*DISCLAIMER* I DO NOT own The Phantom of the Opera, its storyline, or its characters. Please R&R.
"Come in, Ms. Daae," I heard on the other side of the door. I hesitated as I found the will to raise my hand to the doorknob. What will await me on the other side? An angry Mr. Destler waiting to let me go? I quickly put my thoughts aside and twisted the doorknob to let myself into Mr. Destler's office. He was sitting at his desk doing some computer work, a serious look plastered on his face. "Um, you wanted to see me, sir?" He pulled his concentration away from his computer to focus on me. "Ms. Daae, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable," he said as he motioned with his hand for me to take a seat. I quickly looked at his hand and took note of how strong his hands were, as though he worked with them a lot. I felt slight butterflies settle in the pit of my stomach as I made my way to the chair he had just pointed out for me. I took a seat and looked up at Mr. Destler, awaiting his next words.
Mr. Destler took a minute to finish whatever it was that he was doing and picked up the phone on his desk. He quickly dialed some numbers and held the phone up to his ear, waiting for a response from the other end. "Stacey, do me a favor and cancel anything I have set up for today. I am clearing my schedule… oh and please see that you take care of any of Christine's duties as well." As soon as he was finished instructing Stacey on what to do, he quickly hung up the phone and replaced it onto the holder. Looking up at me he quickly stated, "Ms. Daae, how are you doing today?" Oh, my god. He's asking me how I am doing because he wants to dissipate any tension in the room rather than just getting to the point and firing me. "I am doing alright. Um, and you Mr Destler? How are you," I asked. "I am doing okay, Ms. Daae. Thank you for asking." He got up from his seat at his desk and made his way over to two arm chairs located in front of a fireplace. "Ms. Daae, would you like to come take a seat in front of the fireplace?"
After taking a seat on one of the armchairs, I directed my attention back over to Mr. Destler once again. "Ms. Daae, I am sure you are asking yourself why I have called in here." I nodded my head in affirmation. "Well, Ms. Daae. I haven't had a personal assistant, other than Sorelli of course and it occurs to me that the reason for mine and Sorelli's work relationship being so strong was that I knew her at a much better level over the years and have come to being able to work well as partners," he resumed saying. I nodded in an attempt to show him that I was paying attention and understood everything that he was saying. "Well, Ms. Daae. It occurs to me that if we are to be working with each other for a while we shall have to get relatively acquainted. Why don't you tell me about yourself, Ms. Daae." I gave him a quick understanding nod. "Well, Mr. Destler. I would like to make a request then, if I may." Mr. Destler gave me an inquisitive look. If I hadn't known any better, I would assume that no one has ever before dared to request anything of Mr. Destler. I gulped as he studied me for a minute or two. "What is it that you request, Ms. Daae," he asked as he sat further back into his chair. If I had known any better, I would say he seemed amused by my demand for a request. "Um, that's it, sir. If we must familiarize ourselves with each other, I would rather you call me Christine."
Mr. Destler let out a little chuckle, the most melodious chuckle I had ever heard to be exact. No, that's a lie… it is the SEXIEST chuckle I have ever heard! I quickly snapped from my promiscuous thoughts and waited for a response from Mr. Deslter. It seemed like I had waited, and waited… and waited for hours for a response. "Alright, Christine… but if you shall request that I do so then I shall request for you to call me Erik," he stated. I nodded quickly in agreement. "That sounds fair to me… Erik." "Perfect, then now you are free to tell me about yourself." I shuffled around in my seat for a quick second. "Um, where should I start," I asked hesitantly. "From wherever you feel most comfortable, Christine."
