I watch Johnny going to sit in his chair with a deep grunt, laying his head back. I look around and see a towel laying on a shelf. I take it and I went to the toilets. He lifts his head up to look after me since I did not close the door behind me. He let out an annoyed growl. Penny came to his office. He sees her and lays his head back again.

"You look miserable."
"I had one too many last night."
"Not the first time. Why did you had to fight with him?"
"Pen, with what he did to you."
"Johnny, you're only making it worse. You nearly killed him, please stop with this shit, okay?"

He sees her face, on that moment I came back, he let out a deep sigh. Penny looks at me and starts to smile.

"Good morning, Baby, I see you've decided to take the job."

I turn my head to her as I went to him. He sees me coming.

"Good morning, Penny, you had a good night?"
"I had fun, until that there couldn't handle himself anymore."

I became curious and look at Johnny, he takes his sunglasses off to look at me. Penny is watching us. I look at her again.

"He has been in a fight, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, about something that happened five years ago."
"Pen…"

He could not say what he wanted to say to protest, because I laid the cold and wet towel on his face. Penny starts to laugh about the reaction.

"Yes, you need to cool it, then it will be over in no time, and it's better if you don't say anything at all. Not my business, you know."
"I really like you, Baby, good job."

I look at her and wink, she chuckles and turns. Leaving the door open of course, as she walks to her own office. I look at him again as he takes the towel from his face, I see his expression. This is his frustrated expression. I have seen it yesterday as well. I give him a smile and take the towel again. He watches me folding it and putting it on his eye again. He wants to protest, and I grab his hand when he wants to take it away again.

"I don't need this."
"You do, believe me, it helps."
"Don't you need to start working?"
"Well, first of, I'm assisting you already, and second, you got to tell me about what I need to do, I'm unexperienced, remember?"
"Yeah, I do, just like you said that you're experienced in something else."

I see his good eye going to my chest. I lay my hands on my hips.

"Stop flirting and tell me what I need to do."
"You need to book the lessons, make appointments when we get new customers who want to have lessons. You need to help me with the introduction at those appointments. You pick up the phone, and keep track of my agenda, because I do have demonstrations to give on a regular base."
"Why do you do these demonstrations?"

I went to my desk, and he looks at me. I sit down and look back at him as I wait for him to answer my question.

"Well, lately business isn't going so well, people don't seem that interested in dancing anymore, then I mean ballroom dancing. So, my father told me to do something about it, and Pen came with the idea to go to companies who want to book us, to give demonstrations, so that we might get more customers."

I listen to him, and I think that is a great idea.

"And how can people book you? And I think you do this together with Penny."
"Yeah, we always dance together."

I give him a nod only while I smile. I can see he is passionate about the dancing. I can see he does love his job.

"Normally mouth to mouth commercial."
"Ever thought about marketing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Hang up posters, go to other events to network, make business cards."
"I don't know, I'm not great at events, neither at networking."

I watch him, he shrugs a little. I can see he does not like this part of the job, but maybe it is because he does not really know how to.

"I think you can learn, it's not hard."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been networking a lot for my father, for his charity events, it's how I got to Penny and to get her to do that dance presentation at one of my father's events."

I see him looking towards Penny's office while he is thinking. He looks back at me, I can see he is intrigued.

"If you want, I can help you with that."
"With marketing?"
"That too."
"With what else?"
"With teaching you how to network."
"I don't know, Baby, I'm not good in socializing."
"It's really not that hard, you go to someone, introduce yourself, tell something interesting about yourself, then ask about what they do, and get their business card."

He inhales deeply and takes the towel away. I see him looking down.

"I'm useless, and not good at this job, but it's what dad wants to see me doing, so I can proof myself before I'll be taking over the company."
"You can become good at this."
"I can't, Baby."

He stands up. I see the tension in his body. I see the angry expression, the angry glint in his eyes, and I think that anger is addressed more at himself than at me or anyone else. He turns to the window to look outside.

"Boss?"
"Baby, what are you doing here? I'm not a good boss, I will screw up, and you're too young to do this job, you should enjoy your summer before you go to college."
"You sound just like my father."

He turns to look at me, my smile is gone, I do not care if he wants to talk so negative about himself, though I do think he should stop doing that, but I do care when he tries to tell me what I should do with my life. Yes, I know, he is my boss, but he is not my father, and besides, he cannot be that much older as I am.

"Look, I don't want to hear what I need to do with my life, okay? I've heard nothing else for like my whole life, and for once I want to do what I want and I think this job is a great opportunity for me."
"Baby…"
"Yes, you will screw up, but you know what? I will screw up as well, I will make mistakes, and I need you to tell me when I do that, so I can correct my mistakes. I want to learn, okay? And it would be good for you to at least try to learn too."

I went to the doorway. The door is still standing open.

"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get some coffee."
"We don't have a canteen here."
"I figured, but there's a Starbucks across the street, you want some coffee too?"

He nods.

"Black."

I only nod and turn. I see Penny standing at the door to her office, she sees us, and I see her frown.

"You want coffee too?"
"Yes, cappuccino is fine."
"Okay, be right back."
"Thanks, Baby."

