“Welcome to Fred’s,” a young boy of about twenty-two says as he sidles up to the small table Charlotte and Justin occupy in a quiet corner of the restaurant. “Can I get you all something to drink?”

Justin likes sitting in the corners at restaurants and it’s a rare occasion when he actually gets to. Amelia’s rather partial to the center. She likes to see everything and of course be seen. She wants to know who is where and who’s with who. He just likes to eat in peace.

“I’ll have a coke,” Charlotte says, smiling up at the waiter and then looking back down at her menu.

“Diet?” the waiter asks and Charlotte looks up blinking. Justin’s eyes narrow.

“Did she ask for diet?” Justin asks evenly, not even looking up from his menu but he can feel the waiter tense next to him.

“Um…no..I just-”

“Then she wants regular I would assume,” Justin looks up and smiles. “And I’ll have a Sprite.”

The waiter clears his throat, shifting as he jots this down on his notepad. “Yes, I’ll be right back. My name is Fred, if you need anything.”

“Fred!” Justin exclaims as the waiter turns to leave. “Now that’s ironic.”

Justin looks up at Charlotte to see if she’s amused and finds her peering at him curiously, her green eyes working over his face as if she were trying to solve a riddle. She looks down quickly when he cocks his head to the side in confusion.

“What?” he asks, picking up his menu again and surveying his options. His stomach rumbles.

“Nothing,” Charlotte says, her voice amused, biting her lip to hide her smile and he shifts in his chair.

“What?” he asks, his voice jumping an octave and she sighs looking up at him.

“Amelia did the same thing when we were at lunch,” Charlotte says, waving her hand dismissively and Justin’s brows furrow in confusion. “I ordered a coke at a restaurant and the waiter asked if I wanted diet and then she asked if I had said I wanted diet and…” Charlotte trails shaking her head. “Never mind I just thought it was amusing.”

“Very,” Justin responds dryly and Charlotte gives him a mocking smile just as the waiter reappears with their drinks.

“Are you ready to order?” he asks and Justin looks up at Charlotte who just stares at him, seemingly waiting.

“Would you like me to order for you?” Justin asks after a moment and Charlotte’s eyes widen.

“No, I… I was waiting for you,” she replies with a chuckle and Justin grins.

“Ladies first,” he says and Charlotte gives him a tight lipped smile before turning to the waiter.

“I’d like the spaghetti,” she says softly, closing her menu and the waiter jots it down nodding.

“Caesar or House salad with that?”

“Um Caesar,” Charlotte says and then she shifts. “But can I have French dressing on that…instead of the Caesar dressing?” The waiter nods and she smiles “Thanks.”

The corners of Justin’s lips twitch as he files this information away for questioning later. The waiter turns to him.

“And for you sir?”

“I’ll have the New York Strip Steak, medium rare please,” he says holding his menu out for him to take.

“And House or Caesar salad?”

“Caesar,” he replies and the waiter nods taking his menu and then Charlottes.

“I’ll have this right out for you.”

“Thanks Fred,” Justin says with a snigger, sighing as he runs his hands along the edge of the table. “So…Charlie…”

“Oh god,” Charlotte mutters, taking a sip of her soda and then smiling at him. He chuckles. “Is it gonna be twenty questions again today?”

“Maybe…” Justin replies, eyeing her. “What’s your least favorite part about working for Amelia?”

Charlotte’s face blanches, her eyes going wide and he grins. He can see the panic stretch across her face, see her throat move as she swallows hard. She looks down and stutters, her fingers playing with the hem of the table cloth.

“Um… I find… everything…agreeable,” she stutters, not meeting his eyes and he chuckles.

Just then her phone rings and she jumps, practically diving under the table to answer it and Justin bites back his laugh, watching her fumble to open it, tucking her hair behind her ear before answering.

“Hello?” she says and she tenses. “Hi Amelia,” she says, her eyes meeting Justin’s and he tenses as well. “Oh everything is going fine….Everyone’s been very helpful.” Charlotte nods, while shrugging at Justin and he smiles. “Yes he’s here…we’re at the restaurant now…Fred’s…What’d he get?” Charlotte look at him puzzled and he gives her a perplexed look. “He got a steak…medium rare…” Charlotte’s brow creases as she listens. “Um…I think it came with vegetables.”

Justin fights the urge to roll his eyes, leaning back in his chair and tuning out the rest of the conversation. Apparently he is now on a diet. Probably some kind of preparation for the wedding. She’d already called his personal trainer about upping his weight on his lifting days.

