Chasing Aurora

The next morning, I didn’t need Robby or Samson to get me up for my run. This time I was waiting for Robby when he came up to my apartment. I no longer needed to rely on my dreams to see my Aurora. No, now I could see her any time I wanted.

“Pip? What the hell are you doing already up?” Robby asked as he let himself into my apartment.

“Just having a great day, no I am having the best day Robby.” I smiled as I finished up my breakfast.

“It’s seven am. How could you be having the best day at seven in the morning?” He asked.

“I met someone.” I could feel myself practically bouncing with energy.

“Wait, what? You met someone? Like a romantic someone? You? Na, that’s fake.”

“Robby I’m serious.” I gave him a light punch to the arm. “I ran into her while I was biking yesterday, and it was like I’ve known her my entire life. She’s just perfect.” I purposely left the part where we actually have known each other our entire lives. Explaining that we met in our dreams was something I didn’t have time to get into.

“Seriously, what have you done with Pip? I have never even seen you look twice at a girl in all my time knowing you.” He said. I took out my phone and pulled up the picture of Aurora. He immediately raised his eyebrows, “Never mind. Totally get it. You ready to go for a run?”

I laughed. Of course all it took was one photo and he was convinced. Robby was a visual creature at heart. We went through our usual morning run routine and soon we were back at my place. “So, when are you going out with her?” Robby asked helping himself to a glass of water.

“Saturday. With our schedules, it is the only day both of us are free. I’m not even sure what we’re going to do yet. I just want it to be the most romantic date ever.”

“Yeah, I’m going to be of no help there.”

My phone vibrated and I looked down to see that Aurora had texted me. Just seeing her name on the screen made my heart skip a beat. I opened up her text with a smile.

Aurora: Good morning! Missed you in my dreams last night xx

“Dear God you have it bad.” Robby teased.

I lifted my finger and flipped him off, “Alright jackass, get out. I need to shower.”

“I’m going! Jeez, if you want to have phone sex you can just say.” He practically ran out the door knowing that I could easily kick his ass.

I quickly pulled out my phone to send Aurora a text. Just think about how nice it will be when you wake up in my bed. I didn’t have to wait long before I got her reply.

Then next Sunday is going to be wonderful ;)

Damn. Saturday really can’t get here quick enough.

-----

When Monday morning came around, I went straight to my dad’s office. It felt like I was walking on air. My dad was already working away even though the workday hadn’t started yet. He would rather start the day early so he can get home to mom at a good time. I completely understood, if Aurora was waiting at home for me, I would be out of here the second the clock hit five.

“Pip! I heard about the fight! I am so proud of you.” He pushed himself out of his chair and wrapped me up in a big hug.

“Thanks dad,” I said as I stepped out of his arms.

“Now, I know the fight doesn’t have you smiling like an idiot, so what happened this weekend?”

I swear this man can read me like a book. I could never keep anything from him for long. “I met a girl when I was out mountain biking with Samson.”

“A girl has you this happy?”

“Yes. She’s perfect dad. She’s everything I’ve been looking for and so much more.” I felt like a little girl who is talking about her high school crush, but it was how I felt. My dad seemed to understand. He gave me a dreamy smile as he sat back in his office chair.

“You are a Jennings through and through Piper. We meet the one and fall hard. I still remember when I first met your mom. I was completely head over heels before I even asked her out. I’m just glad she said yes.”

“Thankfully she already agreed to go out with me on Saturday. I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’m not exactly good at romantic stuff.”

“You’ll figure it out Pip. Just make sure that the two of you get to spend time together because that is all that matters. Now, I do need you to come back to earth because I do have a very important client coming in an hour. I need you to be on top of your game so we can land this account.”

“You got it boss.” I gave him a salute as I left the office. I was smiling the entire way back to my office, moving to a song only I could hear. I had absolutely everything I ever wanted, and I couldn’t be happier.

I walked past Natalie right into my office. Even she was on time today. I pulled out my laptop to start doing some research on our new client. They were looking for a new cybersecurity system and we had one of the most cutting-edge ones on the market. I was completely engrossed in my work and didn’t notice Natalie came into my office until she placed a cup of steaming hot coffee on my desk. I was about to thank her when she shut my laptop on me.

“What the hell-” I started but didn’t get to finish before she climbed on top of me.

“Come on Piper. I know you want me, and I want you. It’s time we just stop pretending and you fuck me over this desk of yours.” She tried to lean in to kiss me but I pushed her off of me. I stood up and walked right over to the door. There was no way in hell I was touching that with a ten-foot pole. “What the hell Piper?”

I calmly opened the door and turned back to her, “You’re fired. You have ten minutes to pack up your desk and get the hell out of my sight.”

“Fired? You can’t just fire me like this!”

“You have five minutes.” I pulled out my phone and called HR. I knew girls like Natalie liked to cause trouble and I was not going to give her an ounce to go on. “Hello, it’s Piper Jennings. I have just fired her for attempting to sexually assault me. I need you to send up security to make sure she is off the premises in five minutes. No, I do not want to press charges, I simply want this documented with all the rest of her sexual harassment. Thank you.”

