Tomorrow was my date with Zara. It was now two weeks since our phone conversation and although we texted every day and the chemistry was building effortlessly, finding the time to actually get together was nearly impossible with our two conflicting schedules. I had so much paperwork I needed to complete before officially becoming a partner at the firm. Not only did I need to have several meetings with our lawyers and to look over the contract, but I also needed to hire a new assistant, decide on which junior accountant I was going to promote to my old position, and complete all the documents I had currently been working on. I also I had a fresh new stack of files I had to overview so that I would be completely caught up in my first official meeting as a Partner. You could say I was very overwhelmed. After two weeks of working later than I'd ever worked in my life I was nearly done. The only thing left was to hire a new assistant.
I had fifteen people I was interviewing. I hadn't started but I was already exhausted. I had to choose very carefully as my assistant would be accompanying me on my all business travels, spending every late night in the office with me and would interact with my clients before I even had the opportunity to speak or meet with them myself. I needed someone that was reliable, dependable, organized and very flexible with their work schedule. The position was also paid 50k a year, which was a very good salary for that type of position. That didn't even include bonuses.
I just put my coffee down on my desk in my new office when Richard strolled in.
"David! All ready to find your new victim?" He joked.
"Not funny Rich, you know I'm shitting my pants right now with all this stress."
He sat down on one of chairs near my desk and gave me a wry smile. "Don't worry about it. Just find the most qualified person you think you can handle spending that much time with. But fair warning about the very attractive young females, your girlfriend or future wife may not like you spending late nights with them and you'll get an earful every night about how they are trying to seduce you."
I took a sip of my coffee, relishing in the warm sensation it sent down my throat. "Trouble in Paradise Rich?"
He laughed drily. "You could say. Fenechka won't stop complaining about Jen. 'Why are Jens' shirts so tight and her skirts so short?' 'Why does she always sit on your desk and shove her fake tits in your face?' 'Back in Russia I would have already taken care of the bitch' you know, crap like that."
"Didn't you sleep with your last assistant though?"
"Yeah, but that was before Fenechka. I'm a married man now; I only have one mouth for one pussy."
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. "Ahh Richard, please, spare me the details."
He reclined in his chair and smirked at me. "You're Partner now David, that makes us almost friends. I can't say that stuff to our employees, but you and Sharon can surely get an earful about how good that pussy is."
I rolled my eyes. "You're disgusting. And Jen does dress very inappropriately for the office; you should mention something to her about that. She gets a yearly clothing allowance. She should be able to find something suitable."
"Yeah, but I feel like she might take it the wrong way coming from me. I'll get Sharon to talk to her next week. Last thing I need is a sexual harassment case and Fenechka accusing me of more shit."
I glanced down at my watch, my first interview would start about 5 minutes and I needed to mentally prepare. "Okay Richard, you've got to go. Can't you have here distracting my victims as you call them."
He rolled his eyes but got up and made his way to the door. "Don't forget, hire based on qualifications and not based on who has the nicest boobs."
I rolled eyes and shook my head. What a little shit. Sometimes I wondered how his wife dealt with him and kept her sanity. Although it seemed that they were both equally matched in their insanities.
My phone buzzed on the desk and I looked to see that it was a text from Artur.
Davie Loves Artie: I'm coming over for supper. I need your help practising again.
I groaned. Not again, oh god not again.
Me: The things I do for you :/
Davie Loves Artie: xoxo
I turned my phone over and took in a deep breath. Let's do this.
**********
"The first time I saw you, I thought, God, is it even possible for anyone to be this beautiful –this smart and sexy and alluring? I sat for days on my deck thinking of the cute little gap in your front teeth, of the small freckles on the back of your shoulder and how you scrunch up your nose and shake your head when you find something to be hysterical. There's so much about you that I know, yet so much that I don't. You are so captivating. You always have me guessing and thinking and curious. I love that about you, I love being curious about you and I know I always will. I want to spend every single day of the rest of my life trying to get to know you. I want to know you as my wife, if you'll have me .Will you Marry me?"
I looked into those soft baby blue eyes and in my best high pitched voice said "Why yes Artur! Of course I'll marry you!" Fake tears and everything. That earned me a smack on the shoulder.
"Be serious Dave!" Art huffed.
I shot up my hands defensively. "I am I am! I just don't understand why the heck you want me to impersonate Reah. She's soooooo lame." I got another smack.
"Just, just nod or something. Okay?"
I nodded.
"No sounds. Okay?"
I nodded again. But instead of him getting back down on one knee and giving me the proper proposal a fine young darling like myself deserved, he grumbled something incoherent and threw himself onto my sofa.
"Why is this is hard?" He groaned.
I took a seat beside him and looked at my friend. He was always so relaxed and easy going, and there he was, a bag of butter on my couch with his receding hairline and all.
"It's not hard,"I offered. "I think you're just overthinking it. Just say 'Reah darling, be my wife?' and call it a day."
He gave me the look that told me to shut up.
I was going to make a joke, but something told me that this was one of those times in which I needed to be a grown up and actually offer helpful advice to my friend. Everything was dim, I only had one lamp turned on and it created a slightly glum illumination against the backdrop of my eclectic furniture. It was supposed to be romantic.
I moved Art's legs to the side and sat beside him so that I was facing him. He looked at me earnestly; the most vulnerable I'd ever seen him in the twenty-nine years I'd known him.
"Artur, it's a proposal. To Reah. She's probably the most laid back, easy going girl I've ever met. It doesn't have to be perfect, and you don't need a big fancy speech; it just needs to be honest. I know you love her, you know you love her and so does she. You want to marry her, tell her that. You love her; tell her that! You don't need to suddenly change the way you've always shown affection towards her; that would make it fake. Make it real, carry the ring around until you can are in a moment where you think to yourself 'I cannot possibly leave her right now without first making her my fiancé.' Don't worry bud."
We sat in silence for a while. I could tell Artur was thinking over my words, taking from it what he would and leaving behind what he wouldn't. But while Artur thought about what an honest proposal meant, I thought about what he meant about the enjoyment of being curious about someone. I thought about how I how much I knew about Zara, yet how little I knew at all. I understood what he meant. I liked being curious about people, but somewhere along the line you wanted someone you could depend on. Like the way I could depend on Art. He never seized to amaze me and make me question his sanity, but I knew I never had to be curious or guess as to whether or not I could trust him and rely on him. Was it possible to have the same excitement and security I felt in my friendship with Artur manifest in a romantic relationship?
In my perplexed mind there was one thing I was certain of; I was definitely curious about Zara, but could I also trust her wholeheartedly?
I elected to serve both Artur and I a hearty bowl of cereal.
************