"Well, I was born in Madison, Wisconsin. My mom, Maria Isabel Castillo was a famous Latin dancer from Monterrey and my dad, Henry Gustave Daae is an Anesthesiologist. My mom and dad met while my dad was vacationing in Acapulco, she was a dancer in one of the resorts headlining shows and he instantly fell in love with her. They were both madly in love and by the time my dad had to come back, he asked her to come with him and she did." I smiled as I remembered the story of my mom and dad, it was their favorite story to tell and we would hear it at every family gathering of ours. "They settled in Nevada where my dad was living at the time and quickly moved to Wisconsin when my dad got accepted into medical school. My mom found out that she was pregnant with my older brother, Bradley shortly after. She quickly decided to give up on her dream of dancing and singing so that my dad could continue medical school and she could raise Bradley. Bradley was about one year old when my mom found out she was pregnant with me. I was born a little bit after," I continued. I quickly looked up at Erik to make sure he wasn't bored of me yet and noticed him listening attentively, as if he really cared. This made me incredibly happy, Raul, my ex-boyfriend never took an interest in my life and the way I grew up. It felt nice to know that there are still men out there who actually care.
"My family and I moved to New York shortly after my dad was given a residency spot at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. I practically grew up in New York, my mom's family relocated to New York from Mexico so that made things much easier for my mom. My mom was my biggest role model growing up, she taught me everything she knew about dancing and singing. My mom made sure to teach us Spanish and keep in touch with our Mexican culture." I looked up again to see if Erik was still paying attention to me, and to my surprise… he was nothing less than attentive. He was considerate and made sure to assure me that he was indeed paying attention… that he cared.
"As the years went on, I did very well in school. I was on the dance team, played some soccer, and participated in many other extracurricular activities. I graduated from high school with high honors and made it into my dream school, NYU. Everything in my life had been going extremely well, I was only one year away from graduating college. I even scored the internship of my dreams with the help of Professor Derwin. Everything was looking up for the first time in a while… until about 2 months ago, when my mom passed away," I finished with tears threatening to shed from my eyes. I WILL NOT cry, I promised myself that I would be strong and I WILL. "I am very sorry to hear that, Christine." Erik's words snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Erik." I shifted in my seat and sat up a little before continuing. "Before my mom passed away, she made me promise that I would finish off my last year of college and take the internship. I promised her that I would remain strong and finish everything for her, and that is what I came here to do. I promise to be my best for her, and for you."
Erik had been listening attentively throughout Christine's life story. He admired her for courage, for being here when he knew that all she probably wanted was to wallow in grief for her mother. God knows that he wanted to do that himself when both of his parents passed away in the house fire many years he hated to admit it, he was beginning to like her. Like not LIKE like. He grew aware of himself starting to feel as though he was connecting with her on some sort of level. They both had grown up similarly to each other, having somewhat of a happy childhood and they had both lost people who were very close to them. Erik was starting to see that they were somewhat alike. No, no. Impossible. She doesn't have to deal with a monstrosity such as the one on my face, one that reminds her of what she lost EVERY SINGLE GODFORSAKEN DAY. We are NOT alike.
He looked up to find Christine inspecting him, in an effort to see what he was thinking after revealing who she was. "Thank you, Christine. I thank you for being able to tell your story. I feel as though I have gotten to know you better although it was only bits and pieces of your life." He sat back and continued, "I can assure you that you being here today and fulfilling your promises is surely to be pleasing your mother very much as we speak." "Thank you, Erik." He looked towards her and noticed that she was looking at him expectantly. Right, she's expecting me to follow up with my own story. She told me hers so now I must tell her mine. Was that not our deal? Erik sat up and tried to relax himself. He continued to start telling Christine about himself.
"I grew up my whole life, in New York. My father and mother met while attending Baruch College. My father, Benjamin Elias Destler was attending the school of Public Affairs. My mother, Seda Gizem Özdemir was attending the school of Business. My father made use of his degree by becoming the Public Relations Officer for the Governor of New York and my mother made use of her business degree by becoming the accountant of a couple of organizations in New York. Together they became very successful and brought a beautiful home in Clarence, New York and had me shortly after. My father and mother both loved teaching me new things and they made sure that I was able to learn at least one new thing everyday. I grew up learning many new things and gaining knowledge that not many kids my age knew. When I was about 7 years old, my mother and father had my little brother; Aslan Benjamin Devrim Destler." Erik looked towards Christine to find her listening attentively. She made sure to keep eye contact at all times in an effort to show that she was genuinely interested in what he had to say. Something that Erik had yet to experience… someone genuinely interested in him and his life.
