December 21, 2010

Starbucks Coffee

New York City, New York

Selena Russo impatiently tapped her foot. She had been waiting in the Starbucks line for five minutes and still hadn't had her order taken. But it wasn't like she could blame the coffee shop for being slow; it was four days until Christmas, and everyone was getting their coffee buzz before doing some last minute shopping. Selena, being her usual on-time and organized self, had already bought her presents and shipped them off to New Jersey, where her family was.

But her lifelong reputation for always being on time was quickly going to end if she didn't get her boss' coffee in the next three minutes. Fortunately, the woman in front of Selena was only buying apple juice for the child next to her. Her purchase was quick and simple, and Selena finally got to the front. She instantly recognized the barista behind the counter and the two exchanged smiles.

"Morning, Miley," Selena said, pulling out her wallet from her purse and handed Miley the credit card.

"Hey, Sel," Miley replied, "The usual?" Selena nodded and Miley called out the two drinks out to the crew behind her. Miley read the name on the card and looked back at Selena, "Nick's card, again?"

Selena shrugged, "If the man demands his coffee, he pays for it."

"And yours?"

Selena smiled, "There's perks to my job."

Actually, Selena could have cared less about her coffee being paid for. She was the assistant for Nick Jones, the music industry's number one songwriter and founder of Jones Music Incorporation. Everyone wanted something by him. He wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and chose the artist who would sing it. Selena got to see him everyday. She knew him at his best and worst. She had experienced his whole success.

Miley rolled her eyes and handed Selena her coffee and card. Selena thanked her and quickly made her out of the shop. The cold hit her like a ton of bricks. Selena bowed her head and breathed into her scarf. It would be a waste of time and money to hail down a taxi, so she kept walking towards her office building. She bypassed many slow walkers and tourists and made it to the glass doors just as she caught a glimpse of Nick coming around the corner.

Crap, she thought, fighting the urge to run towards him and wrap her arms around him. She thanked no one in particular for the lids on the coffee and broke out into a sprint up the stairs. Quickly making it to the ninth floor of the building, Selena threw off her coat and scarf, put her coffee on her desk, and unlocked the door to Nick's private office.

She turned on the light, placed his coffee on his desk, and turned on his computer. Next was the window. For weeks on end, both Nick and Selena had reminded the maintenance workers to fix the blinds on the window, but they hadn't been fixed.

Selena struggled and tugged and pulled at the string that controlled the blind's position. Finally, they were unstuck and she slowly raised them. She almost had them to the top, when—

"Morning!" Nick said behind her.

Selena jumped and turned around to face him. The blinds crashed down and sat lopsided behind her, but she hardly noticed. Nick was inches from her face, smiling that smile that she loved oh-so much.

Selena felt her stomach collide with her heart and her heart collide with her throat. She smiled back, unable to help herself, "Morning."

Nick glanced at the window blinds, "You just get here?"

She opened her mouth, prepared to come up with an excuse, but she couldn't lie to him. She sighed, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

He shrugged, "Your cheeks are still pink, for one thing."

Selena brought a hand to her cheek. It was rather warm, but not because of the cold.

Nick focused on the blinds behind Selena, "These stupid things again?"

"Yeah. The guys haven't fixed them yet," Selena turned to face the blinds and hide her ever-blushing face, "I can go remind them now if you want."

He waved it off, "Nah, its fine. I'll get them later." He sat down at his desk.

Selena knew that was the cue to get back to her own desk and start the day's work. She returned to her desk and sat down, plugging headphones into the speakers. Selena opened iTunes and started playing the songs on the playlist she had labeled, "Nick." Sure, it could be creepy, having a playlist dedicated to her boss, but that's how things went at Jones Music Incorporation.

Music was a big part of her job. Actually, it was 95% of it. Nick wrote and recorded songs—most of them based on situations and people he encountered—then downloaded them into iTunes for Selena to critique. If the song was good, she would say so and the song was then sold to a recording artist. If it wasn't, it stayed in iTunes, and no one but Nick or Selena knew it even existed. Luckily for Nick, Selena loved almost every song he did. The ones that stayed were ones she knew would be too personal for Nick to release. The other 5% was the typical stuff that always came with being an assistant: meetings, phone calls, daily planning, and lots of paperwork. All in all, Selena loved her job.

An hour later, just as Selena had hung up the phone on yet another call, it rang again.