I hung up the phone as Natalie packed up her desk. “I’m going to sue you Piper. I’m going to sue you for wrongful termination, sexual harassment and a million other things! You’re going to rue the day you fired me!”

“I have security cameras in my office Natalie.” I shut my office door in her face. I went over to the couch in my office and flopped down. Not only am I going to have a million forms to fill out, but I also need to hire a new assistant. Fuck, I also need her phone.

A knock on the door and it opened to the face of one of our security guards. “Hello Miss. Jennings. Miss. Mercier has almost finished packing her desk. Is there anything else you need before we leave?”

“Yes, her phone is a company phone. We need it back.” I sighed glad that someone else would deal with it.

“We’ll take care of it. Should have this all cleared up in a few minutes.” He closed the door and I relaxed back on the couch. I could feel the start of a headache coming. Leave it to Natalie to ruin my good mood in a matter of minutes.

My phone chimed with a notification. I expected it to be from my dad but was pleasantly surprised to see Aurora’s name across the screen. I opened up the message to see that she sent me a picture of a delicious looking muffin that made my mouth water. I read the text below it and smiled. Finally perfected my muffin recipe and wanted to show you. Hope you’re having a good day!

Of course she baked. I smiled as I typed a response. Just had to fire my assistant but hearing from you made it all better.

Oh no! What did they do?

I sighed, not sure if I wanted to get into it. She’s made a few too many mistakes. I’m just glad I can now hire a competent assistant.

We texted back for a few minutes before I had to get back to work. I finished my research on the client before heading over to the board room where we do our client pitches. Dad was already there with a few people from sales, development and legal.

“I heard you had an incident with your assistant.” He said raising his eyebrow. I knew he was really asking if I was okay but wanted to keep things less personal in front of others.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle. I will be needing a new assistant through.” I said as I sat next to him.

“I already have HR looking. You should have some candidates by tomorrow.” He said just as the door opened. We all got to our feet as a young blonde woman strode into the conference room. She was short, tiny even, but still had this aura of power around her. It was palpable enough that it made me feel like she could kick my ass. “Mrs. Bishop, it is so nice to meet you in person. I’m Hubert Jennings.”

“Please call me Ella.” She said as she took my dad’s hand with a friendly smile.

“Well then, you can call me Hugh. This is my daughter Piper; she will be handling most of your day to day if you decide to sign with us.” My dad said gesturing to me.

Ella looked over to me and her eyes met mine. She held out her hand to me and I reached out to shake it. I swear I could see a flash of something strange in her eyes. “Nice to meet you.” She said. My dad continued to introduce her to everyone around the table while I was left wondering who this woman could be.

We all sat down, and Ella wasted no time getting straight to business. “As I told you earlier, we had a serious data breach a week ago. Our old security company showed a level of incompetence and unprofessionalism that I do not allow. I have heard from several sources that you are the best in the business when it comes to cybersecurity so I am here to see exactly what it is that you can do for me.” I could tell Ella was my kind of girl. No nonsense, straight to the punch, no bullshit. No wonder I got such a powerful vibe off her.

“We pride ourselves in having some of the best systems in the business.” I jumped in, “Not only are we constantly developing smarter products, but we are also dedicated to our customer service. We run regular diagnostics on all our systems to make sure that they are running smoothly. In the rare case of a breach, we do have some of the quickest response times in the industry at fixing the issue. We also will run training on how to use our system for your own IT departments to ensure an easier transition for your company.”

I watched as the side of Ella’s mouth ticked up in a smirk. I had her on the hook and now I had to be careful to make sure that I didn’t lose her. “Hugh, it sounds like you have a very capable daughter,” Ella said as she leaned back in her chair. Her posture was relaxed but her eyes showed how attentive she was, “I trust that you will be taking over one day?”

“When my father retires, he will pick whoever is best for the job. Our priority is the strength of the company and try to leave personal relationships out of the decisions. With that being said, I do believe I am at the top of the list.”

“Well then, let’s talk specifics,” Ella said and one of the people from sales jumped in and began going over specifics. I found myself watching Ella. I wasn’t checking her out but there was something about her, it was almost as if she glowed. Whenever I focused my eyes right behind her, it was almost as if she had this golden light coming off her. It was nothing I’ve ever seen.

After she had signed the contracts, she stood up, “Piper, do you mind walking me out?”

“Oh, um, sure.” I gave my dad a quick pat on the back as I walked past him. I opened the door and walked Ella over to the elevator.

“I appreciate seeing someone like us so successful.” She said as we walked together.

I looked over at her in confusion. I was trying to figure out what she could mean. I settled on one possible thing, “What? A lesbian?”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” She laughed before handing me a card, “Listen, here’s my card. If you find yourself dealing with anything strange, call me. I’m an expert in strange.” I took her card and looked down at it. It was completely blank. I looked up at her to see her smirking, “I’ll see you around Piper.” The elevator doors closed on her leaving me standing there with a blank business card in my hand.

I shrugged off the weird experience and went to my office. I was about to throw the blank card away but something stopped me. Instead, I opened up my desk drawer and dropped the blank card inside. I shut the drawer and sat back in my chair. For a day that started so good, it sure has taken a strange turn.