I went down the stairs this time, it is more to let out my frustrations by having that little exercise, this summer is going to be a very long one, that is something I am very sure of. Penny watches me going down the stairs, then she looks up and sees him sitting down again, with his head on his arms that lay on his desk. She went inside his office, but he did not look up. She knows he wants to cry, but he will never do that where people can see him.

"It will be fine."
"No, Pen, it won't be fine, it's never going to be fine."
"Johnny, I know you got depressed over what happened with your mother, but you got to think about your own life too."
"I don't care about my own life, it's just, since mom and dad are divorced, dad got so bitter, and no matter what I try, it's never good enough in his eyes."

She kneels next to his chair. He moves a little so he can look at her face.

"I know it's hard, but please try, like Baby said, you should do what you want."
"She doesn't belong here."
"What do you mean?"
"Pen, she has a good heart, I think she's going to be too good for me."
"I think she's exactly what you're going to need. I've seen you trying to flirt with her, she's not buying it."
"I could try though."
"I can see she does feel attracted to you, but what woman doesn't?"
"You."
"Well, we grew up together, you're like a brother to me."

He snorts, she grabs the chair and turns it so he faces her. He keeps looking at her.

"Lately I'm the only one you're listening to, and I see how much Baby wants to help you, please, Johnny, try your best, who knows, maybe something will come of it."
"You think I can do this? I've got no clue about how to run a business."
"But you can learn, your father isn't going to retire just yet."
"I don't know."
"Please, think about it?"

He keeps looking at her face, she looks at his black eye with a sigh, then he nods and grabs her into a hug.

"Shall we dance?"
"Of course, that's why I came here, to get you."

Amanda sees me coming back inside with three coffee cups, she stands up, making me nearly jump away, and dropping the cups. I take a deep breath as I look at her.

"The big boss doesn't allow coffee in the building."
"Really? What's that on your desk?"

I nod my head and she turns her head to see her own coffee cup.

"Okay, you got me. But you know, you could have called me too, I could've get the coffee as well."
"And then wait for it until the end of the day? No, thank you."

I hear her growl as I went to the elevator. I step inside and turn. I see her looking at me and making little eyes. I give her my brightest smile. She growls loudly as the doors close. I chuckle to myself while I shake my head. I know she is trying to be mean to me, but I am not going to let her get to me.

I step out of the elevator and went to the office when I hear music coming from the dance room. I became curious and went to the door. I look inside and my mouth drops. I see Penny and Johnny dancing, not sure what dance they are doing, as I do not know anything about dancing at all, but they are good, really good. They move so fluently, and graciously, it is mesmerizing to watch them. I wonder why they are not able to get more customers.

Well, should I let them dance, or should I disturb them because of the coffee? I will disturb them, otherwise I will be standing here the whole day, watching them, and then no work will be done.

"Here you go."

They stop when I walk inside, Penny smiles as she came to me. I give her the cup and she sips some.

"Perfect, thanks, Baby."
"I'm glad you like it."

Johnny keeps standing there, watching us, we look at him and I smile.

"He's not doing so well lately, then I mean mentally."
"I figured."
"Give him time, okay?"
"I will."

Penny smiles and went to her office. I look at him and smile, he is watching me. I went to him and reached out the cup.

"Here, it will do you good."

He takes it and sips some, then he coughs and opens the cups.

"What is this?"

I look in the cup.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's mine."
"What the hell are you drinking?"

I giggle a little as I take my cup and give him the other one.

"It's my own specialty."
"What do you mean?"
"I got a special coffee at Starbucks, only for me, it's not on the menu, something my father had arranged a few years ago, I was, or still am I think, addicted to coffee, but I only drink it in a certain way, and he had talked to the Starbucks owner and told him about the way I love my coffee."

Johnny is watching me while he is drinking his coffee.

"Anyway, that's how I got my specialty. Not important."

I drink some and turn to go to the office.

"And how does your father know my uncle?"

My eyebrows go up. Wait, what? I turn and see his face. I start to frown about that.

"Your uncle owns Starbucks?"
"Yeah, he does, and he's pretty smug about it too."

I think as I went to the office, he follows me. I sit down at my desk, and he stops at my desk to look at me. I look up at him.

"Is it important for you to know?"
"Not really, but I'm curious."
"My father saved your aunt's life, I think about four years ago."
"Wait…"

He puts his finger in the air. I watch him thinking, he is adorable when he is thinking. I start to smile and he sees my face, he starts to smile as well.

"Your father immediately figured out who my father is, and you need time to think about it."
"Dr. Jake Houseman?"
"There you go."
"Really?"
"Yes."

I see his astonished expression. He is still adorable, really, his astonished expression is more adorable than his frustrated one. Okay, okay, I will stop and be professional.

"Why do you want to work?"
"Because I want to have control over my own life…"

With a very deep sigh I drink my coffee and close my eyes. I love this stuff so much. He is watching my face, still having that smile on his face. I open them and see his face.

"What?"
"There's more, isn't there?"
"My father rather sees me becoming a stay-at-home mom, married to a millionaire, never having to work, never going anywhere than just raising the kids and be at home, drinking wine and be miserable."
"Yeah, that does sound like a terrible life."

I see his smile turning into a teasing grin. I roll my eyes at him and drink some more from my coffee.

"But I understand you, Baby, I really do."
"Let's get to work?"
"Yeah, let's start."
"And please, do me a favor, treat me like your assistant, okay?"
"No worries, I will."