Two weeks later…

Scott McCall walked into his office suite. He had been away from the office on a business trip and he knew that he would have a lot of work to do. He said a cheerful good morning to the receptionist but stopped when she practically ran out of her seat and came to stand in front of him. Scott immediately noticed the concerned expression on her face.

He frowned. "Is something wrong, Betty?" he asked.

“You shouldn’t go to your office right now,” Betty said quietly to him.

Scott's frown only became deeper. He raised an eyebrow when she offered no further explanation for her statement. “Why the hell should I not?” he demanded, not minding his language.

Betty pointed in the direction of his office. “Because… she's in there.” she replied. "And she looked really pissed."

Scott followed her gaze and then looked back at her and her eyes which were weirdly wide open. He almost sighed loudly. He didn’t have time for stuff like this early in the morning. He looked back at Betty and tried to be more patient with her. She was a hard working lady and she did her job well, but sometimes he just didn't understand her.

He took a deep breath. “Okay, Betty . First of all, calm down. Now tell me who the hell is in my office and how did she get in…and also where is Ruth? She's not supposed to let people in my office, especially when I'm not there."

Ruth was his personal assistant. She was an elderly woman in her early 50's and it was unlike her not to meet him as he got out of the elevator. She was his longtime assistant who used to travel with him almost everywhere. She had refused to resign even when Scott tried to make her, and he couldn't bring himself to fire her. She had an apartment not too far away from the office so she was always early to the office. She was also very good at knowing exactly when he’d show up at the office, and was always there, ready to meet him and organize his day as smoothly as possible.

There was a look on Betty's face as soon as he mentioned Ruth's name and he didn't like that look. It was the look people usually had on their face when there was bad news to tell. "I guess you didn't get my message, sir, but she won't be coming to the office for a while. Ruth's granddaughter got really sick and was rushed to the hospital yesterday evening. She will be having surgery and Ruth had to travel to be with them. I do not know when she will be back."

Scott frowned at that information. “No, I didn’t get your message. Just keep me posted with anything that comes up…. And if it concerns Ruth, make sure that I get it. I want to know when her granddaughter is out of surgery. If they need anything, let them have it… food, accommodation… anything… "

Betty nodded. "I will sir," she said.

"If anyone wants to see me, please let me know before you send them to my office. With Ruth gone, I'm sure my day is going to be chaotic enough and I don't want anyone adding to it."

Scott paused before he asked, "Betty, who is the person in my office?"

She looked up at him and blinked, then said "Oh" as if she'd forgotten about that particular topic, "It's urmmm…. Miss Smith"

She began to ramble. “I’m really sorry, Sir. I tried to stop her but I couldn’t. She was quite adamant and refused to listen to me. She insisted that she would wait for you in your office.”

Scott wanted to bang his head on the wall that instant. Knowing Elizabeth, he knew that it wasn't Betty's fault that she could not stop her. The woman was stubborn and it was worse when she was angry, and Scott couldn't even imagine how angry she was at the moment.

She hadn't spoken to him for two weeks since the incident with the waitress in his hotel room. He didn't have anything to do with the woman, but Elizabeth didn't care about that. In fact, she'd left the hotel very early the next day and refused to pick up his calls or reply to any of his messages.

After three days, he'd stopped trying to reach her. It was the right thing to do anyways and he figured it had to happen at some point. Their relationship wasn't going anywhere so there was no need to try to postpone something that was inevitable.

Now she was here, and he wondered why. The only thing that he was sure of was that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.

“Keep me posted on Ruth's granddaughter,” he said finally to Betty and headed for his office. As soon as he opened the door he saw Elizabeth. She was sitting on one of the sofas and looking out the window.

“Elizabeth,” he said as he dropped his briefcase on his desk. “What a surprise visit. Had no idea I would be seeing you today. What brings you here?”

Elizabeth didn't stand. Instead she turned so she was fully facing him and crossed her legs dramatically. The motion directed attention to her legs, which was exposed by the ridiculously long slit in her dress. She knew she had beautiful long legs as a model and she never hesitated to show them off.

Scott wouldn’t lie to himself. She had beautiful legs and they had once attracted him to her, but right now, he wasn't interested

"Is that any way to say hello to the woman you're dating?" she asked.

Scott fought the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't in the mood nor did he have the time for this.

"I wasn't aware that we were still dating" he replied as he took off his suit and draped it at the back of his chair. "You didn't return my calls, Elizabeth. You practically ghosted me for two weeks. I don't think people who are actually dating do that to their partners."

Elizabeth rose. “And whose fault is that, Scott." she spat out." You sent me out of your room so you could talk to that tramp who by the way, snuck into your room. I should have made a complaint to get her fired, but I was so angry that I couldn't wait to leave. She clearly went in there to seduce you and you let it happen. How the hell was I supposed to feel?"

