Michael
I stared at the name over and over again,hoping that maybe it would change but it didn't,I looked through her file,she was 25 years old,dropped out of highschool in her final year and had basically being working at stores and restaurants ever since,she was unqualified,like extremely unqualified for the job,even though working as a secretary didn't require a lot of experience,she still had to have at least finish highschool or even have better working experience to work at our law firm.I stared at the picture that was attached to the application,it was the same face I saw about 10 years ago,my heart sunk.The right thing to do was to ignore her application,she probably applied for fun as well because there was no way she was hoping to get hired with her CV,I ran a hand through my hair confused.My phone rang jolting me out of my own head,I answered the phone.
"Hey loser!"It was Anna,a smile crept to my face,I sort of missed her,she was so much fun in highschool
"Hello Anna,how are you doing?" I replied
"Not great since you're like extremely late to your first meeting with your first love in almost 10 years" She said and I checked the time and cursed under my breath,I was supposed to meet her in a restaurant about 10 minutes ago.
"I'm so fucking sorry,I lost track of time" I said apologetically,stood up and started walking towards the door.
"Apology only mildly accepted,get your ass down here" She finished and hung up.I walked out of the office and headed out.
"Sir? Have you decided who the next secretary would be?" Jessica asked and I stopped,I hated jess for returning my train of thoughts back to that,back to her.I knew what the smart thing to do was,choosing whoever dad chose,but I also knew what the right thing to do was, choosing Dahlia since I basically ruined her life.
"Can we get back to this later?,I have somewhere to be"I replied and she nodded obediently.
"And if any client calls to see me, schedule their meeting for tommorow" I finished and rushed out of the office.
________________________________________________________________________________________
I kept thinking about it, about her,on my drive to the restaurant and even when I got there,Anna had rushed at me to give me a warm hug and I was glad to see her after all these years but my mind was somewhere else.
"Nice man bun" Anna said with a mischievous smile when we finally sitting in the restaurant.
"Nice pink stripes" I replied and she subconsciously touched it,Anna was a cute girl,I had a huge crush on her in high school,she wasn't only cute but she was funny and radiated such positive and fun vibes,it also helped that she was really smart too,I was probably not the only one who had a crush on her then.She basically looked the same,just more mature and a bit taller too,she was really short before.
"I would have to dye it back soon, it's a bit much" She said referring to her hair and took a sip of her drink
"Well if it makes you feel any better,I'm cutting mine short as well" I said and she raised an eyebrow
"Wait why? It's not bad" She asked and I shrugged
"Did you know that you got like really hot?" She asked in all seriousness and I chuckled.
"Stop" I said still chuckling and she sort of joined in.
"No seriously...and your voice when you were talking on the phone...it sounded fucking glorious,like dude,you must be getting all the girls"She said in between laughs and I shook my head,I wasn't exactly getting "all the girls" I mean I would have if I wanted to,but the last two girls I ever tried to date dad got super close and personal so I basically just put a pause to love and relationships for a while.Another reason was the guilt,Everytime I had something really good I remember the girl on the bus,the way she was crying,the way she seemed lifeless, enjoying anything would seem like an insensitive thing to do.
"Your mind's not here" Anna suddenly said snapping me out of my thoughts once again.
"What?" I asked surprised that she noticed.
"Like...I'm right here,your first love and your mind is somewhere else" She replied feigning annoyance.I smiled.
"I'm sorry, it's just...." I contemplated telling her,Anna knew about the accident,it happened before she left and I had told her all about it,she supported me of course and tried to make me feel like less of the monster that I felt I was at the time.she helped.She noticed my hesitation and came to sit next to me,then she held my hands
"It's okay,you can tell me anything, you know that right?" She said giving a reassuring smile.I squeezed her hands.
"Do you remember that woman? From the hit and run?" I asked and she nodded.
"Well,I met her daughter again" I said and she tilted her head in confusion and I corrected myself.
"Okay I didn't technically meet her.... it's just she applied to be my secretary at the firm"
"And?"
"She's extremely unqualified,like dropped out of highschool, but not giving her the job feels like a douchy thing to do" I finished and faced Anna.
"Wait,how do you know it's her?" She asked still confused.
"I went through my dad's office around the time the accident happened and found her name,then I sort of followed her for a whole day because I felt bad" I said,Anna pursed her lips.
"So you stalked her?" She asked in an accusatory manner.
"What? Of course not! What I did was so different from stalking" I replied defensively.
"Hmmm Hmmm" She said obviously not believing me and I rolled my eyes.
"Just tell me what you think,okay?" I said desperately needing someone else's help.
"Well for one I think it's weird that you still think about the matter after 10 fucking years, especially since the rest of the boys don't even mention it anymore but also I understand that you feel bad,but you cannot hire someone solely because of that" She said and I nodded,she was right.
"But what if she desperately needs the job? what if not giving her the job would be taking a source of income away from her?" I asked still conflicted.
"That's sort of right,I mean her life couldn't have gone well after she lost her mother if she didn't even get to graduate highschool,I see how you could think that this was your fault" She said also thinking,she wasn't exactly helping,she was just adding fuel to the fire.
"What do you think I should do An?" I asked impatient.
" I think we should first find out if she desperately needs the job,like if her life is a hot mess and she's dead broke, then you can be sentimental and give her the job,but if she would be okay either ways...then you can let it slide." Anna finished,a smile on her face,she was right.
"Okay,so how do we find out if her life sucks or not?" I asked and Anna gave me a mischievous smile.
"That's the part where we do some light stalking" I took my hand out of hers.
"No" I said firmly and Anna giggled.
"Come on,you've done it before and it's just to put your mind at ease" She continued and I shook my head in dissaproval.
"Let's just sit here and catch up,how was life in Paris?" I asked trying to get her off the matter.
"No no no, absolutely not, stalking this innocent woman seems more fun now,come on...this is to put your mind at ease" She insisted and I sighed.
"Fine"I said and she got up excited.
"Send her details to me and I'll have one of my guys find out where she lives in a second" She said excitedly, dragging me up. Anna hadn't changed at all. I smiled a bit at the thought,we paid and got out of the restaurant.