Good afternoon, guys! :) I'm so happy you liked the first chapter. I worked on it for a few days and I wasn't really happy with the result, but your reviews encouraged me to write the second chapter and it turned out more interesting than I anticipated. That's just my opinion, though. English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for my mistakes in advance. Let me know your opinions about this second part.

Guest #1: Thank you so much. I think this chapter is even more interesting, so I hope you like it.

MJ: It seems unlikely my English is better than yours. Anyway, you made my day. :)

Sheirome: Thanks! It's nice to see someone that liked my previous stories starting to read the new one. Although improving them will be complicated, I'll do my best. ;)

Frexijesse: Thank you! ;) I didn't think I would update the story so soon, but I couldn't stop writing. I hope you like this one more than the previous one. :)

Thank you so much for everything. :) Enjoy! :D

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

: Chapter 2 – Stay Positive:

Trying to get the luggage from the airport's conveyor isn't an easy task. Exhaustion and the heavy weight of its contents are not really helping. A young guy waiting next to me helps me and I thank him for being so nice. Before leaving the airport, I head to the restroom. That is something my mom taught me when I was a child. 'Go to the restroom before leaving home or getting into a train or bus even if you don't feel like it.' At that moment, my young mind didn't realize of the importance of my mom's advice, but now that I'm an adult, I follow her rules wherever I go. I was thinking about getting a bus to go to Spencer's, and then maybe the subway but I don't think my tiredness will allow me to do so. Instead, I decide to take a cab. It's more comfortable. I just need to show the driver the paper where I wrote Spencer's address and I don't need to think about anything else. I'm already thinking about sleeping in a bed or sofa or whatever Spencer arranged. I just need to lay down somewhere slightly comfortable, close my eyes and sleep. Just sleep, I don't want to think about anything or anyone in particular. Once I get to the arrival place at the airport I hear my name. 'What the hell? Am I dreaming already?' I raise my head and I see Hanna jumping like a little child carrying a banner that says 'Welcome back home, Em!'. Spencer is standing next to the blonde girl, shaking her head and trying to stop the blonde one. I know Spence and I realize that attitude is way too embarrassing for her. I smile at them and suddenly Hanna leaves the banner on the floor and runs towards me with her arms wide open. I hug her tightly.

"I didn't go to war, you know," I joke. I didn't expect them to be here for me. I told Spencer I would go to her place and that she didn't need to come here. It's late in the night and I know she wakes up really early to go to work. However, she's Spencer, so this doesn't surprise me at all and it was worth it.

"I'm so glad you're here, Em. And you're staying in the city with us, it's not just a visit." Hanna keeps jumping and talking really loud. People are staring at us. I don't care about that, because I'm really happy to see them. Spencer, on the other hand, is trying to stop her by putting her hand on her shoulders and repeating the words 'Stop already!' The scene I'm witnessing right now is way too funny. I really missed them. Even if I'm exhausted, this is oddly giving me strength. "Now we only need to convince Aria to move here." They've been living here for a few years now, but Aria and I decided to stay at our hometown. We both had good jobs and our respective couples. She's still dating Ezra and I guess she won't be moving anywhere, she has everything she needs there. I, on the contrary, only have my family there, and now my job and two of my best friends are right here.

"I'm so happy you're finally here. I was really worried," Spencer adds as she hugs me.

"I'm glad to be here too. I missed you so much." A little grin makes an appearance on her face. "Now, can we please leave? My brain won't be operational in a few minutes."

Hanna smiles at me and gets my luggage. Once I'm inside the car, it feels like home. My two best friends are the only thing I need right now. I close my eyes and I can't help but fall asleep.

"Wake up, Em." Those words coming out of Spencer's mouth wake me up. I open my eyes and I see a smiley Spencer. I make my way out of the car and follow my friend. I guess Hanna left and is at her apartment by now, because she's not here anymore. When she opens the door of her place I am astounded. It's not really big, but it's the prettiest apartment I've seen in my life. The simple but elegant decoration, the soft colors of the walls and the wooden floor make me fall in love.

"This is awesome, Spence!" I say, still with my eyes fixated on every detail.