“Okay…I will…thanks Amelia…uh huh…buh bye.” Charlotte finishes, closing the phone and heaving a sigh as she sets the phone on the table next to her. “You wanna know the worst part of working for Amelia?” she asks and Justin looks at her, no longer in the mood.

“What?” he asks, trying to keep his voice pleasant.

“Keeping track of your every move,” she states simply and then grins smarmily at him and it’s enough to make him cough out a dry laugh despite himself.

“Working for me is so horrible?” he asks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, surveying her as she takes another sip of her soda.

“Awful really,” she replies with a sigh. “I may just have to call in sick tomorrow.”

“That serious huh?” he chuckles and she grins, nodding.

The waiter comes with their salads, setting them in front of them and bowing out quietly, Justin calling a quick “thanks Fred” over his shoulder before chuckling to himself. Charlotte giggles as well this time and he grins, unfolding his silverware from his napkin, placing it in his lap as he picks up his salad fork. He is just about to dig in when he hears it.

“Damn,” Charlotte mumbles and he looks up, his fork poised over his salad dish as he watches her poke the lettuce with her fork. “They gave me Ceasar.”

Justin’s entire body tenses, as his eyes fall on the creamy white dressing drizzled over her salad and he swallows hard. His mind stutters as he searches for a solution, working over possible actions to mollify her displeasure. He could call back the waiter, get a new salad. How long would that take? Maybe he could try and talk her into just eating it. Or in the very least charm her into not eating it and not complaining. Possibly… He’s just about to open his mouth to speak when she shrugs.

“Oh well,” she mutters, digging her fork into the salad and bringing it to her mouth, chewing slowly, her nose wrinkling only slightly.

He cannot speak. Memories of temper tantrums and livid silences fill his mind, snotty comments and threats of no tip, abrupt departures proclaimed by bitter “come on Justin we’re leaving” followed by his whispered apologies as he chases after her. He is utterly dumbfounded. Charlotte looks up at him and her chewing slows to a stop, an uncomfortable look crossing her face and he realizes he’s staring at her slack jawed. He snaps his mouth shut.

“Wow,” he breathes, still reveling in this new turn of events.

“What?” she asks, slightly embarrassed now and he shakes his head.

“Amelia,” he smiles tensely and that’s all he has to say, Charlotte nodding in understanding.

“Life is hard enough without having to be so stressed all the time,” she replies with a wave of her hand and he feels his jaw drop again. He thinks he hears the Hallelujah Chorus playing somewhere.

“Thank you,” he says suddenly, vehemently and the force of it surprises even him.

Charlotte chuckles. “You’re welcome.” She forks more salad into her mouth, shaking her head at him.

“So…” he says, taking a bite of his own. “What is the worst part of working for Amelia?” Charlotte tenses, keeping her eyes on her bowl. “You can tell me,” he adds. “Nothing leaves this table.”

Charlotte eyes him for a moment and he tries to keep his face open and friendly. He doesn’t really care what her answer is and he would never tell Amelia. Not in a million years. He just wants her to trust him. It really isn’t so much what her answer is as that she tells him. She sighs.

“Well,” she shifts in her seat, eyeing him one more time before watching her fork shuffle her food across her bowl. “Probably the…the tantrums.”

Justin grins. “I’m familiar with those,” he replies evenly, forking more salad into his mouth and she heaves a sigh of relief at his response. “Is it more stressful than your last job?”

Her eyes jerk to his and she immediately looks away again. “Um…in ways, yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, Amelia is more…” she pauses looking up at him, her eyes holding his as she slowly says. “demanding.”

Justin nods grinning. “I’m very familiar with that.”

They both laugh and it’s almost conspiratorial. There’s something freeing about finding someone you can be honest with, not having to worry about it getting around to anyone else. They fall into an easy silence then, eating quietly and Justin marvels at this new feeling. Charlotte knows Amelia for what she is, sees her everyday, knows her like he knows her. She doesn’t balk when he asks her to be honest. And she’s something else he’d almost completely forgotten existed in the opposite sex. She’s laid-back, easy going, and unfettered by minor inconveniences. She is the anti-Amelia.

 The clink of glass on glass breaks him from his reverie and he looks up to find Charlotte pushing her plate forward and scooting back from the table.

“I’m just gonna hit the ladies room before our food comes,” she explains as she stands and Justin nods, holding his tie against his chest, half standing until she walks away.

