Click here to read Part 1 of Falling for my Assistant.
A bridge is like a relationship; when the foundation of the bridge is solid, so is the relationship. But, when the bridge’s foundation is weak, it’s the same for relationships.
Matt and I are completely silent for several seconds. Before I can even begin to form a sentence, I hear Matt speaking to Nancy.
“Okay, wait a minute, where’s the evidence of ‘us supposedly kissing’?” He asks with a frown.
“Well, I don’t have any proof, but Cassandra does, Cassandra, could you please come here and show these two lovebirds the picture you took?” She asks with a smirk. A voice somewhere in the crowd chirps a cheerful “Sure!”
“Oh, here we go,” I mutter under my breath.
Cassandra appears a few seconds later with the biggest smile on her face, and it makes me cringe. “Hello,” chirps Cassandra. “Here’s the evidence that you asked for,” she says while waving her phone in our faces.
As soon as Cassandra stops waving her phone, I’m able to see ‘her evidence’ clearly, and sure enough, you can tell that it’s Matt and I kissing. My stomach drops, and I can’t help feeling guilty. I must be scowling because that’s when she starts gloating, “It’s really sad that you thought you could get away with this.”
That’s when I snap, “How do you know where Matt lives?” I say angrily. “Did you follow us, Cassandra?” I ask. That’s when I see a flicker of remorse cross her face, and then it’s gone. I give Cassandra a knowing smile, letting her know that I know she likes Matt. “No, of course not!” She says exasperated. Nancy then asks Cassandra how she got the picture. “Well, I-I, okay fine, I followed them,” she says while looking at the ground. Matt just stares at Cassandra in complete shock.
Nancy gives Cassandra a disappointed shake of her head. She turns to address the crowd of our former co-workers. “Why is everybody still standing around? There’s work to be done,” she says, annoyed. The crowd immediately disperses.
Then Nancy turns on her heel to face Matt and I. When she realizes that Cassandra is still standing there, she shouts at her and asks what she’s still doing there. Cassandra doesn’t respond; instead, she starts heading toward the office building. As soon as Cassandra is out of earshot Nancy says “Now both of you have exactly 30 minutes to get your stuff out of your offices, then you are to leave and never come back, got it?” She asks us with disappointment in her eyes. We both nod in understanding.
…
30 minutes later, I’m walking out of my former office carrying a box of my personal effects to Matt’s car. I notice that he’s already in his car waiting for me. “Hey,” he says with a short wave. “Hey yourself,” I respond. I put my box in his back seat and then got in the passenger seat. He asks me if I want to be dropped off at my place, and I just shake my head in response because I can’t bring myself to say anything. I give Matt my address and after he plugs it into the GPS we hit the road.
We drive in silence for a couple of minutes. But I know I have to say something about what happened because I can’t help but feel like this is my fault. “Hey, I’m sorry, Matt, for getting you fired,” I say sadly. I can’t bear to look at him, so I just look out my window. “Mandy look at me,” he responds gently. I slowly look over at him but I keep my eyes lowered. “It’s not your fault Mandy, I should’ve been more careful,” that’s when I look up at him, “It’s not your fault either, there’s no way you could’ve known that we were being watched,” I respond gently. “Okay, then it’s neither of our faults, alright?” He asks. “Okay,” I agree.
We pull into my street, and I give Matt’s hand a small squeeze. When he parks in front of my apartment, I open the passenger side door, get out, and get the box of my belongings. I ask Matt If he can grab my keys and unlock apartment 134. “How about I grab your box instead?”
“Sure, that’d be great!” I say with a smile. I unlock my door, set my keys down, and grab the box from Matt’s hands. I put the box on the kitchen table, and invite him to sit on the couch. He sits on the arm of the couch.
“Should we talk about what happened either?”
“Is there anything to talk about? I mean, we would’ve probably gotten caught anyway,” I say as I shake my head. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he responds flatly. Then an idea pops into my head, “Hey Matt, what if we do something special this afternoon?” I ask as a smile spreads across my face. “Sure, I have just the perfect place that we can go to!” “Ooh, where’s that?” I ask with curiosity. “It’s a surprise,” he says with a huge grin. He’s heading for the door, “I’ll pick you up here at 4:00 pm,” Matt has just opened the door when he turns and says, “Oh, and wear something simple,” Before I can respond, he turns and shuts the door behind him.