"Thank you. It's really nice to hear a compliment about your apartment if it comes from an architect."

"My work has nothing to do with it. I love it."

She shows me the whole apartment, 'my room' included. It's not a huge apartment, but it's cozier than I've ever been. Even if it's night, I know that this must be a light-filled apartment, and I love those. People underestimate bright places, but it's one of the reasons why people are happier when they're inside a confined space. Light is really important in our lives.

"I guess you're really tired, so we'll talk tomorrow, okay? Good night."

"Night, Spencer. And thank you for everything." She winks at me and leaves my new bedroom. She looked tired too. She had too many hours working non-stop and then she went to pick me up at the airport, so she must be really tired too.

I look at the bedroom and everything is so organized and clean. This is so Spencer. She even left me a few clean towels, some chocolates, the newspaper and a bottle of water. And it smells great. She is so thoughtful and nice. This is like being in a hotel. I couldn't have a better friend. I put on my pajamas and get inside the bed. I close my eyes and I fall sleep. But before my mind goes blank, a woman is the last image that comes to mind, a really beautiful woman, indeed.

After sleeping for ten hours straight, I wake up and head the kitchen. Spencer already left, but I find a note she left for me on the table. "You can have anything you want for breakfast. Look at the cabinets and the fridge, you've got everything you'll need. I bought your favorite cereals too. I'll call you later. Have a nice day. Spence." I can't help but smile, she's got everything figured out. I turn on the TV and eat the cereals she bought for me while I watch the news. Today will be a calm day. I'm thinking about going out for a run, have a shower, do the laundry and then go visit Hanna and have lunch at the diner she works at. Besides, it turns out the diner is just a block away from the offices I'll be working at from tomorrow on, so I think it's a good idea getting to know the area. Once I've had breakfast and I'm ready to leave the apartment, I hear my cell vibrating. I look at the screen and of course it's Spencer asking if I'm okay. She also wants to meet with me for lunch at Hanna's workplace. It's like she has a mind reading gift, 'cause that's what I was thinking about doing. I text her back, I couldn't think of a better plan. So we'll be meeting there at 12:30. I have a few hours to do everything that I had planned. First thing, a run to activate the body, it's the energy boost I need right now.

….

At 12:28 I enter the diner and look everywhere looking for a familiar face. Spencer is already sitting on a table, looking at her cellphone. I didn't expect less from her, she's always been punctual. Hanna waves at me as she serves lunch to a couple that's sitting next to Spencer's table. I smile at her and wave back. I know she won't be joining us, but we will have plenty time for that now that my stay here is permanent.

Before coming here, I left Spencer's place and I passed by the building where I'll be working for at least 6 months. I approached the entrance of the building, looked inside and it looked great. At least the hall looked good, I don't know about the offices that are supposed to be on the 25th floor, but I'm pretty sure that place will look just like the entrance. It's one of the best architectural firms in the city, and I guess the company's image plays a major role in this case.

….

"Hi!" I add cheerfully.

"You're in a good mood. How was your morning?" Spencer politely asks.

"It was great. Thanks for asking and thank you so much for the cereals and everything." She shakes her head, like she's denying that is a reason to be grateful for. She loves doing that kind of things and I'm sure she's feeling better than I am because of that. She has always loved being a generous person. I take a seat and she puts her cell inside the purse. "I was surprised that you had time to have lunch," I admit. I know she has really hectic schedules at the hospital.

"I'm a neurosurgeon, but I have a life outside the hospital, you know? Besides, I don't have to go back because my shift started at 4 AM, so we can do something afterwards." Her eyes lit up, even if she didn't have too much to sleep tonight and had to wake up really early, I can see that she's in the mood to hang with me, and that's great.

"Hi, ladies. Can I help you with anything?" Hanna interrupts us, ready to take our order.

"Hi, Hanna. We're hungry, right, Spence?" I say, teasing her.

I order a sandwich and Spencer asks for a salad. Hanna leaves and we continue our conversation. We have so much to talk about.

"So… I don't know where to start, Em." Her gaze and smile make me laugh.

"You're my friend, you can ask anything," I tease her.

