《Remember When》 Olivia CHAPTER ONE Olivia had always wanted to visit somewhere with exotic plants, although she wouldn¡¯t remember their names if her life depended on it. Her dream had always been to be surrounded by water reflecting in the late afternoon sunlight, drinking a margarita with a dry rim, not forgetting a splash of blue curacao. She took a sip and looked towards the water, noticing a small school of fish congregating near the shore. She had no doubt they were trying to stay clear of sand sharks and the like. There was a pelican flying over the shoreline. You could barely see his shadow, a nice sized fish in his beak. Olivia laid her head back and slowly closed her eyes, listening to the waves crash against the shore. ¡°Ah, this is exactly the relaxation I needed,¡± she thought. The Imperial Pigeons were cawing at her feet begging for a scrap of her tuna salad sandwich, but that didn¡¯t bother her. She was reveling in the smells, sounds, and feeling of peace in her paradise. Olivia suddenly awoke to her clock radio blaring on her bedside table covered in empty wrappers of Lindor chocolates. She didn¡¯t know how her old clock from the 90s still worked, but it was about the only thing that awoke her out of her deep sleep nowadays. ¡°Oh, come on!¡± she exclaimed. She was just starting to enjoy herself in her fantasy world of palm trees, squawking birds, and salty air. Now she was back to reality, alone in her fourposter bed, along with her cat Oscar curled up in his common spot, right between her legs. ¡°Ugh, I guess it¡¯s time to get up now bud. Come on, I know you¡¯re hungry.¡± She moved one leg slightly to compel her loudly purring orange tabby cat to jump off the bed, allowing her to kick her comforter off without hurting him in the process. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.When her feet hit the cold hard wood floor, she mentally filed a note to have mostly carpet in her next house, except for the kitchen for obvious reasons. As she walked towards the guestroom, temporarily the cat room until she could receive her washer/dryer combo and change its location, Oscar weaved in and out of her legs meowing obsessively loud. ¡°Impatient little menace. I¡¯m going as fast as I can,¡± she thought. After licking his bowl clean, he left her to take his after-breakfast nap, one that he had at least 10 of before the end of the day. Olivia¡¯s phone rang back in the bedroom, and she ran to catch it before she missed the call. She still hadn¡¯t changed her obnoxious voicemail since getting this new job in the city and didn¡¯t want to be embarrassed on her first day. ¡°Hello, this is Olivia,¡± she said in the best customer service voice she could manage at 7 In the morning. ¡°Olivia, this is Jack from Campbell, Mrs. Holiday¡¯s class. I know this is a surprise, but I was wondering if you have a moment to chat.¡± Olivia dug deep in her memory trying to figure out who this Jack character was, and then it hit her. This was her high school crush, a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed football player exemplifying the stereotype of the perfect man for a girl to get her hands on. How could she forget him? She was only ogling him for 4 long years, unnoticed by the jock being arms locked with skinny, blonde cheerleaders. Jack O’ Brien ¡°Um, Olivia, are you there?¡± Jack asked patiently. Coming out of her black hole of school memories, she managed a hesitating, ¡°yeah..sorry I¡¯m here¡± ¡°Great to hear; I am the section editor at Cosmo Magazine, and I just saw the new employee list hanging by the break room and the name Olivia Simpleton jumped out at me. I was wondering if it was you,¡± Jack explained. ¡°Oh my...how did I end up working at the same place in a new state 10 years later with my old crush,¡± she thought to herself. ¡°Is this the Universe trying to tell me something or just coincidence? ¡°Well, you got me. Today is my first day,¡± she exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice to see a familiar face after all these years. I¡¯ll be leading the orientation this morning. I look forward to seeing you there!¡± ¡°Thank you, see you there,¡± she said awkwardly hanging up the phone. ¡°Thank You?...What the heck happened there?¡± she asked herself. ¡°Way to start your first day out with apparently your boss?¡± She quickly got showered and dressed, made her breakfast of champions, a giant tumbler of Bustello coffee, and jumped in the car. She passed several buildings, sky scrapers, a thin layer of snow atop the rooftops, and hundreds of New Yorkers. She could see the curb appeal of the city. There were stores, restaurants, and mom and pop shops on every block. Living anywhere in the city, you¡¯d be close to all the necessities. When she arrived at her office building, she couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re in Kansas anymore Todo¡± she quoted. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The building was the tallest structure she¡¯d ever seen. It had 100s of mirrored windows and a nice revolving door at the entrance, complete with a bell hop. Olivia walked in and headed towards the counter to check in for her orientation. She was directed to the elevator down the hall on the right to the 10th floor. The tenth floor. She couldn¡¯t believe she just heard that. The highest floor she ever went to was the 4th at Rush Hospital...