AN: Hey guys, I'm really glad you liked this story, I'm having some fun writing it. I've got an amazing feedback on last chapter, thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the other. Enjoy your reading!
Callie's POV
"This is stupid, isn't it?" I ask Mark as I give myself one last check in the mirror. It's the night of the date. I'm wearing a simple black dress that hits just above my knee. I still can't believe I've gotten myself into this because of business, I just can't.
"Yeah, maybe it is." Mark said as he approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "But you're going to give the guy a night to remember, you look hot, Torres. I'm almost telling you to dump him and go out with me." He says playfully placing a kiss on my cheek.
"Oh shut up, Mark! Don't you have a girlfriend?" I say getting out of his embrace. "I wasn't supposed to look hot, this is not a date it's just... a dinner to talk about business."
"You can lie to yourself as long as you want but... this is a date."
"I can't believe I'm doing this..."
10 minutes later I'm in my living room waiting for my "date", and while we wait, Mark doesn't waste his opportunity to tell me about his new love interest; Lexie Grey, she works at a hospital downtown, and according to him, she's really nice.
"How did you meet her, Mark? I mean, she's not even in our business field." I ask him as I take a sip of my glass of red wine.
"The other day I got into a bar fight-"
"You were in a bar fight?" I couldn't believe my best friend, he's not that kind of man.
"To make a long story short, there was this guy bothering her and I saw she was alone and couldn't do anything so I went to help her. The guy didn't like it and punched me in the face, but the bar owner kicked him out. After that she thanked me and said I needed some stitches and took me to her hospital... then, I asked her out for drinks and she said yes."
"That's a nice story." I said giving him a smile.
We got lost once again in our conversation, talking about everything and anything until I heard the doorbell ring announcing my "date" was here.
"You must be Jackson Avery." I say as I open the door. I can't deny that he was better than I expected, he was tall with caramel colored skin and beautiful green eyes. This dinner may not be as bad as I thought.
"And you must be Calliope Torres." He says with a sincere smile.
"It's Callie, just call me Callie."
"Alright then, Callie." He repeated. "We should get going, dinner reservation is for 8, we don't wanna be late."
"Yes, we don't. Just give me a minute, I'll tell Mark I'm leaving."
It took me a little while to say goodbye to Mark, he wanted to go and check out this Avery guy but I told him not to or he would scare him off.
The ride to the restaurant went smoothly, a little awkward since neither of us were really comfortable because we didn't know each other that well. Actually, we didn't know each other at all.
"So, Callie..." He says as we are already at dinner table. "Are you excited about the merger?"
"Umm, I don't really know. It's going to be good for us because we'll cut some costs and won't spend that much money, but on the other hand we'll also have to cut personnel and it just kinda of messes up with me. I hate firing people, those people are there because they need the job and... I don't know, it doesn't feel fair, you know?" I say in a rush. I'm really glad he decided to talk about work, it will make things a little bit more comfortable.
"Yeah, I understand." He says taking a sip of his white wine. "When my father first told me about it, I thought it was insane. But then he showed me the company graphics and they weren't good, the merger would indeed help. So after a lot of research we agreed to do it."
"At least your father consulted you, asked your opinion before making any decisions. When I first heard of the merger, was when my father came from Miami to meet with your father."
"Well, he's not always like that. To be honest it surprised me that he spoke to me before making this decision." He said with a small laugh. "And I was even more surprised when he told me the conditions he proposed to your dad."
"I know, right? It caught me off guard; I wasn't expecting him to want me to go on a date with his son. Nothing against you, though." I said trying to correct myself.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry he got you into this."
"No, it's okay. I'm having a good time." It seemed like he zoned out for a little bit didn't hear what I was saying… or didn't believe that I had just said that, he seemed a little lost for a moment and it got me worried. "Jackson, is everything okay?"
"Oh, yes." He said straitening himself on the chair. "I'm having a good time too. And you look gorgeous by the way."
I could feel my cheeks blush and now it was my turn to say nothing. Say something, Callie! A little voice screamed in my head. "Thank you, you look nice too."
We spent some more time talking and drinking, the food was amazing. It was a really nice restaurant. There were wooden floors and these big windows that allowed us to see the Seattle skyline in a way I never thought was possible.
Did he try to kiss you already? - M
Mark's text caught me by surprise; I was so distracted that I barely heard when my phone rang.
