First Sight (2 page)

I clutched my cup of coffee in one hand and pushed my black
purse
more firmly onto my shoulder.  I
purposefully walked across the lobby
, the high heels on my boots clicking as I strode across the smooth marble floor. 
I
wondered if he was here for an interview but decided that he
looked
too calm
for that
.  Usually people coming in
to
interview had
an
edge of nervousness about them
.
 
I also doubted that someone would show up for an interview wearing a messenger
bag
—that seemed
like more of
a briefcase
type of
occasion
. 
But if
this guy
worked here,
I would have known or at least recognized him.
 
He continued speaking in a low voice, but I couldn’t
quite
make out what
he or the receptionist
was
saying
.

I had just walked past
him
when m
y coworker
Elizabeth
came around the corner,
heading
right
toward
me
. 
Elizabeth
was married and a few years older than me.  She had plain brown hair and glasses, and she never seemed to care
much about her appearance, as was evidenced by the long shapeless skirt and boxy cardigan that she was wearing now.
 
She
was also a writer on the publications team,
and although we had never exactly become close,
we were friendly
a
t the office.

She
waved
at me
as she walked
into the reception area
. 
“Hi
,
Maddy
!
  Have you met our new wri
ter, Travis?”

The dark-haired guy at the receptionist’s desk turned around at the sound of his name.
  It suddenly clicked that
there was a reason I didn’t recognize him. 
I’d been at a
writer’s
conference when they were interviewing
all
the
candidates for
the
new
writer
’s
position
a few weeks ago,
so I
hadn’t met
any of them
.
  He wasn’t here to inte
r
view
for a position
today
and hadn’t just appeared in my office after I
’d
spotted him last night
—he was here to start his new job.

“No, we haven’t met,” I
replied
,
a
smile playing on my lips as I
glanc
ed
up
at him.
  His
brown
eyes were already on mine, and I found myself slightly distracted as I met his gaze.
  H
is eyes
had a few flecks of gold in
them
, which I hadn’t noticed from across the room
, and they seemed to twinkle warmly as I looked at him.
 
His face had an unreadable expression on it, but I could have sworn that he was suppressing a smile as well. 
I realized that
Elizabeth
was saying something
,
and
I
glanced
back
over to her.

“
…and
Travis, this is
Maddy
,”
Elizabeth
continued
, introducing us.  “She’s one of the writers
on the publications team
.”

“Hi
, I’m Travis Emerson,” he said
in a
deep, smooth
voice
, holding out his hand.
  He towered above me, but the inten
se
way he was gazing down made me feel like I was the only
other
person in the room.

“Mad
elyn
Smith.
 
Maddy
,
”
I clarified, reaching out to shake his hand.

His warm hand
wrapped
around mine, and he h
eld it for just a beat too long before he let go. 
“It’s nice to meet you,
Maddy
,” he said sincerely
.

I wondered if he would say anything about seeing me
at the art gallery
last night
, but it seemed that
moment
was ours alone. 
It’s not like either of us could exactly come out and say we’d exchanged
several
glances across a crowded room. 
Aside from that
, what
else
was there to tell? 
“
It’s nice to meet you, too,
”
I finally said.

“I think we interviewed Travis when you were out of town,”
Elizabeth
explained.

“Right, I was just wondering that,” I replied,
glancing over at
Travis
again
. 
“I thought the new writer was starting next month?”  I asked, looking back to
Elizabeth
.

“He was, but Travis was able to move here
sooner
than he thought.”

“I didn’t think I’d find an apartment so quickly,” he said.
  “And I was able to get out of my old lease, so everything worked out
perfectly
.”

“
Oh,
that’s great. 
W
elcome
a
board.  So
,
you’re sharing an office with
Elizabeth
?”

“Yeah
, I
think so
.”
  He glanced back to
Elizabeth
for confirmation.

“
Yes,
we’re sharing an office,” Elizabeth explained.
 
“
Maddy
is just down the hall from
u
s,
so you’ll be seeing a lot of her.
  She’s in with Marissa, one of our
graphic designers
.
”

“Great,” he said, flashing a smile.

“
I’m sure we’ll
be working a lot together.  The writers are always bouncing ideas of
one another
, and sometimes more than one of us will cover an event or opening.
”  Travis nodded
as I spoke
, and I noticed
Elizabeth
glancing down at a schedule
on top of the stack of paperwork she was carrying
, apparently for Travis’s first day.  “Well,
I’ll let you go
,
so
Elizabeth
can show you around
and you can get settled
.
”

“
It was nice to meet you
,
” he
said
again
.

“I’ll bring Travis by late
r on to
show him where you and Marissa are
,”
Elizabeth
said
.

“
Sounds good.
  S
ee you both then
.
”
I
turned to
g
i
ve them a
little wave as I walked away and noticed that although
Elizabeth
had
already
started
talking,
Travis’s gaze was still fixed on me.

***

I set my purse and coffee
down
on my desk and
walked over to the window
.  Our
company
was
on the
seventh
floor of
a
building
in downtown DC
, and the office
Marissa
and I
shared had a good view of the city and hustle and bustle on the street below. 
I didn’t see her walking in, so she was probably already on her way up. 
Marissa
had the desk by the window—
but
only because the person I’d shared the office with before her had seniority
and the window
seat
, and I didn’t feel like movin
g all my things when she left. 
My desk was near the door, next to a small bookshelf and fil
ing
cabinet.  I had a poster of Van Gogh’s
Irises
hanging up
behind
my desk
to brighten the white walls.  There was a small
round
table in the middle of the room that we used
for meetings or
when we needed to spread out our projects and go over
layouts
together.

I was
still
watching the cars on the street below when I heard someone
com
e
in the door.

“
So, d
id you see him?”

I turned around to see
Marissa
breezing into the room, ID card in hand.  “You found it?” I asked,
gesturing toward
her ID
.

“
Yep
,” she said, waving the card in her hand.  “
But d
id you
see
him?”

“Travis?  Yeah, I just met him
.”

“
Isn’t he gorgeous?
” she asked, walking over
toward
me
to drop her stuff on her desk
.  “
I couldn’t believe it when we interviewed him
—so freaking hot. 
Too bad I don’t date coworkers
.
  You on the other hand—you totally should ask him out.
”

I laug
h
ed
and shook my head.
  “I don’t think so.
  He’s been here what,
ten
minutes?
”

“I could totally find out if he’s single if y
ou want,” she co
ntinued, sitting down at her desk and flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure he is.”

“What makes you
sa
y
that
?”
She looked up at me questioningly.

I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned closer.  “He’s the guy I saw at the art gallery last night!”

“What?” Marissa shrieked.

“
Shhh
,” I whispered, trying not to laugh.  “His office is just down the hall from
ours
.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.  He
’
s the cute guy who kept checking you out?”

“We
might have exchanged a few glances
,” I said, correcting her.  “You
really
didn’t notice him at all
last night
?”

“No, my back was to him the whole time. 
When I did turn to look that annoying girl was in the way.”

I laughed
,
remembering the woman who’d had a few too many drinks who kept bumping into Marissa.  She’d been telling a story to her friends but kept dramatically gesturing as she
talked.  More than a few people had moved away as she tried to include strangers in the conversation.  Shortly after that we’d left, and I hadn’t seen Travis again until this morning.

“
I can’t believe
he was even there,” I continued.  “And why did I have to keep staring at him?  Now he shows up in
our
office and we’re supposed to be working together?
What are the chances of that
even
happening?
”

Marissa
grinned at me. 
“
That just proves you guys are totally meant to be.”