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Chapter 12 : For Once, Made Humble
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 13 : Denying is Lying
**IsaThe printer whizzed and buzzed and shot out the quarterly report in a quick steady rhythm. The sound was entrancing as I watched the papers spit out one by one into the tray. My mind wasn't anywhere in particular, but something in there told me to get back to reality. As soon as I looked up, Callan was walking by with Jeffery chatting away at his side. He turned his head to see me standing by the copy machine, and he smiled effortlessly. It was a small twist of the lips that was neither flirty nor professional.Perhaps I wasn't fully out of my dazed moment, but I couldn't even process our wordless exchange until he had gone by and disappeared down the hall. Instead of making my heart race or my blood boil like he had been doing the past few weeks, this time I felt a bit… sad. No. I think I felt guilty. I knew that I had the right to be upset with him for being nitpicky about my work just because it was a little different than the way he and his
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 14 : Caught
**Callan Believe it or not, I actually liked the breakroom's coffee more than the coffee from downstairs. Maybe it was the brand of creamer, or maybe it was the simple fact that knowing I could see Isa put me in a mood where I suddenly liked everything infinitely more. I stirred in the creamer, two splashes, just enough to turn the color from black to almost-black. The room was empty by now, and I knew that with it being as late as it was, almost 6:00, my chances of seeing Isa were slim. But still, it was nice to be out of my office and away from my phone and computer. Catherine was on my back nearly every day now it seemed, which only made me want to escape that much more. I sighed and leaned back against the cabinets. I caught a whiff of the eucalyptus oil that Isa had lent me. It really did help a little, as it turned out, even though it seemed like most of my headaches were incurable. That's what I got for staring at blue lights for ten hours a d
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 15 : Going Down
**IsaI jumped back away from Callan as if I'd touched a hot stove. Even in a crisis situation, I couldn't hold onto him like that. Even in the far corner, I could feel the way his strong arms grabbed me. They felt so secure, so sure."Well, at least we have the light," Callan said with obviously forced relief. It appeared he wasn't the only one who wasn't thrilled with the idea of being stuck in the elevator. I backed up deeper into the corner of the elevator, grabbing on tightly to the railing with my hands, my knuckles blanched white. His cologne was surrounding me, blocking all my rational senses while filling me with temptations."You good?" Callan asked. I looked up at him. His bangs were slightly misplaced, but he looked sexy with the touseled look. And the dim lighting of the elevator was causing his pupils to expand, giving him an air of intrigue. "Huh? Oh, I'm just not a fan of enclosed spaces…" I said. "Well, we'll get out of here soon,
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 16 : The Non-Incident
**CallanWhen Isa flipped her hand over and intertwined our fingers, it took everything in my not to launch myself at her. Our proximity had been driving me crazy for the last few minutes since she stopped crying. I faltered. She was literally just suffering from a panic attack, so maybe now wasn't the time to be making these kinds of moves, I told myself. But my body felt like a slow-motion magnet the way it went to her on autopilot. And the way she squeezed my hand and closed her eyes as I got closer. Her lips… were so close. DING DINGIsa jerked her hand out of mine, and eyes popped open in fear. Great timing, I groaned mentally. Just as suddenly as the elevator had stopped, it was eager to kick us out again. The elevator doors began to open.I didn't even bother trying to move away from Isa. For starters, I didn't really want to. I liked the way it felt when she was close. Secondly, she was doing plenty of scuttling away on her own
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 17 : Recollection
**IsaWhat a tease, I thought to myself. But to be honest, I was enjoying myself. Even though I had been avoiding Callan at work, there was no avoiding the relentless thoughts of him in my mind. I was just trying to figure things out first. Was I still hung up on that one night we had together, or was it something else? It suddenly dawned on me. How would I know if it was that night or something else if I didn't just let loose and have a little fun with him? Though I hadn't put my flirting to practice in quite some time, I was feeling up to it thanks to the little remaining alcohol in my system. I bundled my arms into the sleeves of my coat and held them against myself. "Well, if that so-called incident had happened, then what would have happened after the doors opened?"Callan hummed. "That depends. What would you want to have happened?"I laughed and shook my head. "You're avoiding the question.""Says the person who has been avoiding
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 18 : Boyfriend Behavior
**IsaMy heart pounded steadily as I made my way up to my floor in the elevator. It seemed like any one of these strangers could have called me out for being a pulsing, nervous blob. Since Callan and I made out— mostly sober— during the Thanksgiving weekend, it was all I could do not to text him to meet up. In fact, I didn't text him at all other than to tell him Happy Thanksgiving, to which he replied the same but with a smiley face.I thought our minimal contact over the weekend would have helped to ease my mind of him, but that certainly did not end up being the case. My mother got onto me several times for being zoned out when I visited her on Thanksgiving evening. I told her that I was just tired, but then she mentioned the smug smile on my face and the blush on my cheeks. Of course, I denied all of her guesses about what was going on. Besides, we weren't actually dating. We couldn't. Not while I was working under him. I told myself that I wasn't going
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 19 : Two-Faced