Her teasing face disappears and I realize she's going to ask me about the only thing I don't want to talk about.

"What happened? I mean… You were so happy last time I saw you with her. You seemed so in love… When you told me that it was over that was a great shock. I didn't see that coming."

I sigh before trying to answer her awkward question. "I am really happy right now, so can we please leave this conversation for another moment? I don't feel like talking about that, okay? I just need to move on, that's the past." I try to hide my disappointment.

"It's okay, Em. I just want you to know that I'm here whenever you're ready to talk about it. I'm just happy you're in a better shape right now." I nod at her and give her a sincere smile. Hanna comes with our food and interrupts us again. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm hungrier than ever.

"Thank you so much," we both say in unison before Hanna leaves again. The diner is packed and she's running all over the place, trying to get as much orders as she can. I can see she's really good at her job. She's charming, hard-working and has that smile that never fades away from her face. We start eating, but the conversation goes on.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Well, yeah I am. I mean, it's a great opportunity and I want to give a good impression. But, new people, new job, new bosses… It's a little bit scary," I admit.

"I'm pretty sure they will love you. And I know that you're a hard-working, nice and intelligent woman, so they will also see that."

"Thanks, Spence. I hope everything goes well." I grab another bite of the delicious sandwich. "Anyway, we won't be talking about me all day. How about you? How is work?"

"It's exhausting, but gratifying at the same time. I work a lot of hours, but I love it, so I really can't complain." Every time I've seen her speaking about her career, her eyes lit up, and that's a good thing. Not everybody loves her profession so much.

She starts speaking about her cases today in the hospital. Her passion when she speaks about nerves, brains and spinal fluid is actually funny. She talks about this last case she's been working on for about 15 minutes, giving me enough time to finish the sandwich while I nod at her comments. She already finished eating her salad so she's practically giving me a lecture about medical procedures. She's lucky I can have lunch while speaking about blood and organs, because most of people aren't. When I finish the sandwich, Hanna approaches with three huge ice creams and a sandwich and leaves them on the table.

"My shift is finally over, girls. I'll be joining you two in five minutes. Yay!"

"Hanna! We didn't order these…" Spencer starts saying, but Hanna winks at her and gets into the kitchen. They look delicious, so I won't complain about it.

"Is there someone new in your life?" I ask teasingly. A shy smile makes an appearance and I suppose that means she met somebody.

"Well… It's new, but I met a really nice boy one month ago. It's not anything serious yet, but I'm really happy." Her cheeks are getting really red.

"That's great, Spence. I hope we can meet him soon."

"And what about you?" she asks, eager to know if there's something interesting happening on my love life.

Suddenly, Hanna gets a spare chair and sits next to me. "What are you talking about?" She tastes the sandwich she brought a few minutes ago, but she looks at me with an obvious interest on the conversation.

"We're talking about Emily's love life," Spencer teases me, knowing that Hanna will start with her question-bombing.

"Did you meet a girl? When you were on vacation? Where is she from? Are we going to meet her? Tell us more." Spencer starts laughing while she looks at me. I knew this would happen. It's impressive how Hanna gets to gather so much information on her mind in just a few seconds. 'Damn you, Spencer!'

"Nothing happened, girls. I don't have that in mind yet," I lie, evading their looks and looking anywhere but their eyes. I mean, I didn't think about that before yesterday, but she activated something inside me that I didn't think was possible yet. I'm still healing. How is possible she got to do that even if I don't really know her? This sucks.

"You obviously are lying. There's something you're hiding, right?" Spencer adds, getting me nervous and making Hanna open her eyes widely.

"No, I'm not. It's just… It's nothing," I finally say, avoiding the subject. I can't lie to them, it's something that I've tried since we've been friends, but I always failed. Their gaze has an effect on me that makes me say what really is going on my mind.

"That's bullshit, Em. Spit it out already," Hanna insists, grinning at me and anxious to know more about the girl I'm trying to forget about.

"It's really nothing, girls. I just bumped into a really pretty woman in the airport and that's all. But she didn't seem interested and was kind of bad-mannered. That's everything that happened in these three months. I didn't go on vacation to flirt with strangers, I just needed some space. End of the story."