He sighs settling back in his chair and he’s just taking the last bite of his salad when Charlotte’s phone lights up, a jaunty polka tune blaring from it. He cringes, reaching for it and flipping it open to silence it. He’s just putting it to his ear when he hears a booming male voice exclaim:

“Charlie Beth!!! Angel baby honey bun…”

***

Charlotte is walking back to the table when she hears Justin’s slow lazy laugh. She can’t help but smile at the sound. There’s just something about his laugh. Maybe because she doesn’t hear it too often. It rumbles low in his chest, before ending in a high cough, a sigh escaping his lips and she finds him instantly in the sea of white tables. He’s sitting back casually in his seat, elbow resting on the back of his chair as he chats on the phone. He laughs again and she smiles at him as she moves to take her seat, noticing that, even though the food had arrived, his dish was untouched. He’d waited for her. He grins at her mischievously and that’s when she realizes….he’s talking on her phone.

“That’s great, Dan,” he chuckles and Charlotte’s eyes nearly explode out of her skull.

“Is that my dad?” she asks in a panicked whisper and Justin furrows his brow, holding one finger up for silence.

“Okay…yeah sure I’ll tell her,” Justin says, grinning at her and she just looks on helplessly. “And don’t forget those pictures. I’m counting on those.” He pauses and she hears her father’s deep voice and then Justin laughs again. “Okay Dan, good talkin’ to ya… Uh huh…buh bye.” He flips the phone closed and holds it out to her. “You’re dad is hilarious.”

“What pictures?” Charlotte asks, snatching her phone back from him and he sniffs airily.

“Oh I told him I needed some baby pictures for this Christmas game we’re playing at the office,” he says and Charlotte’s jaw drops. “It was a lie but now that I think about it, it sounds kinda fun. So we may actually do it.”

“You…I…” Charlotte stutters, annoyance simmering in her but its not as strong as it usually would have been. It’s almost physically impossible to stay mad at Justin.

“He just wanted to know if you’d talked to your boss about your flight yet,” he says easily. “I told him your boss was an asshole but he’d try to get you a departure date as soon as possible.” He grins cheekily and Charlotte’s eyes narrow.

“You’re impossible,” Charlotte spats without any real conviction and he just grins at her.

“And you Charlie Beth are just going to have to put up with it,” he smirks, reaching for his steak knife and beginning to cut up his meat.

“Alright, alright,” Charlotte says her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What information did you pump from him?” she asks, reaching for her own fork and he grins. “You know you should be ashamed of yourself. Tricking an old man like that.”

“I didn’t trick nothin’” Justin says, playful insolence lacing his words. “He didn’t tell me much. Said you were named Charlotte Elizabeth after your grandmother and you sucked your thumb until you were four.”

“I loathe you,” Charlotte scowls and he bursts out laughing.

“He also said,” Justin pauses to pop a piece of steak into his mouth, smirking at her as he chews. “that this job is way more demanding than your old one and you deserve a raise.”

Charlotte’s cheeks pinken. “Oh god.”

“I’ll talk to Amelia about it,” he says and Charlotte is just about to open her mouth to protest but he continues. “He said he couldn’t imagine why you chose this job over your last one.”

Charlotte tenses. Her dad the big mouth.

“Why’d you leave your old job anyway?” Justin asks, bringing his drink to his lips and Charlotte nearly drops her fork. “I mean Amelia told me you were at Gauge-Whitney…which is apparently a big deal or something,” he waves his hand dismissively.

Charlotte coughs a disbelieving laugh. “It’s one of the foremost financial firms in Manhattan.”

“Really?” Justin asks, raising his eyebrows. “Impressive. So why’d you quit?”

Charlotte shifts in her seat. “I had…reasons.”

“I’m sure you did,” Justin says nodding as he shovels more food into his mouth, “but none that Amelia can find.”

Charlotte’s fork stops halfway to her lips. “What?”

Justin nods at her. “Oh yeah,” he says as if she should know this already. “It’s driving her fucking crazy. She can’t figure it out. She’s called your bosses, colleagues,” he chuckles. “Hell I think she even contacted some of your old professors.”

Charlotte’s jaw drops and an uncomfortable feeling washes over her. Amelia had been checking up on her? Then again had she really expected any less? How many times had she made phone calls to various managers and producers to check on the A&R guys working under Amelia? Too many to count.

“So why’d you quit?” Justin asks easily, forking more food into his mouth, his eyes trained on her and she shifts in her seat. His chewing slows when he takes in the uncomfortable look on her face. “You did quit right? You did because Amelia would have known. All your supervisors had great things to say about you… or so she said.”

“Yeah I didn’t have any problems with my boss,” Charlotte says, shaking her head and Justin’s eyes tighten as he regards her curiously.

