• The hall was an empty void as she walked towards her office. Her soft breath and the clacking of her three hundred dollar Millie Ginghoffs’ gave the only sound of life in the empty building. It was 10:05 pm as she walked in to her office. Stopping in the doorway she stared at the empty cubicles and sighed. Another Friday night, she thought, Another Friday night. She headed to the one cubicle that was lit up and sat down. Staring at her computer screen she decided to handle the little paper work first and then go ahead and write the week’s report for Bradley. Bradley Johnson, her supervisor from hell. She shoved that non-productive thought back in the far reaches of her mind. She picked a cartoon pen that she bought one year at an amusement park in California about 5 years ago. The pen was mostly used for décor in her bland little “office” but every once in awhile…mainly her Friday nights she would pull it out for nostalgia and do her work. Now with her light and her pen of memories she was ready to work. Some hours had gone by as she wrote and typed away. She pulled back to stretch and go take a small break. She looked at the clock on her computer and thought, midnight…caffeine time. She got up from her desk and headed out the door. She walked back down the long hallway looking at the art on the windowless walls. As she neared the break room she saw a light coming from one of the other offices. She decided to check it out instead of going to the break room. She stopped directly in front of the door and looked to see what office it was. Finance was the sign on the door.
    “Hello. Hello, I saw the light on and thought…” She stepped further in the office and continued to speak,” I just thought I would come and say hello. I thought I was the only one here this evening.” She said with a smile. Suddenly feeling quite ridiculous, yet decided that this was the most adventure she had since she was in California. Continuing in to the room she noticed it was set up differently …open work area...no cubicles and so everyone was not closed off to each other. The lighting was brighter and the room more colorful. She felt energized in here. As she neared the manager’s office a shuffling sound came from behind her. She quickly turned around and on the floor next to one of the desks was the body of a man. Thinking he was dead she promptly let out a scream. The man shot up from the floor screaming too, which made her scream even louder and she ran. Tripping over her three hundred dollar Millie Ginghoffs shoes in the process and knocking herself out on the floor.




    She woke to the sound of talking. “Hey? Hey? Are you okay?” Her eyes opened slowly and she whispered, “Am I dead? Please don’t tell me this is heaven.” He laughed and said, “No this is definitely not heaven and you are definitely not dead.” She looked at him for awhile. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His hair was long with lots of layers and some of it fell into his eyes. She immediately thought his dark brown hair with various shades of red and blonde was by far the sexist she has seen in a long time. His eyes were deep green like the sea. His skin…she had never seen such flawless tanned skin on a man…and his lips…how they curled into a full and sexy smile. Suddenly she realized she was staring and began to blush. I am sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” She said looking down at her hands. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here.”
    He smiled that smile and replied while standing up,” So I guess I should posted a flyer and let you know.”
    “Oh no, that is not what I meant at all!! I was just…”
    “I was joking.” He said stated his eyes twinkling. “My name is Charles Fisher. I work here in finance…I got behind in a few things today so I decided to stay overnight and take care of them. I am taking leave next Friday anyway so I won’t miss hours this way. So what is your excuse for being here on a perfectly good Friday night?” She was still sitting on the floor when she realized that she was on his makeshift bed and that he was indeed quite tall. She stood up quickly and immediately got dizzy.
    “Yeah, you hit your head pretty good. Here sit down.” And he rolled her his chair.
    “Umm...” She held her head with one hand trying to fight the room from spinning. “Umm, my story is…” she stopped abruptly thinking I need to make this sound not quite so pitiful. “ I am here just finishing up some stuff, too.” He doesn’t need to know that I am here EVERY Friday.
    “Oh, my name is Anna Gabriel; I work over in …um Gruntsville, hahaha!”
    “Gruntsville??” he repeated curiously.
    “Yeah my office is actually Research and Recovery, which means we do everything no one else wants to do.” She paused thoughtfully and looked up at him “It’s okay, I guess.” He nodded in silent understanding. He looked at her softly, noticing her dark brown eyes and her chocolate hair that ended in loose curls around her full breasts. Her skirt was hiked a little higher then normally and he noticed the small curve in her thighs and her crooked smile. Her complexion was wonderfully warm and brown like a summer day. Her eyebrows had a small arch in them towards the end giving her a very soft and serious face. He realized he was staring and said thoughtfully, “let’s call you a cab home.”
    “Oh no, it’s not needed I drove.” She said standing reassuringly.
    He reached over taking her hand in his, “I wouldn’t feel right letting you drive home with such a bump.” He raised his hand to gently touch the bump on her head and thought…way to intimate. So he closed his hand and let it fall to his side where he began to dig in his pocket for his cell phone. His eyes grew big, “I can’t seem to find my cell. Hold on a moment” He let her hand go and began to search on the floor for it. Anna watched the grown man dig in his pants pockets, shake out his bed, and search through stuff on his desk. She laughed…silently.
    “Aha! Here it is…next to dinner and under Form 234-A!!” He had raised his cell in the air like it was a gold statue. She smiled. He noticed.
    Charlie dialed the number, and began to speak in Italian.”Okay awesome!!” Anna looked at him wide eyed…” so you are Italian?” she asked in a very shy tone.
    “Yep, my father is Italian and my mother is from El Salvador, so I am more of a Heinz 57. I was born and raised here in Florida. I moved out here to Virginia about 3 years ago. ” He said with a smile and a disarming wink.
    “Wow, I would never have guessed.” He stopped and looked at her and she suddenly felt stupid. “Sorry, I …I …”
    “It’s okay, what about you?” he asked
    “I am ...Actually I have no idea. My mom once told me we were Egyptian and something else, but my mom also had a small inferiority complex, so I doubt the validity of that. My father died in car crash when I was 6, so I really don’t know.” She looked at him briefly and suddenly feeling quite hot, “Umm, How long is the taxi wait?”
    “Oh yeah, let’s head on down to the lobby.”
    Charlie walked Anna back to her office where she grabbed her things. Not realizing her pen fell to the floor she turned out the light by the desk and walked out.

    When they reached the main lobby of the building, he quietly asked her if she was okay. “Yeah, I will be fine. It’s just a bump. I am not the most graceful woman.” She quipped. He chuckled a bit, “Why do you say that?” She looked at her watch not to see the time, but to avoid answering the question. She looked up to see if the cab had come, and found herself looking at him. Her face turned a soft shade of pink.
    “I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t know me. I can clearly see that you are a bit uncomfortable so I will take my leave. The taxi should be here any moment. Good night, Anna.”
    A small voice in her head was screaming, “What is wrong with you, this is the most gorgeous guy you have ever met and you are letting him walk away!!” She was nervous, but he was sweet. “Charlie?” she called out.
    He turned to look at her and smile.
    “You...you don’t have to go.” She looked at up at him, “I am a little clumsy to answer your question from earlier.” She smiled
    “Clumsy? That’s all…I thought it was something more serious than that.” He laughed,” You are so silly.”
    She tucked some of her long dark hair back behind her ear and chuckled in agreement,” I guess I am.”
    It seemed like hours had passed by to Anna when the taxi showed. Disappointment began to settle in her stomach as she reached for her things. He looked at her as she did that. She lifted her eyes and said, “Thanks for helping me out this evening.”
    “No problem. It was nice meeting you Anna from Gruntsville…hahaha! See you Monday.” He winked, turned on his heel and headed for the elevators. Anna watched for a moment before heading out the door to catch her taxi.