"She was bad-mannered but you liked her. How's that even possible?" Spencer is a little bit astonished at my confession. She's right, though. It doesn't make any sense at all.

"I guess she was incredibly hot. Emily would like to get into her pants. That's what your friend is trying to say, Spence. I thought you were the intelligent one," she teases Spencer, nudging her jokingly. Spencer can't help to laugh.

"She had something. I don't know how to explain it. It was the first time in my life I've felt that kind of attraction towards someone. It was weird." Both of them stop eating ice cream and are paying attention at my words. "It doesn't matter anyways. I won't see that person again and even if I did nothing would happen, so… you can forget about that."

"You don't know that, Em. It's a small world." Hanna has always been the most positive person I've ever known.

"Based on statistics, that's practically impossible. Even if they shared a plane, that doesn't mean she lives in the city. Maybe she was just here to get transferred to another flight and she actually is living in Hawaii," Spencer adds, making Hanna frown.

"You're such a party pooper," Hanna says still frowning at Spencer. I know Spencer is right, and I shouldn't give a shit, but her beautiful face won't go away from my mind. I suppose time heals everything.

….

I take a deep breath and get inside the building. A man asks where I'm going and I show her my ID. I guess this is a security checkup, but it makes me feel like I'm a VIP. I enter the modern elevator and push the 25th floor button. My heart is racing. A new job always makes me really nervous, because I don't know what to expect from it and uncertainty gets me on my nerves. When the elevator doors open, an older but attractive man is waiting to greet me.

"Good morning, Ms. Fields. The superintendent called, so I knew you were already here." He looks at his watch. "I like punctuality." He smiles at me. "My name is Kevin and I'm going to show you the premises. Then I'd like you to meet the team you'll be working with. Follow me, please." He is wearing a nice suit and he looks very professional. The offices are more elegant that I imagined. I notice all eyes are on me, and that makes me even more nervous. I walk behind him, trying to follow his pace. He shows me where the kitchen, the restroom, the break room and the main offices are. The place is huge, so he's only showing me the most important places. When we get to a black door that's at the end of the corridor, he just stops and turns to look at me.

"This is the company's president office, but he's not here today. He had some meetings to attend to, so I hope you'll get to meet him tomorrow." I don't know why, but that door scares me, and I prefer if I don't have to get in there any time soon. Kevin keeps talking while I keep thinking about that creepy door. "So… I don't know the working methods you used on your previous job, but here we have a teamwork philosophy. We kind of realized that is the best way to successfully implement the architectural projects. Is that okay with you?"

I nod at him. "Of course that's okay. I don't mind working with other people."

"Fantastic." He flashes a perfect smile at me. "Would you like a coffee? There's someone I want you to meet and she isn't here yet. A cup of coffee always helps in this cases, don't you think?" I smile at him. "You'll be working with her on this new project that we started last week, meaning you'll be like twins." His jokes are starting to annoy me, but I have to fake the smile in order to make a good impression.

"Okay," I say briefly.

He takes his cellphone from his pocket and makes a call. "Tiffany, could you please tell her to come to the break room when she gets here?" He is listening carefully to the person he's talking to and keeps nodding. "Great. We're waiting right here. Thank you so much." He ends the call and fills two cups of coffee before putting them on the table. "She's on her way," he adds, looking at me. I nod and take a sip of the caffeine that I need so much right now. I keep looking at the glass door, waiting anxiously for that woman to show up while Kevin keeps talking about the company's philosophy and other matters regarding the fascinating projects they're involved in. When I see her walking towards us my heart stops pounding. This can't be happening. Am I so obsessed with than woman that I keep seeing her even if she's not really here? She's like a ghost for me.

"Good morning, Paige. I was just telling Emily about the apartment skyscraper that you two will be working on." She stops in front of me and holds out her hand, but doesn't say a word. I realize she noticed too.

"No shit!" Those are the words that come out from my mouth. Kevin just looks at me open-mouthed. Paige doesn't perturb not even a little bit, she's definitely an ice queen. A really sexy ice queen.

To be continued…