They’re quiet for a moment and she contemplates telling him. What’s the worst that could happen? He thinks she’s an idiot. Well, he wouldn’t be the first. He’s not looking at her anymore, content to let her keep her secret and she smiles. He doesn’t push. She likes that.

“I didn’t like it,” she says suddenly and it surprises even herself. He looks up at her bewildered. “My job. I quit because I didn’t like it.” Charlotte sighs and it all just pours out. “I left a seventy-five thousand dollar a year job because I didn’t like it. Benefits…retirement plan…” Charlotte’s breathing hitches. “I didn’t like it.”

There’s a pause. “Why?” Justin asks and now it’s Charlotte’s turn to be shocked. She doesn’t speak. “Charlotte?” he says after a moment and she shakes her head.

“Sorry…no one,” she pauses chuckling to herself. “No one has every asked me that before.”

Justin’s eyebrows race to his hairline. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she breathes, her eyes falling to her nearly empty soda glass, “I was just…unhappy I guess. It wasn’t…wasn’t what I wanted.” She shakes her cup, the ice cubes tinkling against the glass. “So I quit.”

The waiter comes then, asking if they need anything, replacing Charlotte’s empty glass with a fresh one and scurries away quickly. The silence left in his wake is daunting and Charlotte finds she cannot raise her eyes.

“Wow,” he states simply and she looks up from her glass, expecting to see a look of disappointment, maybe confusion.

She is somewhat surprised when she finds neither. Quite the contrary, he actually looks impressed.

“I…I know it’s kinda weird,” Charlotte says, still a little worried by his less than standard reaction.

“No!” Justin exclaims, a wide grin pulling across his face. “No, I think it’s great! You know what you want.”

“Actually, that’s the thing,” Charlotte replies sheepishly. “I don’t…”

As she says this it’s as if a large weight has been lifted off her chest. To say the words out loud, to not keep them trapped inside her head where they just bounced around and amplify with each knock against her skull was strangely liberating. She smiles somewhat giddily.

“Well you know what you don’t want,” Justin says, keeping his eyes on her as he shovels some mashed potatoes into his mouth, swallowing before adding. “Which is just as important.” He pauses, reaching for his drink. “Maybe more.”

Charlotte hums in thought. She pauses, debating before saying, “Look…” she pauses again, unsure.

Justin brings his glass from his lips, looking at her curiously. Charlotte cringes.

“Don’t…don’t tell Amelia,” she says softly, fighting the blush that is creeping up her neck.

Justin blinks at her and then chuckles, sitting his glass down, shoulders tensing. That’s when Charlotte realizes she not only just asked him to keep a secret from her boss, but from his fiancé as well. She scrambles to explain.

“It’s just because I don’t think she would understand is all,” Charlotte says quickly and Justin holds up a hand, halting her words.

“You’re secret is safe with me,” he says and Charlotte heaves a sigh of relief. He grins. “Besides it’s too much fun watching Amelia try to figure it out. You know I think she’s about ready to hire a detective.”

Charlotte blanches. “She wouldn’t, would she?” That’s all she needs is for Amelia to start prodding deeper into her personal life.

“Nah,” Justin says waving his hand dismissively. “It’ll just drive her bonkers,” he grins, “She’ll never figure it out.” He seems almost gleeful at the thought.

“You think not?” Charlotte asks, bringing her soda to her lips and cringes. What is it with this city and diet soda?

“Nah, it’s too whimsical for her,” Justin says sighing. “Amelia is nothing if not practical,” he adds bitterly.

Charlotte nods in silent concession and picks up her fork, going back to her food. She feels almost naked now, her biggest secret laid out between them. She trusts that he won’t tell. He said he wouldn’t and his word is enough but still, she knows next to nothing about him.

 “Since....” she starts and he looks up at her, fork halfway to his mouth. “Since you know all about me now…” Charlotte smiles. “Can I ask you some questions?”

Justin tenses, his face pulling into a guarded expression. “Um…sure…yeah okay.” He chuckles, shifting slightly in his chair in nervous anticipation, wondering what she’s got up her sleeve.

Charlotte thinks for a moment, her eyes squinting as she picks her question. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”

He blinks at her, slightly shocked. “You wanna know what ice cream I like?”

Charlotte shrugs. “Yeah, why not?”

“Um…I dunno…it just seems so…” he pauses looking around, “innocuous.”

He chuckles, shaking his head as he pushes his food around on his plate for a moment before looking up at her. His face is smooth and reveals nothing of his thoughts or feelings. Charlotte almost wonders if he’s going to answer. He sighs then, almost as if in relief, relief that someone even wants to know something so trivial and he smiles, practically lighting up the entire room as he responds:

“I like vanilla.”