"Fantastic," she muttered, but went ahead and answered, "Jones Music Incorporation, Mr. Jones's office, this is Selena, how may I help you?"

"Selena Marie Russo, you have been ignoring my calls, texts, and Skype requests," a very deep, very fake male voice said, "Tonight, you will be hunted down and thrown into a pit of ravaging Chihuahuas."

Selena rolled her eyes, "Drop the voice, Demi. And I have not been ignoring you."

"Then why haven't we planned anything for Christmas? It's in four days if you haven't noticed!" Demi Monroe replied. Demi was Selena's cousin and best friend since either of them could remember. Their families had lived on the same street in the small town of Wyckoff, New Jersey. The Russo's and Monroe's were spending Christmas together and were all expecting Selena home for Christmas.

"I've just been really caught up with work, Dem." Selena said.

"Work . . . or your boss?" Selena could almost hear Demi smiling the mischievous smile that always crept to her face when Nick was brought up in the conversation.

Selena smiled anyways, "Shut up. You know how he is."

"Yeah, yeah. 'Likes to keep it professional.' Fine." Demi turned back to the reason why she had called, "You have to come home. It's Christmas, Selena! First it was the Fourth, then Thanksgiving, now Christmas? He can't keep you locked up forever, no matter how much you love it."

Selena rolled her chair over far enough to peak into Nick's office, just to be sure he wasn't listening in. He had his headphones in and was bobbing his head in an adorable fashion to the beat of whatever song was playing. Selena smiled and slid her chair back in place. "Look, I'll talk to him, okay? But he has this policy for all his employees to let him know a month before you need the holiday off. Almost everyone has left already, and we have this huge company party tomorrow night to set up and prepare for. He needs all the help he can get right now."

"I'm just going to pretend to believe that. You and I both know that there could be a million people ready to help him and you would be first in line—no matter how much he didn't need you."

"Lena, no personal calls while you're on the clock." Nick called from his office.

"Right, sorry!" A quick check to make sure that Nick hadn't been listening to that entire conversation. "I gotta go now. I'll ask, Demi." Selena reassured her best friend, and before Demi could interrupt, she put in, "And you will be the first to know."

Selena ignored the excited "Did he just call you 'Lena'? Awww, that's so cute!" from the other end of the line and hung up. She walked over to Nick's office door, "Sorry about that. You know how my cousin is."

He waved it off, "It's fine. What'd she call for anyway?"

Selena inhaled. It was now or never. "Just wondering my plans for Christmas." She waited for him to say something. When all he did was nod, she continued, "My mom and her want me to spend it with them . . ."

Nick sighed, "You want me to give you time off? Now?"

She shrugged, "I mean, I can stay here if you really need me," Demi's voice was screaming in her head, What? No! Lay down the law! "But I haven't seen them since Easter," she quickly added.

The office was silent as Selena watched Nick debate the idea in his head. Finally he exhaled, "Let's see where we are at the end of today. If we cover a lot today, you're good."

Selena smiled, "Thanks."

Nick raised his eyebrows in response, watched her retreat back to her desk, and shook his head. He put his headphones back on, continuing to listen to himself record one of his songs. Selena hadn't critiqued this one yet, but he had a feeling this one would be his biggest hit yet and started to hum along with the chorus.

"I want someone to love me,
for Who I Am.
I want someone to need me,
is that so bad?
I wanna break all the madness,
but it's all I have.
I want someone to love me,
for Who I Am."

Hours later—just a half hour before Nick would clock out—a vibration from his pocket interrupted him. Nick paused the music and checked the text message.

Joe: Sup, bro?

Nick sighed; he should've known. His older brother, Joe, was always interrupting him in the middle of the work day. Joe never bothered to call or text on weekends or when Nick wasn't working, but when Nick was all tied up, that was the time when Joe decided for some brotherly bonding.

Nick: Not now, Joe. I'm busy.

It didn't take long for Joe to reply: With what, pray tell?

Nick: Well, let's see. It's seven-thirty on a Tuesday evening . . . working.

Joe: Claws are out and sharpened today, I can see that.

Nick: I'm just busy, ok? I have a lot to do before this weekend.

Joe: Speaking of, shouldn't you be off work and celebrating Christmas in the Bahamas with that cute little assistant you have? Successful men like you have lives, you know.

