"She doesn't like me? She barely even knows me."
Tabby got to her knees and knee walked over next to me. "You nearly got her husband killed, and you're seeing me. After my last breakup, she's very protective, and I can't blame her. The guy really fucked with my head. But, she loves me, she loves Mark. Give it time, she'll come to see the part of you that I do. Until then though, yeah, a nice daily dose of Tylenol and a good glass of shaddap before workouts will be just what you need.”
I smiled at the light joke, and reached out, taking Tabby's hand. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when I get a chance to put my arms around you again."
Tabby leaned down and gave me a soft kiss, her lips caressing mine, until both of us were on the verge of losing control and pressing our luck further. Breaking contact, she looked into my eyes and smiled.
"I'll console myself with that until then," she said. She got up and went to the door, turning to look at me one last time with those beautiful eyes of hers. "Good night, Patrick."
"Good night, Tabby."
Chapter 4
Tabby
The following Thursday, I was sitting in my office twirling my pen around my fingers when Vanessa came in, carrying a large file. "Here you go," she said, setting it on my desk. "Have fun."
"What the hell is this?" I asked, thumbing the folder nervously. It had to be at least an inch thick, and had little Post-It flags sticking out of it in more places than I could count.
"Forms from the city inspector's office on the community centers," Vanessa replied. "These will eventually be the job of the center managers, but as we don't have those yet...."
"They fall on my shoulders," I replied with a groan. Looking up, I grinned feebly. "Want a promotion?"
Vanessa shook her head. "Not until those forms are finished, thank you very much."
"Come on, it fits your personality type," I mock-whined. "Although I'd be out one hell of an assistant."
"Nope, sorry," she replied. "Remember, I'm the person who likes to work behind the curtain. Besides, I've got my hands full enough right now, again thank you very much. With helping Gwen that is."
I blinked, surprised. "You're helping Patrick's new assistant as well?"
"She's a friend of mine, and I trained her long ago," Vanessa replied. "And having your boss come down with a bad chest cold not even a week after starting work is hell on anyone. I'm just glad that Gwen's one of the better apprentices I've trained."
"You know, I never thought of administrative assistants having a mentorship sort of thing going," I commented. "I mean, in hindsight it makes sense. Executives learn from their mentors, why not their assistants?"
"You'd be surprised how many people don't figure that out," Vanessa said. "In any case, have fun with the documents. I put the Post-Its by the important parts."
"It's all important parts!" I complained, rifling the stack. "You've got at least half a pack in here!"
Vanessa grinned, disappearing from my office. I looked down at the light brown cover of the file, and made a mental note. From now on, I'd have Vanessa purchase pink file folders with images of My Little Pony or Minnie Mouse on them. If I had to slog my way through that much hell, at least the files would look cute doing so.
I saw a pattern developing as I started reading, one that I could even put a name to. That name, of course, was Berkowitz. The double checking forms, the lack of transparency, and what the hell did we need to fill out a form for a check on the use of raw fish in the kitchen? We were opening a community center, not a sushi bar. We didn't even have the buildings cleaned out yet, I still needed to confirm contractors for that first before I could go further.
Sighing, I went through the file, dividing it into three portions. The first portion were forms that I needed to sign and have Vanessa return to the city immediately. They were ones specifically associated with the clearing and renovation of the buildings, and applications for building permits. The second pile, ones to be signed later, I set back in the folder. It wasn't that they didn't need to be signed, but I couldn't answer them yet. For example, a form on water usage and the use of low flow toilets. How in the hell was I supposed to know that?