"I'm sorry." I said as I checked my phone and laughed at my friend's antics. "It's nothing important." I said shoving my phone back into my purse and going back talking about the weather in Seattle. Weird topic for a date, you might say... but it wasn't a date, right?
One hour later I'm in Jackson's car and we're pulling up to the front of my house.
"So I guess this is it, you survived the night." He joked.
"Yeah, I did. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
"Well, I'm glad it wasn't."
"Me too. Thank you, Jackson." I said as I opened the car's door.
"My pleasure." He answered. "Umm, Callie?"
"Yes?"
"I would like to know if... you'd like to come to the Harper's tomorrow? Since we're merging I think you should see what we have and maybe... what we could change. Plus, it'd be a pleasure to see you again."
"Oh... sure, I would love to. Is 8 a good time?" He just nodded. "Okay then, I'll be there at 8." Those were my last words before turning on my heels and walking up to my front door. Tonight wasn't that bad.
When I was about to have my way with Jon Huertas, my alarm went off. I got up and went straight to the bathroom, I hadn't had a nice night of sleep in a while, since this date thing came up I couldn't sleep well... not because I was excited or anxious, but because I couldn't stop thinking about a way to get out of that trap. But as we all know, I couldn't and thank God it wasn't that bad.
After a long hot shower I got my stuff ready to start the day, I have to be at the Harper's Plaza at 8 so I better rush a little.
One hour later I am parking my car in front of a huge, HUGE and beautiful building with the Avery's logo on the top.
Once inside my mouth goes open when I see all of the stuff that they have in there. I'm used to fancy hotels, my family's hotels are five star hotels but this... this is just insane, no doubt why they accepted the merger so fast after checking the graphics.
Before taking the elevator to the last floor – where all the offices are – I send Jackson a quick text to let him know I'm already here.
Once the elevator's doors open I am met with Jackson's piercing green eyes.
"Hey Callie, I'm glad you came." He says giving me a smile.
"I told you I would."
"So, let me show you the hotel then we can come back to the office later so you can tell me what you think?"
"Sure, let's go."
Jackson and I spent some time walking around; he's showing me their best rooms and also the simple ones. Even the simple ones were fancy and full of unnecessary stuff. I know it's a five star hotel but really... this all isn't really necessary.
After showing me around, Jackson takes me back to his office where we sat and talk about the things we could fix or change.
In the middle of our "meeting" someone knocks on the door getting our all attention.
"Come in." Jackson says.
When the doors are opened I am met with a blue eyed blonde girl wearing a perfectly fitted gray suit and beautiful black stiletto heels.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Avery. Traffic wasn't good this morning, couldn't make it early." She says as she takes the seat where I assume she was supposed to.
"No problems." He says giving her a smile and the relief on her face was really noticeable. "Well, Callie... this is my assistant, Arizona Robbins. Arizona, this is Callie Torres from the Santa Elena Palace."
"Nice to meet you." I say simply.
"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Torres." She says politely.
"Oh, please... it's Callie. Since we'll be working together I guess we can forget formality." I say standing up from my chair and offering her my hand so she could shake it. I'm not the kind of person who thinks that because I'm the boss my employees have to treat me with fear or something like that… Respect? Yes, but not too many formalities, starting with my name.
For a unknown reason the blonde seemed a little lost. She keeps her eyes on me but it seems like she's lost inside herself... but at some point she has a click and clears her throat. "Okay, sure... Callie." She says as she shakes my hand.
I stare at her for a moment trying to understand what had happened but I just let it go.
"Callie, you wanna go grab a coffee?" Jackson says breaking the silence.
"Yes, let's go grab a coffee... it's going to be a long day and I'll need it." I say already suffering from the boring and long day I knew I would have. "You wanna come with us, Arizona?" I ask the blonde that now is concentrated on some paperwork.
"No, I'm fine." She says giving me a smile. Dimples, she's got dimples... super cute. "Thanks for asking, though."
"Sure." I say nodding. "So, I'll see you around?"
"See you." Were the last words I heard from her.
Despite of what I thought, the day went pretty quickly and I am already heading home. All that I want now is my bathtub filled with some hot water to help me relax.
AN2: That's it for now, did you like it? Or do you hate me because of that date? lol About the guest who said "Callie and Jacksy lol", I couldn't agree more! But don't worry about them, I have everything planned and I won't disappoint you! See you next chapter! XO;