Nick: Yes, I know we have lives. But before our lives begin, we have work to finish. Seconds after sending that text, Nick quickly sent another one: Cute little assistant? You mean Selena?

Joe: Yeah! Her! I don't see why you two aren't together yet.

Nick: One, I don't date coworkers. Two, even if I did, there is nothing between Selena and I. Both of us know that.

Joe: Sure, dude. Have you even noticed the look she gives you?

Nick: What look? How would you know if there was a look?

Joe: Because when I visited you on your birthday (still don't know what you were thinking to work on your 21st birthday), I could tell she was head-over-heels. For you.

Nick: What will it take to get you off the subject of Selena?

Joe: Just tell me what you think of her.

Nick: You're such a loser. She's pretty, I'll admit that. Can I go back to work now? I have to stop by a few restaurants.

Joe: Restaurants? For what?

Nick: Food for the company party tomorrow night.

Joe: I see . . . Who's your date?

Nick: I don't have one.

Joe: You can't just show up at your own company's party with no date!

Nick: And why not?

Joe: Because you'd look like such a loser. Picture it. There's probably gonna be tons of pictures taken. And when the photos of a lonely Nick Jones surface the Web, people will mock you forever and ever and ever . . .

Joe continued to send multiple "and ever" messages until Nick finally replied: OKAY! STOP! I'll see if anyone still hasn't found a date.

Nick jumped when he heard Selena's voice from his door, "Hey. I'm heading out now. Need anything else before I go?"

Nick shook his head, "You go on ahead. I'll lock up in five."

Selena nodded, "Okay. See you tomorrow."

Nick turned back to his computer and made it look like he was busy, but from the corner of his eye he watched Selena. She lingered at the door for a little longer, looking at him. Finally, she sighed lightly and left, just as Nick's phone went off again.

Joe: Or you could go the easy way and ask Selena. Odds are she's just waiting for you to grow the balls and do it.

Nick: How long are you planning on continuing this whole deal about us?

Joe: Like I said before, until you grow the balls and do something about it.

Selena hurried down the sidewalk like she had this morning, only this time it was darker and unbelievably much colder. She checked her watch. Only ten minutes until eight. If she hurried, she could grab some quick Chinese and scurry back to her apartment, hardly missing any of that night's Glee episode.

She found herself envying the relationship between Will and Emma when she heard her name by that one and only voice . . .

"Lena, wait up!" Nick called a few feet behind her. She stopped and turned, seeing Nick rush up to her, completely out of breath.

Selena smiled, "You sure finished up quick."

Nick shrugged, "I stayed late last night," he took a few breaths, "I actually wanted to ask you something."

Selena gulped. Millions of times she had imagined those words come out, in a million different ways, a million different scenarios, and a million things as to what would come next. "Okay."

"I was wondering . . . well, the party tomorrow night . . . I realized it'd be lame if the boss was alone, so . . . I was wondering if you would want to go? With me?"

Because of the dark, Nick didn't see the huge smile creep across Selena's lips. He took the silence as a sign she was hesitating, "It doesn't have to be like a date, I guess, if you're not really comfortable with that."

More silence. Selena was completely speechless.

Nick continued, "How about this? If you'll be my 'date' or whatever you want to call it, you can have Christmas off. Heck, I'll even make it to New Year's Day."

Selena was finally brought out of it, "I'd love to, Nick."

Nick raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

She shrugged, "Yeah. It sounds fun."

Nick smiled, "Alright then. I'll be at your place at six-thirty?"

"Six-thirty. Sounds good," Selena smiled.

The two said their goodbyes and split. Selena made it back to her apartment, so happy she didn't even care that she hadn't gotten the takeout she had been planning. The moment she closed her door, she started jumping around and squealing. She felt lousy and like a typical girl, but she didn't care.

A/N: Hearts for Nelena! 3 Yay!

Okay, so this story is a little different for me. I'm going to update it day-by-day, so the date in the story will match the date in real life.

P.S. You have to read this story like you're watching a movie. Like with a bunch of different angles and background stuff and such. That's just the way my mind pictures it when I'm writing. So yeah (:

P.S.S. Don't forget to review! It makes me happy! (:

Where Do I Go From Loving You- Clay Walker
^^ Good song. I heard it on Pandora. It kinda relates to the story, if you wanna check it out. (: