Chapter 5

Several weeks passed after a figuratively and literally magical few days spend with the two most amazing women Matthew had ever met. His work could not wait, however, so he regretfully had to leave their cabin and return to his downtown condo where he suddenly felt alone and not quite as at home as previously. A few shorts days with Rebecca and Melissa had shown him a new existence, that of a love he had not ever experienced. His emotions perturbed him, however, as he had never believed any form of love could materialize in so short a time as a long weekend, but it was there and he felt it. His home, his mind, his world were altered. He spent evenings with the two women when he could, but their cabin was a fair distance outside the city and with long hours of work and personal duties combined, he had very little time to visit, and his weekends were occupied with a new interest — Mandy, though Melissa's request reverberated in his mind.

The Monday he returned to work, he sauntered through the lobby of the downtown high rise containing his office and staff, his mind wandering back to the tiny cabin in the woods, but his walking daydream was interrupted by a sense of urgency. He somehow felt that he needed to be aware of what he would see when he turned to his right, his mind reacting instinctively to nothing more than a feeling, and when he turned, his eyes settled on someone he had not seen before, a new member of the first-floor office staff. Her piercing green eyes held his gaze so soundly that his feet collided mid-step and he tripped, catching his balance quickly as his cheeks flushed awkwardly. She chuckled to herself and went back to her computer monitor; he continued on in embarrassment, sucking in a deep breath to calm his embarrassment while he waited for the elevator.

Matthew's day floated by like a cloud unnoticed in the sky, his thoughts elsewhere, maneuvering through his work more out of habit than any degree of consciousness. As he shut down his computer, he briefly noticed that he had not been thinking of Rebecca, Melissa, or his new knowledge. He had been concentrating on the woman with the green eyes on the first floor. With an excitement he couldn't explain, he shifted his weight back and forth between from foot to foot, his nerves tingling as he impatiently willed the elevator to move faster. As he approached the first-floor offices where the woman with the green eyes had been working just hours before, his shoulders drooped in disappointment at the lack of light in the closed offices. She had gone home. He shrugged, resumed his confident posture, and strolled casually from the lobby of the building and onto the curb of the busy city street when he noticed her hailing a cab nearby. He paused to watch her, unsure of why he didn't move towards her, call for her or somehow attempt to get her attention, to have those green eyes center on him once again. Her stance was powerful yet delicate, weight primarily on her right foot, hip jutted out to the left and her arm waving gracefully in the direction of a nearby yellow car with an Out-Of-Service light illuminated dimly. She lowered her arm and, unsure of what to do with her hand now, tucked it into her coat pocket, the other hand clinging to the strap of her purse as it hung from her shoulders. Matthew couldn't help but notice the shape of her body from behind as he suddenly approached her, admiring the subtle curves of her very tall, slim figure. She had the body of a model, standing six feet tall and weighing no more than one hundred fifteen pounds with straight, black hair cut short enough to reveal a long, smooth neck.

"Excuse me," he said casually, his breath catching briefly as she turned to square her gaze on his face, green eyes flashing. He noticed the flash and tucked it away into his memory.

"Oh, hi there," she said with a delicate smile, attempting to hide her frustration.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, genuine concern coating his words, a detail that she similarly tucked into her memory.

"Not really. I started a job and lost a job in the same day, lost my wallet, broke my phone, and I can't even get a damn..." She paused and snagged her bottom lip between sparkling white teeth momentarily the way a pretty teenager would as she flirts with the school stud but quickly spoke again.

"I'm sorry. It's just been a bad day and I just want to get home, get some food, and drown in a tub of ice cream," she said with a sigh.

"Well then, I'm sure I can help. How about we start with that diner over there," his arm extending to point to it, "and we can take care of the food and possibly the ice cream."

She looked over her shoulder towards the downtown diner nestled into the corner of another skyscraper and nodded. He extended his arm to offer an escort and she quickly tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, allowing him to lead her. Both of them noticed the ease with which etiquette exuded from them. As they walked, they finally introduced themselves.

"I'm Mandy," she said softly, head turned slightly to see his face.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mandy. I'm Matthew," he said in return. The rest of the conversation was brief enough to include Matthew stating what his job was, what floor held his office. She offered no information about her employment with good reason, but mostly because they were at the door to the diner, which he opened for her, hand resting on the small of her back to usher her through the open portal before following her. They seated themselves in a corner booth of the diner and waited only second before glasses of water, menus, and place settings appeared from a short, frumpy looking waitress with a very cheery face and equally cheery voice. As they were both happy with water, the ordering process was very simple. Matthew ordered two house salad with a red wine vinaigrette and a large sandwich to be shared. Mandy was very content to let a new friend order for her and offered no argument on the choices.

"So, Mandy, may I ask why you find yourself so quickly unemployed?" he asked, wanting to scratch the surface of this beautiful woman's horrible day.

"Well, it's silly, really. Embarrassing even. You may have noticed that I was the new Administrative Coordinator for the staffing office, so a good portion of my job was to route telephone traffic. My last call of the day was the president of the company trying to reach my director. I explained that she had left for the day and that I could take a message or connect him to her voicemail, but he wanted to speak with her directly and demanded her cell number, which I didn't have because I worked there for all of eight hours. He fired me on the spot. It's silly, really." She finished her brief tale with flushed cheeks and downcast eyes to which he responded quickly by pressing a fingertip to her chin and lifting her gaze to him. He offered a smile.