**Isa"Woah, David," I said, stunned. I still wanted to believe that he was just playing a joke on me, but there was a serious and hopeful gleam in his eye that told me otherwise. "I don't know…""You don't have to say anything right now," David said.He put a hand up to stop me and just smiled down at me.I wasn't expecting this at all. I mean, sometimes we got a little flirty, and we had been getting closer. I also couldn't deny that he had made my heart flutter a few times and he was unbelievably kind and patient with me. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I realized that I couldn't let our relationship go in that direction. Simply put, I wasn't interested in him. Not in that way. As much as I hated to admit it, my heart was really only affected deeply by one person lately. "Anyway," David said. He wore a goofy smile as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "You can think about it for a little while if you want to. Like I said, you don't have to
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 20 : Meeting the Fiancee
**CallanIt was like my body felt her presence before I even saw her. An uncomfortable weight settled on my shoulders, and my desire to breathe or work or do anything just totally dissipated. When I heard my office door open, I didn't even look up. I knew her by the clack of her high heels on the marble tile, by the smell of her too-sweet perfume. "What are you doing here?" I muttered without looking up from my computer. Catherine chuckled lightly and didn't hesitate to invade my personal space by coming around my desk and spinning my chair to face her. She leaned down near my face. "C'mon, babe," she crooned. "That's no way to greet your future wife."In the corner of my eye I saw a familiarly-shaped shadow rush away. "Hah… I seriously don't know how to get it through your dense head…" I pressed my chair away from her and stood up. My intention was to leave my office and go after Isa, who I feared had just witnessed a very misleading circumstanc
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Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 48 : Ground Rules for the New Norm
**IsaRather than being exhausted when we got back home from Portland, I felt lighter. I had been amazed by Callan this weekend. He got along so well with my friends, he handled my father with silent and stern strength and composure, and even if my mom didn't say anything, I thought he might have had a positive effect on her too. I was really starting to feel like things were going to be okay now.Callan was so much more than I thought from the first night I met him. But my first impression of him was right: he was special. I was glad that my feelings lingered as long as they did, and that, when he finally came around to remembering me, we found a way to become part of each other's lives. Yeah, for too long I'd let myself get knocked around by the fear of what other people would think of me, but now, especially after the weekend, I really felt Callan's love. I really felt my appreciation for him, too. It made me realize what him and Myalin and even his aunt
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 47 : Non-Father
Chapter 47 - Non-Father**Isa"It's my dad," I said. The muscles in Callan's jaw tightened. I hadn't talked much about my dad with Callan, and I never told him about the last time I met with my father or his demand to give me the inheritance money. But I guessed learning what kind of guy he had been during my childhood was enough to make Callan dislike him. "He didn't say what was wrong exactly, but he said it's urgent, and that he needs to speak with me in person as soon as possible. He even… mentioned that my mom is with him and that they want to have a family discussion," I said. I felt like I was in a daze. If my mom was involved, it must be something serious. That thought scared me.Callan patted my hand. "Should we go? I can go with, if that's okay."As much as I didn't want Callan to have to meet my father, I was more afraid of another scene breaking out between us. If Callan was there, I knew I'd feel safer, and perhaps my dad wouldn'
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 46 : A Good Day
**IsaEven if I didn't exactly get Tevin's blessing, it was still worth it to go to Alyssa's birthday party. By the end of that day, Alyssa and I felt like sisters, and Veronica felt like my aunt, too.I even got to talk with Veronica's husband for a while, as well as a couple of Callan's cousins. Roman showed up at the end, and we were able to get fairly acquainted.To be honest, I was on a high after that weekend. A happy high.Even the continued whispers at work weren't enough to bring me down. Yes, it was discouraging to hear people say that I was using Callan, or even that he was being irresponsible by dating someone who worked under him, but I really took Veronica's advice to heart.She had told me that people wouldn't understand or come to accept our relationship if we kept trying to hide it. Well, now that it was out in the open, there wasn't any reason I thought of that should keep us remaining in the dark.So even if we weren't holding hands or o
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 45 : The Little Sister
