“What are you doing here?” she asked in disbelief.

“I just want to talk.  Whitney, please just hear me out,” he said, looking up at her from the ground where he was sitting.

She leaned down to pick up her keys from where she had dropped them moments earlier.  She did not want to talk.  She wanted to be alone.  She slid her keys into the door and as she turned the knob she rolled her eyes, but let him in anyway.  As much as she was not in the mood for Charlie, she did not want him to cause a scene in the hallway and disturb her neighbors. 

“Thank you,” he said as he closed her front door behind him.  As she watched him pull the knob she realized that his wedding band was no longer present.  She said nothing, but put her purse down on the coffee table and sat down in one of her armchairs, so he would not sit next to her.  He sat across from her on the sofa.  “The place looks great…” he said, noticing slight changes in décor since the last time he had visited her apartment, months ago. 

“You did not come here to discuss fabric swatches and paint colors,” she said shortly, crossing her arms with impatience. 

He smiled widely, instead of taking her sarcasm to heart.  “There’s that sharp wit I missed.”  She felt her stomach tighten and her pulse quicken as he eyed her.  He looked particularly good this evening in his favorite pair of jeans and she felt herself leaning in to hear what he had to say.  He was intoxicating and she needed to get him out of her apartment immediately before something happened.  She should never have let him in.  Snap out of it.  She leaned back in her chair in protest. 

“Charlie, I have a busy day tomorrow, you should really leave…” she trailed off. 

“Whitney, I want to be with you,” he said bluntly. 

She looked at him, raising her eyebrows.  “Excuse me?”

“I want to be with you,” he said, slowly emphasizing his words.

“Charlie – you’re married!  This is ridiculous!” she said, raising her arms up with exasperation. 

He stood up from the sofa and walked towards her, kneeling down on the ground so that they were at eye-level.  “I’m going to separate from Cassie.”

She hadn’t expected this, at all.  She stared at him dumbfounded.  She hung on the word ‘going,’ and then looked at him inquisitively.  “Going to separate?”  They weren’t separated yet, apparently. 

“I wanted to profess my feelings to you first and now I am going to tell Cassie about us,” he said. 

“Charlie,” she looked at him, cautious with her next words.  “We’re not an us.  We’ve never even been on a date before-,” she was interrupted by him.

“Let’s go – right now!  You want sushi?  I am starvin’, darlin’,” he said, standing up. 

“Charlie!” her tone made him sit quietly back down.  “I know we have feelings for eachother, but it's going to take me some time to process this.” 

He looked disappointed, but sat back thoughtfully resting his head against one of her throw pillows.  “Process, eh?  What do you need to process?”

“This is just all very sudden,” she said, playing with her hair nervously.

“But, I’m not your boss anymore.  We don’t work together.  And I am not going to be a married man anymore.  I don’t understand what the problem is, darlin’,” he said, clearly frustrated.  He had come here tonight to solidify their relationship and he was not leaving without a fight. 

She seemed lost in thought for a moment.  True, most of the reasons she was objecting to their relations before were no longer an issue.  The more she started to think about it, the harder a time she was having coming up with a real objection.  “It’s just not that simple,” she trailed. 

His eyes narrowed.  “Is there someone else?  Are you seeing somebody?”

She sighed, “No, Charlie.  You know just as well as I do that this line of work doesn’t make it easy to meet people.”  He seemed relieved and she took the opportunity to stand up.  “Okay, now I really need to get ready for tomorrow.” 

He sighed, following her.  “So where does this leave us?”

“I just need some time,” she said, opening the door, encouraging him to leave.

“Can I call you?” he asked. 

She hesitated and then nodded, “Okay.”

“Goodnight, darlin’,” he said, giving her an unexpected peck on the cheek before heading down the hallway.

She closed the door and leaned against it, sighing heavily.  This was not the way she had envisioned her evening. 

