Page 5 of Unmasking Love
I’ll make sure to compliment it.
I make my way across the office and knock lightly on the door. His assistant, Raquel, is perched on the edge of his desk. I hadn’t seen her from my vantage point so I stop quickly and she pops up when she sees me walk in.
"Oh, you already have lunch," I say when I see the salad and sparkling water on his desk. I move my homemade lunch behind my back.
"Yes, Mr. Rothchild likes to eat right at noon." Raquel chirps, "Oh, I'm sorry, were you supposed to have lunch together? It wasn’t on his calendar. Did you need me to order something for you, too?"
It could be a nice gesture, it could be out of the kindness in her heart. But the way she says it, plus the judgemental flick of her eyes over my outfit, makes me feel about two feet tall. Like I'm playing pretend and she's indulging my fantasy.
"No, I was about to head out," I say, not thinking. I wanted to eat lunch with my boyfriend. But this whole situation is giving a "you don't belong here" vibe and I've never been comfortable with that. "Can you take a look at the pamphlet I just sent you? It's for Sunday. I can make any adjustments you'd like and then get it sent to the printer."
"Thanks Harper, you didn't have to do that, I already had Raquel work on it this morning so weare all set."
"Oh, okay, well, enjoy your lunch. I'll see you later." I step backwards out of the room. It's great his new assistant is so helpful. I was only doing stuff for him because I know how overwhelmed he gets by the admin and backend tasks.
They don't exactly tell you when you start the licensing process that most of the job is paperwork and contracts. You get sold on the idea of stagings, photoshoots, and showings. I haven't risen high enough in the ranks for an assistant, but I can see the appeal of having an admin to do the little stuff for you.
I started out showing rental apartments in and around D.C. There are a lot of temporary placements in this city so I was in high demand. I made connections with the different property managers and they'd tell me when units would be coming up. This gave me the opportunity to put these apartments in front of my clients first. It’s all about making connections.
That's how I met Felix. He was leaving one of the rental properties and recognized my face from a flier that was posted in the building's lobby. He asked if I would find him a house because he was tired of not being able to touch grass every morning. When I laughed his face sobered.
I quickly schooled my features into a professional smile and gave him my card. I only had to show him two different homes before he picked the second one. We closed about a week later.
Felix started sending me his friends and teammates right after. Always asking they be kept close. I think he envisions hosting impromptu backyard bbqs for his teammates and their families.
Or he just really likes being the center of attention.
I sit down at my desk and look at the two sandwiches I had prepared this morning. They're some of my best work with fresh sourdough bread, mustard, turkey, lettuce, and tomato only on mine since I know Crispin doesn't like it. And as delicious as this looks, my appetite isn't what it was a few minutes ago.
I pick up my phone, push the lunch bag away, and call Wes.
"Didn't you make lunch for your man? Why are you calling me?" He answers.
I just sigh into the speaker.
"He had other plans, huh?"
"Yep, or, actually, his assistantRaquelordered lunch for him." I tried so hard to say her name without dripping it with tween sarcasm.
"Isn't that part of her job?"
"Probably, but like, you talked to me last night while I waited for the bread to finish its final rise before baking so I could use it for the sandwiches today. I texted him a picture of the finished loaf. He gave it a thumbs up. I figured that was enough of a plan."
"So what are you doing for lunch?"
"I'm debating between a venti brown sugar latte and a cigarette or a half gallon of ice cream."
"Those are totally reasonable choices and not extreme at all," he deadpans.
Wes and I met a few years ago when I was dating a guy named Thad who invited me to join him on his recreational softball team. They needed girls on the roster. But that's about all he needed, turns out Thad batted for the other team, so the saying goes.
Wes was the one to point this out to me and he's taken me under his wing ever since.
Luckily, I haven't managed to get entangled with another gay guy but I haven't exactly been successful either. Even with Wes’s coaching, I haven’t had a relationship last longer than four months. It’s now a running joke and I laugh along but deep down I am desperate to make a man stick.
"I'm gonna take a drive and then I'll eat one of my sandwiches when I get back to my desk."
"Eat them both honey, you deserve it."
