Married to my Dad’s Best Friend

Lonnie catches me before I can fall. I hold onto him like my life depends on it. I’m laughing with relief, my chest pressed against his, heart hammering.

When I’ve finally calmed down, I look up at him. He’s still holding onto me. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, I can feel the tension between us. Electricity flows through us, our arms powerlines connecting each other, fingers buzzing. The hair on my arms stand on end and I’m covered in goosebumps.

I try to slow my breathing. I’m not sure now if I’m out of breath because running up five flights of stairs, or because of Lonnie’s embrace.

“You all right?” he asks. Those sparkling eyes search my face.

“I think so. Are you?”

His playful smile makes me light-headed. “I am now,” he says.

I shift my balance, trying not to let my smile get out of hand. He’s all disheveled from the impact, so I reach up and fix his tie. His body tenses and I wonder if I’ve stepped over some line that I shouldn’t have.

“Are you on your way out?” I ask.

“I was just coming downstairs to make sure you got to the office okay with the elevator being out of order.” He points at the stairs. “Shall we?”

He picks up all of my stuff and we head up the stairs toward his office.

“It’s been so long since I’ve last seen you,” I tell him. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“As I recall, I just saw you last night.” His cocky grin sets my cheeks on fire.

“You know what I mean.”

He frowns and I get the feeling he doesn’t want to talk about the past. “We have all the time in the world to catch up now that you’re working and living in the city.”

He expertly changes the subject and starts talking about the firm and how it’s been up and running for the last four years and how successful it is.

“I’m so happy for you,” I say. “I remember, when I was younger, you talked about one day opening up your own firm. I’m glad it’s worked out for you.”

He lets out a long breath. It sounds like a sigh, but it might just be him losing his breath. These are some serious stairs, and even someone as fit as he looks, he could be winded from them.

“The only issue is this thing with the new partner, but it will all work out, I’m sure of it.”

Again, he doesn’t seem to want to get into it. I have a feeling there’s a lot he’s holding back, but I don’t want to push it on my first day of work.

When we finally make it to the office, my muscles are screaming. If that elevator isn’t fixed soon, I’m not sure how long I’m going to last. I really need to get to the gym and get back into shape. Who knew working in law would require so much cardio?

Lonnie introduces me to Mick, the paralegal. Mick has a kind, yet confident smile. I’m guessing he’s in his mid-twenties, but the premature balding makes it hard to tell for sure. His open face, firm handshake, and polite demeanor make me think I’m going to like working with him. That’s good. One of my fears was not liking the people I’m stuck with day in and day out. That was a big problem I had while working at the coffee shop. There was such a high turn-over rate—with it being a minimum wage job and all—so you had to get used to different, and not always pleasant personalities all the time.

Lonnie shows me to my office next. I have to do a double take when I see that my name is already sand blasted into the frosted glass door. When he opens the door, I nearly stumble backward. The office is huge! Nothing like the dark little closet-sized room I was expecting. The massive oak desk looks expensive, and it is already adorned with all the office supplies I will need. There’s also a beautiful purple and white speckled orchid in a decorative pot on the corner of the desk, making it all look so elegant. There is a leather couch, high-backed chairs, everything I would need to meet with clients comfortably.

And then there’s the view …

The far wall is nothing but glass, and you can look out at the city and see the ocean beyond it. It’s even better than the view from the new apartment.

“What do you think?” Lonnie asks.

I’m speechless when I turn to look at him. All I can do is smile from ear-to-ear.

He laughs. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it,” I say quickly. Like doesn’t even come close.

“I’ll let you settle in and get used to the space. I have a few calls to make. I’ll be in to check on you soon.”