Scott just stared at her. Part of him wanted to ask her how her brain actually functioned, but he already knew the answer to that.

Elizabeth didn't care about anything or anyone. She only listened to herself and whatever she thought was true, she took as fact. Nothing anyone said mattered to her. Did she really think that he'd slept with the waitress?

“I do not have the time for this, Elizabeth,” he said, as he opened his briefcase, hoping that she'd just go away. His wish didn't come true.

"Of course you don't, but you had enough time for her" Elizabeth fired back. Her voice was getting louder and Scott knew that he had to put a stop to it.

"For God's sake," he drawled. "Do you really think so little of me that you'd believe that I would just sleep with a waitress who snuck into my room? What the hell do you take me for, Elizabeth? A man who has so little control over his body? Is that really how you see me?"

Elizabeth folded her hands around her body as she glared at him. From her expression, it was clear that wasn't going to listen to his explanation." Well, you gave me no choice,"She flushed angrily." No woman would be okay with what you did."

He made an exaggerated expression of surprise, slamming his briefcase shut. “Shocking" he said, "But at least some women would at least grant me the opportunity to explain. And since you haven't asked, I'd give it anyway. The waitress… all she wanted was a job… not me."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "A job?" she repeated, and once again, Scott fought the urge to hiss and roll his eyes at her.

"Yes, damn it" he replied. "A job… and yes, sneaking into my room was wrong, but that was all that she asked for. She wasn't there to have sex with me."

"I don't believe that."

"Of course you don't" Scott retorted, "But that's not the point because it doesn't matter any more. Look, Elizabeth. These two weeks we spent apart only proved something I've always suspected. This relationship between us… is not working. We are very different people and I don't see it going anywhere. I suggest we end it now and go our separate ways…. It's always better to end things amicably and still be on speaking terms rather than turn into enemies"

If his statement had any effect on her, he wasn't sure because the expression on her face remained the same.

"I'm not surprised," said Elizabeth. "I suspected that you'd say something like this soon enough. But I won't blame myself at all because it's not my fault."

She walked closer to his desk, while Scott just sat there and watched her. "The problem is not with me… it's you, so I won't beat myself up. You have a serious fear of commitment, Scott McCall, and you will do anything to end every relationship you get into because you simply can't handle the responsibilities that come with being in one. Good bye."

With that she grabbed her bag from the sofa and stalked out of his office, leaving Scott to shake his head as he watched her leave.

Maybe she was right, he thought. Maybe he did have a fear of commitment, but it wasn't his fault that people couldn't really be trusted, and he if relationship were filled with so much troubles such as this one, then why would he want to commit his entire life to one?

Whatever the answer was, at least he was sure of one thing. He and Elizabeth didn't belong together, and he had done the right thing by ending things.

He unlocked his laptop and went straight to his email. Staring at the number of emails that had been unattended to, he groaned in frustration. There was no way in hell that he was going to have time for all that, he thought.

There were so many unread messages and he even had some messages from Ruth reminding him of some of the work he missed while he was away the previous week. He never had to worry about stuff like this when Ruth was around. The woman was so organized and always seemed to be on top of everything. She even ended up reminding him of most of his tasks. He frowned when he saw that his calendar was also full. Except for one forty-five-minute window for lunch.

Now that Ruth was away, he had no idea how he would function without her. The worst part was that he wasn't even sure when she would be back.

He had to find someone to replace her…. Even if it was only going to be temporary.

Someone… someone…. Someone…

His eyes widened as his mind immediately went to the waitress. What was her name, Vivian… how could he forget? He had kept her number, but hadn't called her. He didn't see the point since he had no job opening for her but now he did. He reached into his pants pocket and withdrew his wallet. The neatly folded paper was still in there and he took it out.

He stared at the number for a while, before he grabbed his phone. He'd known that he'd would see her again, he thought and now it was time.

"Well, Vivian Sanchez," he said to himself as the phone began to ring, "Let's see how quickly you can get used to being my personal assistant."

__________

The cheesecake shop wasn't filled up that afternoon, Vivian thought as she cleared the table vacated by some customers minutes earlier, but that was because a lot of people were still at work. She knew that soon people would come in for lunch and the shop would be busy once again.

She sighed. Her attempt to get a job at Scott McCall's company had failed…. As expected. Even now, she could not believe she had done something as crazy as sneaking into his hotel room. The look on Scott's face and worse, his date's face still haunted her and she couldn't believe that had made a complete fool of herself.

Maybe she was just meant to be a waitress her entire life, she thought. Maybe she should stop looking for other things and just focus on the job she had. It wasn't paying her a lot of money, but it paid for her little apartment and her feeding.

Lost in thought, she was a bit startled when her phone vibrated in her apron. She looked at the caller ID and realized that it was an unknown number. With a frown on her face, she picked the call and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello," Vivian said awkwardly, wondering who it was.

