receptionist, waved her hand energetically at Arielle while grinning from ear to ear.