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"You're late?" Jack Morris, my supervisor, said as I got out of the speeding cab.
"I'm sorry. You know the Manhattan traffic in the morning is hectic. I can't help it, Jack." I said as I jogged up a couple of steps to meet him.
"Leave early."
"Ok. It won't happen again. I promise."
"Don't make a promise you can't keep." He turned and walked up the steps toward the door of the elaborate building. "Let's go, I have a meeting in thirty minutes and I still have to show you to your desk."
We walked through the doors of the grand building. The architecture in the New York City Hall building was incredible. A long walk through the building lead Morris and I to a room that was outside Weldon's office.
"Your paperwork is on the desk. Weldon needs you to take his notes and put them into full proposals. They're due by tomorrow morning, do you think handle that?"
"Yes, sir." I said setting my briefcase down on the mahogany desk, taking a sit in my office chair.
"And seeing as you are the assistant, you take any and all calls forwarded to the mayor and you see if they are in his schedule. If they are not tell them to go to his scheduling sector and they will be able to handle that. Now, people come in and out of this office everyday, you have to tell them to wait or go on in. Ok?" I nodded. "Don't screw this up."
"Jack, I'm sorry again for being late." I said as he opened the door.
"Yea, yea." He said waving his hand at me as he turned to leave.
As soon as Jack left, I got started on the paperwork. I had to write five proposals by tomorrow morning. It was going to be a long day. With all the calls and people coming in to see Weldon, I barely got one proposal done by lunch.
A phone rang. But, this time it was mine.
"Hello?" I said in a rushed tone.
"Hey, are you busy? I was thinking we could go get lunch." Alexis asked over the line.
"Alexis, that sounds awesome but, I actually have a lot of work to do. I'm sorry. Can I get a rain check?"
"Yea. No problem. Maybe we can get dinner, later."
"Weldon actually wants me to come with him to a dinner."
"Oh, ok. We can get together tomorrow, if you're not busy."
"Alexis, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. It's your job. I get it. I have to go, I'm walking into the morgue right now."
"Ok. I'll call you later."
"Ok. Bye." She hung up.
I sighed in frustration and ran a hand through my blonde hair. I leaned back in my chair and covered my eyes with my hands. I sat straight up in my chair and loosened my tie. I had to get this work done.
Six hours and two proposals later, Weldon came out of his office.
"Jasper, are you ready to get going? I have a town car waiting outside to take us to the banquet."
"Yes, Sir." I said as I collected all the files and inserted them into the briefcase. We then began to walk down the hallway.
"What did you think about the proposals?"
"They are very interesting, Sir. I was actually wanting to talk to you about that. I have two more to write. Do you mind if I don't go to the dinner?"
"It's not mandatory. I don't mind." He said as we walked out of the the building and onto the street. A man held the door of the town car open for him.
"Thank you, Sir." I said shaking his hand.
"It's not a problem."
The town car sped off and I was left alone on the sidewalk. I began my walk to my apartment. I needed the fresh air since I was stuck in an office all day. The temperature was dropping, I would have to start wearing a jacket. It was the end of september and the nights were starting to get a tad colder. The only sound heard as I was walking, was the sound of distant car horns and my own footsteps. And, that of another.
I took a sneak peek behind me and I saw what look like a man who had black poofy hair and a mustache. I was going to see if he was following me or not. I took a turn down an alley between buildings that would take me out to another street.
The man took the turn and continued to follow closely behind. I took another look behind me and he was getting closer. I slowed my pace and he came up and tackled me to the ground, throwing one punch at my head in the process. He grabbed me by my collar and pushed me up against the wall. He threw another punch to my face and tossed me to the ground. I rolled over the dirt and mud.
I slowly stood up and threw a punch that connected with his jaw. I was never a tough guy, I have never been in a fight before, so I didn't know what to expect when the pain coursed through my hand. He rushed me at that moment, using one swift move to send me to the ground. He stood over me. I was groaning in pain. He kicked me once in the gut and spit on me. The young man turned and ran out of the alley, leaving me alone.
I pushed myself off the ground, feeling a cool liquid run down my nostril. I grabbed my briefcase and walked out of the alley. I hailed a cab and gave the driver my address.
"You ok, kid?" The old driver asked.
"Just drive, please."
As he made the drive, I pulled out my phone and dialed Alexis's number.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Hey, Alexis. Can you meet me at my apartment please?" I said in a pained voice.
"Jasper, are you ok?"
"Yea, just meet me there ok?"
"Ok. I'll be there soon." She hung up.
I got out of the cab and payed the driver. I walked slowly through the lobby, the doorman and other residents eyeing me as I went by. I opened the door to my apartment and dropped my briefcase on the ground. I slowly took of my jacket, groaning in pain, and dropped the ruined piece of clothing on the ground.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." I said weakly while I loosened my tie.
She walked in and locked the door behind her. She turned around facing me. She gasped loudly and rushed over to me.
"Jasper, are you ok? What happened?" She asked while looking me over. I had dirt all over me. Blood was oozing from nose, my jaw had been bruised, and my eye was already starting to swell shut.
"I'm fine." I said turning and stumbling in the process onto the couch.
"Let me get some ice, water, and bandages." She rushed out of the room.
I took this chance to pull my tie off and opened the top buttons of my white…no, tan shirt. She came back with supplies and a washcloth. She delicately wiped my face, her other hand gently cradling the other side of my face.
"You must think I'm a wimp." I vocalized.
"No, no, Jasper. You were assaulted."
"Hmm…" I hummed the feeling of the warm rag was soothing some of the pain.
"Here." She handed me pain killers and a glass of water. I took them immediately.
"You seem to know what you're doing." I said as she put an ice pack on my eye.
"Well…I am studying to be a doctor you know. I know a little bit. And, during a summer when my dad's fiancee was shot she left. He was left to his own devices. Well…he was so depressed that he drowned his sorrows in a bottle. He fell in the kitchen and had a bloody nose. I took care of him."
"I had to make sure my nurse had experience."
She laughed, "Come on, let's get you out of those clothes and you can rest."
"Is Alexis Castle trying to seduce me?" I said standing.
"No, she is trying to make her little wimp feel better." She giggled.
"Oooh, that hurts more than the punches."
We walked to the bedroom together and I changed out of the clothes and into boxers and a white t-shirt. I got into bed while Alexis stood by the door.
"Will you stay? Will you stay tonight?"
She looked down with a smile and came over to the other side of the bed. She scooted over and laid her head on my chest, her hand drawing mindless circles on my stomach.
"Pi did this to you." She said in a sad tone.
"What?"
"My ex. He called today and told me how he saw us together and how I never cared about him and a bunch of other things."
"Just let it go Alexis. I don't care about him or what he does to me. I actually should be thanking him."
"What? Why?"
"Because he gave me an opportunity for me to see you and for you to nurse be back to health." I said wiggling my eyebrows and she laughed.
She leaned up on her elbow and pressed a kiss to my lips and pulled away. She laid her head back on my chest. I played with her hair as I whispered sweet nothings to her. I soon felt her breathing slow and she fell asleep.
All was good. We were good.