"Well, hello to you too, Miss Sanchez"

Vivian wasn't sure whose voice she expected to hear, but it certainly wasn't the deep, baritone one she heard on the other line. Even without him introducing himself, she knew exactly who it was and a shiver went down her spine.

"This is Scott McCall" he continued.

Vivian shook her head, trying to concentrate. "Well… urmmm… yes…. I… urmmm…. I noticed. Good afternoon, sir" she said nervously.

She heard him chuckle. "You recognized my voice?" he asked, sounding as if he couldn't believe it. "Well, that's flattering. I must have made quite an impression on you, am I right?"

Vivian didn't reply. She didn't know what to say as a reply because she didn't even know if the question was rhetorical. Also, her tongue was tied up in her mouth. She was thinking hard too… wondering why he was calling her. Was something wrong? Had he decided to arrest her for sneaking into his room? Her head was spinning.

He must have noticed the awkward silence, because he said, "Relax, Miss Sanchez. That was a joke."

A joke, Vivian thought. Well, good to know that he had a sense of humor. "I'm sorry" she said, "Your call just took me by surprise. I really wasn't expecting it."

"And I wasn't expecting to call either" came his response.

Vivian flinched. He also didn't beat around the bush and was really blunt with his words, she observed again.

"How can I help you, Mr McCall" she asked, trying to be as straightforward as possible. She had already screwed up once in this man's presence and she wasn't going to do it again.

"Oh, the question you should be asking is how I can help you, Miss Sanchez?" Scott said. "Are you still interested in a job at my company?"

Vivian's heart skipped a beat. Was this really happening? Was he really going to give her a chance? She found herself nodding into space instead of speaking, forgetting that she was on the phone.

"Miss Sanchez?" his voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you still there?"

"Yes. Yes. I am" Vivian blurted out. "And I'm definitely still interested in the job"

"Good. I'd like to interview you right away. Can you be at my office in an hour?" he asked.

Vivian was shocked. "Now? Right now? Today?"

"Yes. Today. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Yes… no… I mean, I'm at work right now and I really can't leave until my shift ends."

"Surely you can make out time for an interview… for a job you claimed to want so badly that you snuck into my hotel room"

Vivian winced. She knew what she did and she didn't want anyone reminding her about it. Forgot some reason it sounded worse when he said it. He seemed to regret his comment because he added. "Fine, where is your work place? Give me the address and I'll meet you there"

"You will?" Vivian asked, clearly astonished that an important and powerful man such as Scott McCall would meet her at her workplace for an interview.

He didn't seem to share her surprise. "Yes, why not?" he asked. "The position just opened up and I need it to be occupied as soon as possible. Text the address to this number right now and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Without waiting for her to reply, he hung up and Vivian was left, standing with her phone stuck to her ear and staring into space. The man was just too damn sure of himself. It took her a few seconds to come back to earth, and when she did, she was faced with so many emotions at once.

Was it really happening? She was confused, excited and nervous all at once. If she did well, she could get a job in a big company… but she wasn't anywhere near ready for an interview. She had not prepared for it at all, and she was still working. Was she really going to have her interview here at the cheesecake shop… with her uniform on?

Her mind was racing, but she had to do the most important thing first. She hurriedly texted him the address and hoped that he'd arrive before more customers started to troop in.

Whatever happened, she'd just try her best.

—------------

Scott McCall got out of his car and stared at the cheesecake shop that Vivian had directed him to. It wasn't a very big establishment, but judging by the number of people going in and out, he guessed it was really popular among the people. He didn't know for sure because he hardly went to places like this. He couldn't deny that he liked the place though.. It looked so simple and he decided to order something now that he was there.

He entered the restaurant and looked around before he sighted a table at the extreme. It was unoccupied and there were no people around. Good, he thought, he wouldn't be disturbed while he talked to Vivian.

It was so unlike him to meet a potential employee in a place like this, and this was the second time he was meeting this woman in a situation that was out of the ordinary.

Vivian already saw him arrive, and her heart was beating faster than usual. She had already told her friend, Megan, to watch her tables for her while she spoke to Scott. She couldn't really change out of her uniform, but she tried as much as she could to look more presentable. She had taken the time to smoothen her uniform up a bit, and she even rushed to the bathroom to adjust her hair and even put on a little make up. When she felt like she could keep her nerves under control, she began to walk towards Scott McCall.

From where he was sitting, Scott could see her approach, and he didn't take his eyes off her for one second. Vivian was so aware of every part of her body as she approached him, hoping that she wouldn't miss her step and fall over. How embarrassing would that be? But God damn, did the man even blink at all.

He had the same look he had in his eyes the night they met in his room. Like he could see through her and read her every thought. They were hooded and showed no expression at all.

She managed a smile when she finally got to him. "Welcome, Mr McCall." she said. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you meeting me here."