Four hours later, and my boss hasn't come out of his office once. I'm assuming it's because he'll be leaving early this evening and he's trying keep up on his work.
Is he actually demonstrating sensible qualities? Must be a first…
Percy's office phone jolts me from my inquiring mind. I answer it with my usual line. "Hello, Percy Jackson's office."
A feminine voice replies. "Hi, is Percy there?"
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Tell him it's Gina, I'm sure he'll come running." I can practically hear her arrogant smirk through the phone. I wrack my brain for what I'm supposed to say when 'Gina' calls. Oh, right…
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Percy Jackson is…dead." I feel like a complete bitch for saying such a horrible lie. But, I could get fired for saying anything different.
"Does Percy honestly think that I would fall for that?" She asks disbelievingly. Her voice raises a few octaves, quite irritatingly may I add.
She starts to yell incoherent things at me in her high, squeaky voice. I can't make out what she's saying. It doesn't sound like she's going to stop anytime soon, so I decide to cut her off.
"I'm sorry I have to go, I have a…meeting. Yes, a meeting. Goodbye." I hang up the phone with a huff. Percy's deep voice reaches my ears. "Gina, I take it?"
"She's not as stupid as you think." I state.
"I guess her annoying habits made her seem even more dumb than she actually was."
"Don't speak too highly of her, she might think you're still into her." I say sarcastically.
"Ha-ha." He says, without humor. "Now, go get ready. I'll tell my driver we're almost ready to go."
Of course you have a driver. I grab my bag that I brought here with me. It contains the dress that I'm going to wear tonight. I stand up and start to walk around my desk.
"Make sure you wear something sexy!" He yells at my retreating figure. I simper as I stalk off towards the woman's restroom.
I change from my black pencil skirt and maroon top into my favorite casual dress. It's a light shade of pink and stops a little bit before my knees. It shows some cleavage, but not too much. I take my hair out of it's bun, combing through the knots, leaving my natural curls in place. I re-apply some of my makeup. I slip off my flats and change into my cute, tan, five-inch heels.
I check my reflection in the mirror. I look good. Perfect for a casual night at a bar, which is where Katie and Travis decided to have their engagement party. It's just supposed to be a gathering of all their close friends, nothing big. I grab my bag, containing their present and head out the door.
Percy practically gawks when he gets his first look at me. His obvious staring makes me feel self-conscious. His next comment though, puts my thoughts at ease. "I approve." He says, giving me his signature smirk. I roll my eyes at him.
"It's funny, I don't remember asking for your approval." I smile sweetly at him.
That gets him to shut up for a while.
"I'm trying not to be jealous that you own a limo with your own personal driver." I say to Percy, as I slide onto the leather covered seat, pointing to the man behind the wheel.
Percy's limo driver is a cute little old man. He has grey hair and wears huge bifocals. He seems like a kind man, one who you would want to have a conversation with on the street. He gives me a smile once I'm fully situated. I smile back.
"It took me a little time to get used to, too." He responds to my earlier statement.
"Really? I didn't know you had a different life before all of this." I gesture around the limo.
"Yeah, I usually don't like to talk about it." He clears his throat. I fall silent after that comment. Hmm…Percy's sensitive side…
"So, what did you get them, for their engagement?" I try for a subject change. He leaps at the chance.
I find out that Percy got them a weekend getaway at a fancy resort in Cancun, Mexico. "For when all the wedding bull shit gets to be too much." He says, explaining his reasoning for the vacation.
I would love to be Percy and be able to go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted, never having to worry about money. Must be some life.
"We're here, Mr. Jackson." Tony stops the car in front of a bar.
"Thanks Tony. I'll call you when I need to be picked up." Percy pats him on the shoulder before exiting the car. Tony gives him a wave and a kind smile. "Miss Chase." He nods his head towards me. I give him another smile.
Percy opens my door for me. It was a nice, gentlemanly gesture. I was pleasantly surprised. I stand up, gift in hand, and I realize that my head comes to about Percy's neck. We are the perfect height for each other. Whoa, I did not just think that.
I clear my throat. I think he noticed our position as well.
"After you." He extends his hand, signaling for me to go in first. I walk towards the door, opening it and entering the building.
There's a huge bar to the left. It looks well-stocked. In the middle of the room is a dance floor. Currently there are a lot of random people dancing provocatively. And to the right of the room are a bunch of comfy looking tables.
A bunch of tables were pushed together to form a big one. That's where Katie and Travis were, currently. They were laughing and having a good time. I was happy to see them so content.
