"Ajax, it really is you." Macy said as she hugged the guy in front of her. "It's been so long."
"Yeah, too long." He said with a smile.
Macy and Ajax had met each other in highschool. He was a typical rich kid who believed he was the right guy for every girl. Despite his cocky behavior, he and Macy actually became good friends until he travelled a year before graduation.
Seeing him again after all those years, Macy was surprised that he had barely changed. He had grown taller, sure, but his face still looked the same.
Ajax had been good looking right from the start, and now that he was older, the glow up was pretty obvious. His blonde hair was still the same, just a tad longer and his knack for wearing expensive brands was still there.
"So, you work here now? How did that happen?" Back in school, Ajax would always brag about taking over his father's advertising company after he graduated, so seeing him work at another company was a surprise.
"Well, my father knows the CEO of this company and so he asked me to take a job here. Now don't get me wrong, the plan to take over after my old man still stands, it's just that dude doesn't want to retire just yet."
"Oh I see."
"Yeah. So what about you? I could never imagine you taking up business, you were planning on going to art school or something?"
"Yeah well, plans change." Diving into the details about how she almost got to be the CEO of the company and then losing it to her step brother whom she was in love with felt like too much trouble.
"Anyway, I'm glad your plans changed." He said with a smile.
"Oh? And why is that?"
"We got to meet each other again. This time I don't plan on letting you go."
Macy laughed at his words but she didn't really understand what he meant. "It's my first day and I'm already late, could you please point me in the direction of the conference hall?"
"I'm headed there as well, why don't we go together?"
Macy noticed that people were staring at her as she walked with Ajax, but she didn't know why. At first she thought her nerves of the first day were just playing tricks on her but after the first five people, she knew it wasn't just in her head.
They took the elevator to the top floor and at the end of the hallway, a huge brown door stood firmly.
"Behind these doors lie a bunch of snobby rich men and women who derive pleasure in suffocating the life out of the workers…beware."
The smile on his face made it difficult for Macy to know if he was being serious or it was just a joke.
When they walked into the large room, the first person she saw was Liam. He looked up from a file on the table and frowned at her. "You're late." He said in a dry tone.
"Yeah my bad, my Uber driver abandoned me this morning and it took a while before I could get another one."
"Maybe you should try waking up earlier next time."
During the meeting, Macy kept throwing side glances at Liam but she didn't know if he genuinely didn't see or if he was just ignoring her because he didn't pay any attention to her.
She tried to talk to him all day but he was busy with one thing or the other. Finally she was able to catch up with him during lunch.
"Liam, hey!" She ran up to him. "Wanna have lunch together?"
"Sorry, I'm meeting up with someone else for lunch." His voice held no emotion and he didn't look or sound genuinely sorry about it.
"Oh…" the disappointment she felt was all over her face. She had hoped to at least spend some time with him while they ate together. "But I thought you–"
"Yo Mace!" Ajax waved as he approached Macy and William. "Oh hello boss, am I interrupting anything?"
"Well–" Macy started to say but William caught her off.
"No." He said in a cold voice.
"Sweet, then let's go Mace, I already have reservations."
"Aw really?"
"Yup!" He linked his arm with Macy's and they walked away from William.
As William watched Macy walk away in the arms of another man, he felt a tinge of jealousy in his heart. Just a day ago she had been all over him, and now she was smiling and going off to eat with another man.
He didn't have the time to dwell much on it as his date walked up to him. "Liam, you ready?"
"Some other time. I suddenly lost my appetite." He stormed off, feeling slightly angry.
★★★
After closing hour, Macy waited outside by the gate for William but after thirty minutes of standing, he still was a no show. She tried calling him a few times but his number didn't go through.
"Just great." She mumbled to herself. "Now I have to find a cab, again!"
"Or…you could let me give you a ride?"
She flinched as she heard a masculine voice from behind her. "Geez! Ajax, you almost gave me a heart attack."
"My bad." He said with a cute smile. "You're stranded right? I can help."
"Oh no it's fine. I wouldn't want to bother you."
"I insist. As your friend, it would be irresponsible of me to leave you standing here all by yourself. And as a proper gentleman that I am, it is only fair that I help out a damsel in distress." He gave a bow and Macy curtsied in response.
"Oh why thank you, my good man. I didn't know gentlemen still existed on this planet." She said in a high pitched British accent.
Using the same accent, Ajax said, "Oh but we do milady. It is just that we are on the verge of extinction."
"Oh how awful."
"Indeed it is. Anyway, shall we?"
"We shall." She let herself be led back to Ajax's car and after he got in at the driver's side, they were on their way.
"Quick reminder, I have no idea where you live, so unless you want me to take you back to my place, I suggest you give me directions." He said after a while.
"Oh right." She told him where to go and he inputed the location in his car GPS.
Macy smiled as she listened to him rant on about the dream house he wanted on an island that would have a stable for horses and his own personal yacht for whale watching and shark fishing.
"Shark fishing? Are you serious?"
"Of course. It'll be fun, but it's catch and release of course."
"Of course." Her first day wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, and it was all thanks to Ajax. Thinking about how Liam was cold to her all day, starting with abandoning her at home, his cold demeanor during the meeting and his rejection at lunch, Macy was certain that she would have had a horrible day. "Hey Ajax,"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, for today."
"Anytime sugar. It is always a pleasure to make a pretty girl smile."
The rest of the drive was shared in a conformable silence while they both listened to a love song on the radio. When he parked in the driveway, Macy almost felt bad she had to leave.
"Thanks for the ride." She smiled as she walked out of the car.
"You know, this doesn't have to be a one time thing." He said, holding her hand.
"What?"
"I can come pick up tomorrow, and the next day and the next. It's no bother at all."
"Are you sure?" Normally she would have just said no, but she also wished their friendship could go on.
"A hundred and ten percent."
She smiled at his reply. "Alright, but if you're late tomorrow, I'm gonna strangle you."
"Ooh we wouldn't want that." He held his neck and they both laughed at her playful threat. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
She had started to walk away when he spoke up again. "Macy? It really was nice seeing you again."
"Same here."