**Callan"I guess that means it's you and me again this year," Aunt Veronica said with a sly smile. She slid her hand through the crook of my elbow and tugged me towards her. I glanced at Isa, who looked both surprised and nervous. She was watching Alyssa skip towards us wearing a big smile like Alyssa was taking a jaunt down the yellow brick road. "Isa," I asked, "are you sure you're okay with this? If it's too much then—""No. No, it's fine," she replied with a small grin. "It'll be a good chance for me to get to know your sister. I just hope she doesn't hate me for never having made a cake before.""The only way I could hate you is if you did something to hurt my brother," Alyssa said nonchalantly, popping up behind Isa. "Contrary to popular belief, I actually kind of like the guy–most of the time."Isa startled. "I don't think you have to worry about that, dear," Aunt Veronica told her, winking at Isa. "We had a good talk earlier.""I gues
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 44 : Meeting the Family
**IsaI wondered if it was really okay for me to go to Callan's sister's birthday party as his girlfriend when I hadn't yet met any of his other family members. The only one I'd seen was his father, and last I knew, he didn't seem to be a big fan of mine. "Won't your dad be upset that I'm here?" I asked when Callan opened up the passenger side door for me to get out of his car. Callan helped steady me on the grass as I was wearing my new purple Gucci heels. "I've talked to him," he said. "He won't make you feel uncomfortable. I have his word."I intertwined my fingers with Callan's and let him lead me up to his family's house. It still felt too soon to be meeting his whole family at once. "And what about everyone else?" I asked as we neared the house. My whole chest was vibrating with my anxious heart. Callan stopped me and spun me gently to face him. He placed his hands on my hips and planted a little kiss on my lips. "They're gonna love you, I'm sure
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 43 : The Drama After the Drama
**IsaI hung up the phone and headed to the printer to grab the new documents that had just been sent to me for another client SoulMode had picked up. Earlier that morning, Callan and I had filled out the HR paperwork signifying that we were beginning a serious relationship, but that we would remain professional in the workplace, and there would be no favoritism played between us. It was a strange thing to do, I thought. It was as if we had to get permission from his place of work. But on the other hand, I felt a great sense of relief. Since the documents were so official, it felt like I would have a good defense if anyone asked me about our relationship. On my way to the printer, I watched everyone out of the corner of my eye to see if any news about Callan and I had been leaked yet. Considering all of the rumors I'd heard about him when I first got here about him being a playboy and having had something to do with the last few people who worked here, I assumed
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 42 : Promise Fulfilled
**Isa"I'm putting this all in your hands," I told Callan.He grinned and handed me my bag as we started our way out of the door. "Oh, I've been planning this for a long time," he said with a little chuckle. "And first, since it's still early and you happened to not bring any extra clothes, it gives me a good excuse to take you shopping to find a nice outfit for today."I blushed. It touched my heart that he had been planning this for a long time, but it also made me feel kind of guilty. I thought perhaps if I let him do whatever he wanted today I'd be able to pay him back for making him wait so long. "You're taking me shopping?" I asked. "Are you sure that's your idea of a date?"He nodded and shrugged. "I know people might hate it when people with money say things like this, but I just want to spend some money on you," he said.I laughed out loud. "I don't care about the money, but if that's what you want to do then we can do it."He kissed me on t
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 41 : Promise
**IsaI shook my head. "I'm not going to run away anymore, I promise."Callan looked up at me doubtfully. "I'm sorry to say this, but I have a hard time believing that since you tend to change your mind a lot."I walked around the front of the dining room chair and settled myself in his lap. He rested his hand gently on my thigh and looked up at me. "I mean it this time," I said. Seeing how upset he had been before, and realizing that I had been way too wishy washy with him, I wanted to show him that I really did care about him and that I wanted to take our relationship seriously. "It seems like you should have done this a lot sooner, and maybe then it would have saved you from some of this trouble," I said, glancing at the newspaper. Though the article mentioned his and Catherine's ending the engagement, he was still catching a lot of flak for flaking as soon as he found out that she and her father were bankrupt. "All of that is nothing that I ca
Not Just Another New Girl Chapter 40 : The Drama Unfolding
**IsaI hadn't been this nervous in a long time. My hands were sore from me trying to wring them of my anxieties. My chest was so tight, I wasn't even sure if I was breathing unless I made the audible sound. And my stomach ached and pinged with reminders that I was supposed to be laying off of stressful endeavors. But this seemed unavoidable. And frankly, I was curious. This man who my mother and I had managed to escape over ten years ago was there on the other side of a dingy diner window waiting for me to meet him. The man who'd caused me and my mother so much trauma, he was here. I hadn't seen a picture of my dad, let alone seen his face in person, since my mom and I got away, but I recognized him in an instant. He was a little rougher around the edges, dressed in a ratty bomber-style jacket with patches and with oily ringlets of hair hanging over his forehead. I took a deep breath and entered the diner. It was small with worn leather barstools and booth