A few other people surround them. I point out the table to Percy and we make our way towards them.
Everyone starts to shout greetings at us. And before I know it, I'm being squeezed into a hug. I know it's Katie, so I hug her back.
"I'm so happy for you." I say to her. She smiles at me.
"I'm so happy you're here." She drags me into a seat.
"Hey, Annabeth." Travis passes by us, ruffling my hair in the process. I roll my eyes at him.
"Hey Thals!" Thalia gives me a smile and a wave.
"Annabeth! Come meet my husband!" I'm pretty sure that was Silena. I put my finger up to Katie, signaling that I'll be right back.
I see Silena with a tall and buff looking African-American guy. They look adorable together. He has his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Hey!" I say, walking up to them.
"Annabeth, this is my husband, Charlie. Charlie this is Annabeth." He gives me a smile and puts out his hand. I shake it. "Nice to meet you." He says, in a deep voice.
"Likewise. Silena likes to brag about her husband a lot, so it's nice to match the descriptions to the face."
They both laugh at my comment. I talk a little while longer with them until Katie pulls me away again, handing me a glass of champagne and saying she needs to, 'talk with her best friend.' I don't mind. It seems like I haven't talked with her in forever.
Once we're seated together, and it's just us, I ask the question that has been bothering me for a while. "Are you living a double life?"
She laughs at my question. "What are you talking about?"
"How is it that you've never told me you knew about half of these people?"
"I don't know. You were always so busy." I look guiltily towards the ground, "But, I never minded it, because, I knew it was for a good reason." I know what she is referring to. My parents death. She gives me a consoling smile.
"I still feel bad. I should have been there, for you." She waves her hand at me, in a 'whatever' motion.
"Well, you're here now. So, let's make the best of it." We clink our champagne glasses and take a sip. "But, I have to say, for a second there, I thought you were going to miss my engagement party."
"Not for a million bucks." I say with a smile.
"Mm, we'll have to go to Percy for that." I let out a laugh.
Katie tells me all about her wedding plans. Her and Travis don't want a big wedding. Just something pretty and casual. She tells me that our dress fitting days for the bride and bridesmaids are coming up soon. Apparently, Katie and Travis want to get married as soon as possible. They've decided on two or three months at the most. I can tell she's a little stressed out about the whole thing, so I try and calm her down as best I can.
Her maid of honor is her sister, Miranda. Which is fine by me. I don't think I would ever have time to plan all the things that come with being maid of honor. Not with everything that's going on in my life right now.
Travis steals Katie from me after a solid hour of talking.
I search around the room for Thalia. I haven't seen her in a while, and I need to make sure she isn't drinking too much.
I spot her at the bar. Of course. She's talking to some guy. He's good-looking. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. I make my way over to them.
"Hey, Thals." She turns at the sound of my voice. When she sees my face, she gives me a full-toothed grin.
"Annie!" She gets up from her seat, giving me a huge bear hug.
When she lets go, I ask who the man is that she was talking to.
"Oh, this is Luke. Luke this is my best friend, Annabeth." She seems giddy, and not just from the alcohol. I think she truly likes this guy.
"So, this is Annabeth. Thalia's already told me a couple embarrassing stories about you." He grins, showing off his white teeth.
I shrug my shoulders. "I expect as much from Thalia."
I peg Luke as a genuinely nice guy. I think he could be good for Thalia. I smile conspiratorially at her. She gets the hint and rolls her eyes at me.
I'm about to leave and give them their alone time when I hear a voice shout towards me.
"Hey guys! Come meet my date!" I instantly know it's Conner. Thalia tells Luke that she'll be right back. Her and I walk over towards Conner and the pretty girl he has his arm wrapped around.
Before I can even get a word out, Thalia starts to do her thing. "Oh, you poor thing."
"What is that supposed to mean?" The girl says pompously , in a nasally voice that reminds me so much of Gina's.
"Okay, girls. Calm down." I look at Conner's date, "I'm so sorry she's had a few drinks." I point my thumb in Thalia's direction as I say this.
She doesn't seem like the type to forgive easily. She brushes off Conner's arm from around her shoulders and gets up from her chair, walking off to who knows where.
"Save yourself while you still can." Thalia mutters, as the girl walks by. I smack her on the arm.
"Manners!" I scold.
Conner groans. "Thalia! I told you to stop saying that to my dates!"
Thalia looks affronted. "Well excuse me, for speaking on behalf of every woman that you've ever slept with." She walks back over to the bar, resuming her earlier position with Luke. That girl has such poor social skills.
