'Good morning sleeping beauty'. George smiles when Elena opens the door to Mr. Smith's office the Monday after the weekend. She was just about to put his espresso on his desk but is startled by his presence. "I'm still on time, right?" Elena asks, startled.
'You're right on time. Do not be afraid. I was here earlier, because I had to arrange something for you.' Mr. Smith stands up from his desk and looks out the window at the apartment building across from him. He beckons Elena towards him. And points to the complex. "Do you see that apartment on the 8th floor in the middle?" Elena can see clearly into the apartment from this point of view. It is slightly lower than the level they are now, so you have a good view into the apartment. Oops, I'd better remember to close my curtains otherwise Mr. Smith can see exactly what I'm doing. And as if Mr Smith can read minds, he quickly jokes: 'Don't worry, I won't spy on you, I promise.' Elena is very grateful to him for this gift. She may occasionally have to help out after work, but she doesn't mind that. It's wonderful that she can roll out of bed and almost immediately be at the office. That gives her a lot of extra freedom.
'You'll move on Friday. I've already arranged the movers and I've scheduled you that day off. Then you 'll have some time to unpack everything.' Elena thanks him and is happy that she won't have to travel so far anymore. A few more times in the smelly, crowded subway and then it's over.
Friday
Elena steps into her new apartment. It is quite spacious, everything is new and the movers have already put almost all of her furniture in the right place. How wonderful that she didn't have to do it all herself. Only the boxes have to get unpacked and everything has to be put back in place where it came from.
She looks outside for a moment and looks at Mr. Smith's office. He's at work. He sits behind his desk with his back towards her. Luckily he placed his desk with the back to the window. Elena installs the boxes on the floor and starts putting away the things in it. Every now and then she glances through the window to catch a glimpse of Mr. Smith who is hard at work.
A little later she receives a message on her phone. Sender Mr. Smith.
Sorry, I promised not to peek at you but I was wondering if you had moved in yet.
George
Elena chuckles and looks up through the window. There stands Mr. Smith. He always looks good in uniform. Or in his pantalon with just a blouse above, like he is wearing now. She laughs and waves at him. Mr. Smith smiles at her.
It's 5:30 PM. Elena has been busy unpacking all day and almost everything has been tidied up. That went pretty fast! She could still use a new sofa because it is a bit on the small side for this apartment and a splash of color on the wall would do some magic either. But that will come later.
The doorbell rings and Elena opens the door. She gets a smile on her face and blushes on her cheeks when she sees that it is George with a bouquet of flowers.
'Flowers are the perfect gift for a new home'. And he gives the flowers to Elena. 'Flowers too? You've given me so much already.' 'Nothing is too crazy for my favorite secretary'. He winks at her. He often manages to make Elena blush. He must do it consciously, Elena thinks. He does that so often. And indeed George secretly enjoys that Elena gets pink blushes on her cheeks because of him.