I text Rach and Lizzy giving them a quick recap of everything that happened since I last spoke to them. Oh my goodness, I’m sorry that you got fired, but I’m happy that you finally told Matt how you felt! Lizzy responds with a smiling emoji.
Is he a good kisser? Asks Rach. Yes, he is. I respond with a blushing emoji. Anyway, I need some help picking out a simple outfit for my outing with Matt. Any ideas? I ask. How about that yellow sundress? Asks Lizzy. Oh, that’s a great idea. You look great in that dress. Replies Rach. You guys are the best, thanks for helping me!
Of course, that’s what we’re here for! Exclaims Lizzy. I put my phone down and start to get ready for wherever Matt’s taking me.
…
40 minutes later, I’m sitting on the couch watching TV, since I still have a few minutes before 4:00. A few seconds later, I hear a knock on the door. I get up to answer the door expecting to see Matt and instead, I see my ex-boyfriend Charles Zemming standing there. I stand there dumbfounded.
“Hey sweetheart,” he says. “You should know better than to call me ‘sweetheart’!” I snap. He completely ignores this and asks me why I’m dressed up. “It’s none of your business,” my voice rises in anger. Then Charles has the gall to ask if he can come in. “Yeah, that’s so not going to happen!”
All of a sudden I hear a car door slam, and I pray that it’s Matt. Sure enough, he walks up behind Charles. “Hey Mandy, is everything okay?” He must sense the tension in the air because his face looks concerned. “No, it’s not,” I say while keeping my eyes trained on Charles. “Oh come on Mandy, don’t be like that,” Charles says with a hint of annoyance. “If you’ll excuse us, Mandy and I have somewhere to be,” he says. “Oh, where are you going?” Matt completely ignores Charles and asks if I’m ready to go. I nod my head saying “yeah, let’s get out of here.”
I grab my keys to close and lock the door behind me. As I’m reaching for Matt’s outstretched hand, Charles grabs my arm and says gruffly, “what are you doing Mandy?” I wrench my arm out from his grasp. Going out with Matt,” I respond coolly.
As we’re walking to Matt’s car, I see Charles glaring at Matt. When we reach his car he says, “Are you ready for your surprise? Also, you look absolutely gorgeous!” “I’m ready. Thank you, you don’t look bad yourself. I respond with a smile.
After what feels like forever, Matt pulls up to a secluded area. “Wow this is beautiful,” I say in awe. The area he picked is surrounded by trees, there’s an old bridge that leads to a beautiful waterfall. Then I notice that he set up a small picnic right next to the bridge. “Where did you find this place?” I ask with curiosity. “I used to play here as a child,” he says. “Are you hungry?” He asks me, as he’s leading me to where the picnic is. “Yes, I am,” I respond eagerly. I sit down and start to reach for a strawberry, but Matt asks if he can feed it to me. I just nod, as heat floods my cheeks.
He picks up a strawberry and feeds it to me. After I chew the delicious strawberry, Matt leans in to kiss me; it’s just a peck on my lips, but my heart does somersaults.
All of sudden, I hear a car door slam shut. I look over to where I heard the noise and I stop short at the sight of an angry Charles coming toward us. What happens next is a blur: Charles grabs Matt by his collar and starts yelling at him because he kissed me. Then, Matt punches him in the face, Charles drops Matt, his hand going to his nose where Matt’s fist made contact. Before I know it, they’re in a full-blown fight and I’m trying to separate them from each other when Charles pushes me back hard. I stumble backward trying to regain my footing, I fall backward onto my back. Then I quickly realize that I landed on the bridge and I can hear the bridge beginning to crumble under my weight. I shout, “Help me, the bridge is going to collapse!” But they don’t hear me; I try to lay as still as I can, but I can tell that the bridge is going to collapse any minute. Sure enough, it gives one final moan, and then I’m falling and screaming.
…
End of part two
I hope you enjoyed the second part of Falling for my Assistant.
Stay positive, stay safe, and spread the gospel.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him! – Exodus 15:2
Stepping into my shoes 