¡±No, no you can¡¯t think about that. It¡¯ll completely change your mood. Focus on positive things, like how you didn¡¯t get stopped by every stop light on the way here, just 6 out of 10 of them. That¡¯s not a bad average for New York,¡¯ she said aloud to herself. As the doors were closing, a hand reached in between them, tripping the sensors, forcing the doors to open again. In walked Jack O¡¯brien who didn¡¯t seem to age much, except for his added goatee. ¡°Oh, fancy meeting you here. Glad I didn¡¯t miss it. It takes forever to come down again. I would¡¯ve been late to the class, and wouldn¡¯t it be something if the teacher was running behind to his own meeting?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think it an abnormal thing in this city. So much could happen on the way in.¡± He smiled, and that was that. The rest of the trip was complete silence. Orientation was just a normal experience; give up all your information, checking account for deposits, make a training schedule, the works. Olivia got up from her assigned seat and found Jack. ¡°Sorry about this morning..Honestly, I think I was still in shock hearing your voice after all this time.¡± He looked at her with wondering eyes, ¡°I understand it¡¯s a shock, and I know we didn¡¯t really talk much in school, but I knew who you were. You were the spelling bee winner of ninth grade, on the winning bowling team of senior year, and the book nerd that sat in the far-right corner of the library during study hall.¡± Well, that caught her off guard. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew me at all, and quite frankly I don¡¯t believe it. How long did you research me before you made that call?¡± Jack stepped back. ¡°Damn, you are a firecracker. I wish I had known that back then. Instead, I was hanging out with women that only cared about dieting, cheerleading, and puppies.¡± ..¡±Yes, that was short sighted of you, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Olivia Olivia arrived home shortly after 630 p.m, another difference between her old life when she was a server and never arrived home before midnight. She definitely did not miss that for a second. Grabbing her t.v. dinner choice of the night, she snuggled on the couch with Oscar and got lost in thought. She shouldn¡¯t be thinking about him, his smile, his wise guy attitude that she found abnormally attractive, or his great leadership skills for that matter. Yet here she was. She couldn¡¯t get her mind off him. He drove her nuts and surprisingly, not in a negative way. He noticed her back then and never said anything to her. It was infuriating, so much wasted time! ¡°Who am I kidding? Of course he didn¡¯t talk to me. I was a book nerd, totally not his type.¡± She turned to Dateline, hoping diving into murder mysteries would get her mind off him. It worked for a while, but then she fell into a deep sleep on the couch. Was it weird this show put her to sleep? Probably, and once again she was dreaming of those palm trees and crashing waves. Taking in the sun¡¯s rays, her eyes slightly open watching for dolphins over her sunglasses, she relaxed once again in her fantasy world. Olivia heard someone coming towards her on her right, sloshing sand along the way. He suddenly said, ¡°OUCH! God bless it, who put this here?¡± Ugh..she sighed..¡±How on Earth did you get through to my dreams? I¡¯m trying to relax here¡± She got up from her beach chair and met him in the middle. ¡°What do you want? This is my fantasy world, and you were not invited¡± ¡°Well, something brought me here, be it a wish or just a lingering thought before your slumber,¡± he exclaimed. She thought to herself that could be true. The saying goes you dream about what your last thoughts were before you drift away. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. They turned together and walked down the beach side by side. Jack fiddled nervously with his belt loops, looking down at his feet as they walked. She wondered what he was thinking to himself. This was the first time he didn¡¯t have something to say to fill the awkward silence. ¡°So, how long have you been in New York?¡± Olivia asked. He looked up at her and pondered how much he wanted to tell her, in her dreams no less. ¡°I didn¡¯t get the scholarship I was expecting, so I had to come up with a different plan. I thought, why not go to the city of dreams? There was so much opportunity there, and I had impressed my English teachers with my papers, so I took up writing and went with it. Now look at me! Editor of Cosmo Magazine.¡± ¡°That sounds like a smart decision to me, and it was a brave thing to do. I know I couldn¡¯t just uproot myself and move away from my family at our age. I still had to care for my little brother at the time. He was barely 12. We were so close. I couldn¡¯t just leave him once I graduated. I had to make sure he was alright first,¡¯ explained Olivia. He stared at her for a minute and said, ¡°What you did is also brave. Bravery comes in many forms. You were his hero. I¡¯m sure of that.¡± Guitars strumming a calm melody woke him out of his favorite dream to date. What an odd one it was, a beach walk with Olivia. She looked fantastic in that tankini of purples and greens. He didn¡¯t know the shy girl in the corner would still have a hold on his heart. He missed an opportunity to let her know how he felt so long ago. Jack could never have told her, or he¡¯d have been ridiculed by his teammates and half the school. If only he knew he¡¯d see her again after graduation, he wouldn¡¯t have cared about his reputation. He would have told her he had feelings for her. He would have told her that he noticed every morning she would choose a sausage and pancake breakfast, chocolate milk, and a cup of watermelon¡­How he watched her collect pokemon cards out in the courtyard during PE..and how he stole glances her way when she wasn¡¯t looking..Yeah. He WOULD have told her. Olivia She awoke to that normal blaring sound. There had to be something else out there that could interrupt her REM sleep. She¡¯d find it one day, she swore to it. She got up, showered, and was then rudely reminded that her cat¡¯s feeding came first and the routine was happening out of order. She fixed that issue to stop the incessant meowing and went to her closet. She stared at her normal dress slacks and button up shirts and wasn¡¯t pleased. She had to go shopping for other clothes and soon. For once, she cared about looking ¡°pretty¡± for someone. She had always told herself that she would change for no one. ¡°This isn¡¯t a personality change per se. I just care a little more about how to present myself. That¡¯s not the same.