Conner gets up from his seat to follow the girl, yelling "Wait Up!"
A few hours later, and I'm sitting at the bar, drinking a margarita. I'm very close to being full on drunk. It's probably about one in the morning. I've been having way too much fun to even think about leaving anytime soon.
I've danced so much with my friends that my feet literally started to bleed. I have so many blisters. I needed to sit down.
"Hey, Beautiful." Someone whispers in my ear. I shiver runs down my spine as I realize that it's not someone I know. I turn around to put a face the voice.
It's a well-groomed man. Maybe in his early twenties. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He's nice-looking, I'll give him that. But, he makes it so obvious that he's rich. The Rolex on his wrist, the fancy shoes on his feet, and the super-pompous looking navy suit that he has on.
I smile at him. I hate being mean to people, so I'm just going to go along with whatever this guy has to say.
"Would you like to dance?" He points over his shoulder to the dance floor.
"Oh, um….no thanks, I-"
He cuts me off. "Come on, a chance to dance with me," He points to himself, "and you won't take me up on my offer?" Wow, arrogance nested itself in this guy.
"Look, I'm just not up for it right now." I say, searching for a way to get out of this.
"Trust me, you won't regret it." He grabs my hand and pulls me off my stool, starting to drag me towards the dance floor.
My feet throb in refusal. I immediately try and get my hand from his grasp. "Let me go, I don't want to dance with you."
A new voice interrupts my panic. "What the hell man, just leave her alone." It's Percy. A small smile slips onto my face, and I have no idea why.
Percy grabs my waist and yanks my hand free from the guy, who's name I don't even know.
He sizes Percy up and realizing their size difference, I think he accepts defeat. He puts his hands up in the universal sign of surrender, and silently walks away.
I look over towards Percy. He's staring off in the direction that the guy just walked off to, eyebrows scrunched together and lips set in a firm line.
"You look cute when you're upset." I giggle at his confused expression.
"I think you're a little drunk. But that's okay, because I'm wasted too." I laugh loudly at that comment. "You want to dance?" He asks. And suddenly, my blister and foot aches disappear, and my mind is already screaming at me to answer yes.
And so we dance together for a good half-an-hour. Way too provocatively for a boss/assistant relationship, might I add. I find out that Percy is a really good dancer.
We situate ourselves back at the bar, drinks in hand. We talk for what seems like hours.
"You look gorgeous." His eyes roam up and down my body. He has his head in his hand, elbow on the bar. My face heats up at his comment. "You don't look too bad yourself." And it's true, he looks extremely handsome tonight.
He starts to lean in closer to me. "I really wish you weren't my assistant right now."
"Why?" I whisper, my head leaning closer of its own accord. We were centimeters apart, until Thalia's voice interrupts us. We jump apart at the sound of it.
"You know what I think?" Oh god… "I think you guys should just have sex already. Too much sexual tension between you two, for my liking." She finishes off. I can tell she's drunk off her ass by the way she's slurring her words.
Both me and Percy blush at her accusation.
"Alright Thals I think it's time for me and you to go home." I tell her. My sensible side starts to make an appearance, even while I'm drunk.
"No, no! Luke offered to take me home. Besides you have something to finish that I just interrupted. And I'm sure Percy can take you home." She gives me a wink and heads off to Luke.
"You want to leave? We can go back to my place?" He looks over at me with a huge grin on his face.
"Sure!" I shout, without thinking before I spoke. He takes my answer as joke, luckily. Even though I was completely serious for a second there.
We say goodbye to everyone and then exit the bar, leaning on each other for support.
Tony pulls up in the limo. I tell him that I like his glasses, and Percy laughs and agrees with me.
We get in the backseat together, and Percy pulls the divider down, so that Tony can't see us anymore.
"I am so going to regret this in the morning." He says, and before I know it, his lips are on mine.
It's hot and passionate. My mind starts to go fuzzy. I can't think of anything but Percy and his lips.
Does he have to be this good of a kisser? Our tongues battle for dominance.
"Do you want to come in?" He asks, between kisses.
"Yes." And that's all I can say, because I craved his mouth on mine again.
Before I know it, I'm pressed up against the wall in his apartment. His lips leave mine, and travel down my neck.
We walk towards his bed, our lips never leaving contact. And next thing I know, I'm lying on my back, Percy on top of me. We weren't stopping anything, anytime soon.
A/N: Holy Shit! :O I even want the next chapter to come out so that I can see what happens next…and I'm the author. (; I don't know if I love or hate this chapter yet. Tell me what you think.