"For the next 5 years, my brother and I grew up learning about anything and everything we could possibly do. We both became very skilled in various musical instruments, and even came so far as to learning and being able to compose our own music. I may have been smart, but Aslan, no… Aslan was a genius," he continued as he shuffled slightly in his seat. "A couple of months after I turned 13 I lost all reason for my being… my father, being the public relations officer for the governor was an easily targeted man. He had no idea that he and the governor were both being targeted. One night as my family and I were peacefully sleeping when I woke up to the smell of smoke. By the time I could try to make an exit out of my home, my bed was surrounded by flames. I could hear the sound of my mother screaming for my father to awake as I passed out from all of the smoke in my room, landing somewhat in the fire."
Christine was listening attentively and even came as far as resting her hand on Erik's leg in an attempt to comfort him. Erik couldn't help himself and reflexively became as solid as a rock. He didn't take well to pity and certainly never asked for it, but something in him believed that it would be best for him to just let her try to comfort him. Erik gave her a reassuring look before continuing. "I awoke to find myself in the hospital after thinking that it was some sort of nightmare, only to find myself waking into a completely different nightmare. The doctor told me that my whole family was killed in the fire and I had been the only one to survive." He paused a moment and thought. Should I tell her everything? NO! Of course not! She's not special, she's no different from Sorelli, if she didn't know the story to the full extent, then this girl surely doesn't deserve it. No, I will tell her only the brief version… after all by June of next year who's to even say that I will leave her in the position of my personal assistant.
"Once I was released from the hospital I was put in the custody of my godparents, my aunt Beyza and her husband Farhad. I grew up the rest of my years alongside my cousin Nadir. Although my aunt and uncle gave me a great childhood, no one would ever be able to fill the void of my parents and little brother. I went through high school hiding in the crowds and managing to achieve academic excellence, graduating from high school Summa Cum Laude. I proceeded to travel the world and learn new things from both of my parents' home countries and more. After travelling the world, I attended New York University and studied under professor Derwin myself. He once told me I was the most promising student he had ever had the honor of teaching. Fast forward to today and I am now the owner, founder, and CEO of Destler LLC. Professor Derwin got a hold of me during the beginning of the summer and told me all about his star student, Christine Daae who just was the absolute perfect match for the position of my personal assistant. Well, here we are today so you of course know how persuading he was in referencing you for the job."
Christine let out a giggle or two and the sound left Erik taken aback… how he loved that sound and longed to hear it again. Stop it, Erik! You can't think like that! She is your assistant! You should NEVER mix work and feelings. NEVER. With that Erik cleared his throat and looked towards Christine. "Professor Derwin sure is quite the charmer, isn't he Erik," she asked with a small grin on her lips. "Now that he is," stated Erik in agreement.
They chatted for what seemed like hours and hours, neither of them noticing the time that was flying by. Christine had forgotten, if only for a couple of hours, that her mother had passed away and she was just barely scraping by all while taking care of her baby sister. Erik had forgotten, if only for a couple of hours as well, that he had lived such a tragic childhood and hid from the rest of the cruelties of the world behind his mask. Although they didn't notice it at the time, the two had opened the doors for an adventurous relation that was only just beginning.
A knock was heard at Erik's door before it quickly opened and Nadir stepped in followed by his assistant, Meg Giry who were both laughing out loud clearly caught up in their conversation. That is, until they laid their eyes on the couple before them. "Erik! Kuzenim! Did you forget about our plans for lunch," asked Nadir before quickly realizing that he had clearly interrupted something. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something," asked Nadir with a devilish grin on his face.