¡± She grabbed her favorite black and white polka dot shirt with little silver buttons down the front, a mid-length skirt, and her black pumps. She dressed and then went rummaging in her bathroom drawers for makeup, but she stopped herself within a few seconds. ¡°No..no..I haven¡¯t gotten that crazy yet.¡± She grabbed her ¡°breakfast¡± and left for work. Before she left her orientation the day before, she was given homework, to write a piece giving advice to young girls fitting in at school. Olivia wasn¡¯t sure if he was trying to hint at something or it was just a topic he needed covered. Either way, she wrote all these great ideas on how to overcome the obstacles of high school into college, even though she never practiced them herself back when. She arrived again at the gorgeous building and was lead to her desk for the first time by a middle aged, charismatic, work mom it seemed, named Kathy. ¡°Here is your desk, Miss Olivia. It¡¯s not much to see, but many a writer sat in this chair and wrote amazing articles that skyrocketed their career before they moved on. My hope is you shall do the same. Use this job as a stepping stone, not a permanent solution. Bridget is the desk to your right, and Johnny is to your left. If you ever need anything, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± ¡°I think this spot is great! I love the finish on the oak desk, and the little lamp! It feels nice and cozy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. I¡¯ll leave you to it. Mr. Jack will be by in an hour or so after his meeting to check in with you.¡± ¡°Ok, thank you.¡± When she walked away, she inhaled, held it a couple seconds, then exhaled. Thankfully that helped her first day nerves fade away. During the next hour, she set up her work email, calendar, weekly planner, picked her wallpaper for her computer, and set up her phone voicemail to a more professional message. She took out her laptop, sent her written column to her work email, and opened it on her desktop. She read over it again, tweaking It here and there, awaiting Jack¡¯s meeting to be over. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Jack sat at the end of the table rocking back and forth in his chair, holding his hands together under his chin, acting like he was listening to his team discuss the ratings of last year versus this year so far. He was ready for this meeting to be over, so he could go visit his new employee, Olivia. He needed to see how her first day was going. He hoped she found her first assignment entertaining. He made sure to put in his two cents about what subject was to be written, hoping to read about how much she¡¯d learned from the past and how to handle difficult situations. Thankfully, he wrote down bullet points so he could close the meeting after his team finally wrapped up after about 20 minutes. He left the conference room and walked down the hall towards the editing offices. Olivia looked up from her computer and saw Jack on his way to her. Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to wave and say, ¡°Hi boss.¡± He reached her desk in more strides, but he still heard her from that distance. ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me boss. Call me Jack.¡± ¡°Ok¡­Jack¡­¡± ¡°I hope you found everything o.k. It¡¯s great to have you on board. I look forward to seeing your work and what you can bring to the team. Speaking of, did you finish your first assignment?¡± ¡°Yes sir..Jack..It¡¯s right here. I hope it¡¯s what you were expecting. Diving backwards into the wonder years to get the answers was a feat.¡± Taking the papers from her, he skimmed over it. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be great. I¡¯ll read it over and send you my comments via email, one I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve set up already? ¡°Yes, I think I got everything..email, voicemail, organized files, and the rest.¡± ¡°Very good, I¡¯ll leave you to it. You heard about our next column idea: 10 frugal dates to keep the spark¡±? ¡°I did, and I¡¯ll have that on your desk Wednesday if that¡¯s ok? ¡°That¡¯s quicker than I expected, so that¡¯s great. I look forward to seeing your work. I¡¯ve got to get going now, column to run. I¡¯ll talk to you soon.¡± He turned and walked towards the doors. Bridget then left her desk and arrived at Olivia moments later. ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m Bridget.¡± ¡°Hello, it¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Olivia.¡± ¡°Johnny and I are going out to Jimmy¡¯s Corner tonight after work to wind down. Oh!, You should come! It¡¯s only a block away from here.¡± ¡°Alright, that sounds fun. I can be there at 7.¡± ¡°Great! They have the best drinks, and it¡¯s a casual bar for everyone. See you there!¡± Olivia finished her work, shut down her computer, and headed out of the office building. She had some time before meeting with Bridget and Johnny, so she decided to find dinner, choosing Joes Pizza. She heard some good reviews and wanted to check it out.