**

J.C. continued to leaf through his paperwork in front of the television.  He began to review his calendar and noted the party he was supposed to be attending next weekend.  It had completely slipped his mind.  He used to attend many more parties and red carpet events years prior, but he had chosen to spend most of his time out of the limelight more recently.  The party was being hosted by a major music producer and it would be good exposure for him, but he was still nervous about attending.  He noted that Whitney had scheduled in a day for suit fittings on Wednesday in preparation for the event and he smiled at her attention to detail.  His phone buzzed and he looked over at it, seeing the text that had come over.

Come out tonight – hermit! 

His friends had been giving him a hard time, saying that he had become more reclusive the past few months.  It was true.  He wasn’t as interested in going out and partying.  He was focused in on his work and had put his personal life in the backseat of his priorities.  Some had been concerned that he was, in fact, suffering from depression.  After his hospitalization, this concern only increased.  But to J.C., he was happiest when he was working on music and expressing his creative side.  He rarely had company over, always opting to go out.  The less he socialized, the less comfortable he was when he was put into social situations.  His home and the recording studio had become private sanctuaries where he kept to himself. 

He sighed looking over at the clock and saw that it was 11:15 p.m.  He decided he would head out for a short appearance, greet his friends and catch up for a bit before heading straight back home to bed.  He headed towards his closet, trying to find something to wear.

**

J.C. headed towards the back of the club, nodding towards two of his friends as they spotted him.  Mark waved him over.  “C – get over here!  How's it going?” he asked.  The cocktail waitress headed by the table and Marked flagged her down.  “Two of these – make that three,” he said, pointing towards the drink he had in his hand.  She nodded and headed towards the bar. 

“Really, how are you?” his other friend, Jake, asked from across the table. 

“I’m doing alright,” J.C. said softly as he slid into the booth.  The waitress came back and placed the three glasses on the table and then trotted back off.  Mark slid the drink towards J.C.  He looked down at it and wrapped his hand around the glass, slowly turning it back and forth without taking a sip. 

“How is that personal assistant thing working out?” Jake asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Actually, she’s working out really well,” J.C. said, resigning himself to taking a sip from the drink.  He winced at the taste and put the glass back down.  “What is this crap, Mark?”

Mark shrugged, “It’s an Earthquake.  Mostly gin and whiskey.”

J.C. pushed the drink away from him and the cocktail waitress swung by again.  “Could I just get a Corona?” he asked and she nodded, picking up his discarded glass.

“No, no, I’ll take that!” Mark said, grabbing the glass from her and putting it back on the table.  “No use wasting it.  I’ll be back,” he said to the table as he walked away with two of the drinks in his hands headed towards a group of ladies.

“She hmmm…” Jake said, smiling.  He knew how long it had been since J.C. had even been on a date, let alone had a steady relationship. 

“Whitney – she’s a nice girl.  Very detail-oriented,” J.C. said, taking a sip from the Corona bottle that had just been delivered to him. 

“I don’t want to hear about her resume, I want to hear about her…other assets…” Jake said, smirking a little. 

Mark came back to the table, butting in.  “You totally like her!  Ask her out!”

“I can’t ask her out – she’s my assistant,” J.C. said with exasperation.

“So you don’t deny it – you do like her,” Jake said.  “Who are you taking with you to the party on Saturday?” 

J.C. pursed his lips.  Jake knew just as well as he did that he didn’t have a lady friend to take with him. 

“Make it a work-date-thing.  It’s the perfect setting without seeming like a proposition,” Jake said. 

J.C. toyed with the idea as he held his phone in his hands. 

**

Whitney sat on the sofa in her pajamas, watching television while she stared blankly at her laptop screen.  She found herself lost in thought until the hiss of her tea kettle snapped her out of it and she stood up to turn it off, pouring the hot water into her mug.  She sat back down with her green tea and heard the familiar text message alert on her phone. 

Hope you’re having a nice evening.  Let’s do brunch at 11:30 a.m. Café Trella.  – J.C. 

She felt her cheeks warming as she sipped on her tea and a smile came to her lips.  This was the reason she had hesitated with Charlie.  This was what she really needed to process. 

**