Moments of Julian by Keary Taylor

meeting about?” I ask, keeping my voice low. Mr. Maxwell’s
eyes are narrowed at some papers that are on his desk and two of
the board members look like they’re trying to talk at the same
time.
    “ I don’t know but he told
Cindy that he’ll fire anyone that walks through his door today and
he’ll fire her if she disturbs them,” Gretch’s voice is a
whisper.
    I nod, my eyes darting to Cindy, Mr.
Maxwell’s assistant. She looks pale and even from this far I can
tell her hands are shaking as she staples some papers
together.
    “ This conversation doesn’t
leave this office, okay?” I say, giving her a solid, serious
stare.
    Gretchen nods.
    “ Have you heard any talk
about new technology that the company is creating?” I
ask.
    “ Brian hasn’t said
anything to me about it,” Gretch says as she sits in the chair
across from me. “But he’s been awfully busy lately. There’s been
some pretty nasty technology the hackers have come up with lately.
Nothing the Blue Wall can’t handle, but they’re working to
counteract it.”
    Brian is an average middle man, not
one of our top guys by a long shot, but not one of the pee-on’s
either.
    “ Hm,” I say, looking one
more time toward Mr. Maxwell’s office. “If you hear anything, will
you let me know?”
    “ Of course,” she says with
a small, forced smile. Just then, the phone at her desk rings.
“Gotta’ get that.”
    She darts out to her desk and answers
the call by the third ring.
    “ Sage?” she calls back
through the door. “It’s Avia.”
    My mind is distracted, but I pick the
phone up anyway.
    “ Seriously, if you ever
let that girl go, I want her.”
    “ Avia, I’ve already told
you, Gretchen isn’t for sale and I have no intension of giving her
up.” I say this just loud enough for Gretch to hear. I’ve punished
her long enough for calling me out on having no social
life.
    “ Fine,” she says with a
dramatic sigh. “Hey, I’m in the mood for some Thai, you want to
come with?”
    “ Uh.” The board members
have stood and they’re all shaking hands like they’re ready to
leave. “Uh, yeah. I have somewhere to be by seven, but can you meet
at six?”
    “ I’ll see you
then!”
    “ K, bye.”
    Mr. Maxwell is standing now and he’s
wearing that fake, forced smile of his that says he’s putting on
the show for those that are around him, but he isn’t happy about
how the meeting has gone.
    The three board members exit the
office and head for the elevator.
    The second they’re in it, Mr. Maxwell
lays into Corbin.
    I can’t make out individual words, but
his booming voice sends vibrations throughout the tenth
floor.
    Maybe my promotion is coming sooner
than I thought.
     
    “ The rugs, the throw
pillows, the wall color, it was all a total wreck,” Avia says
animatedly as our plates are set down in front of us. “It’s a
complete redo. I mean, what is a woman with that much money trying
to do decorating a house like that on her own?”
    “ The nerve,” I say as I
grab a fork and stab at the pile of noodles and vegetables on my
plate.
    Avia was a half hour late, and now I’m
looking at the time on my phone every few minutes.
    “ I know, right? I mean,
why would she go and make my job harder? Do it right the first
time.” Avia twirls her noodles around her fork and pops it into her
mouth.
    I love Avia. We have a lot in common.
We’re young, ambitious, brash, and occasionally a bit too
judgmental. But she tends to rant. And it gets hard to listen to;
because once she starts it’s hard to get her to stop.
    “ I mean, she has mustard
throw pillows, with grey chevron curtains. Her flooring is wood,
orange-brown hued wood! Why doesn’t she just gag me now?” she says
as she twirls another forkful.
    I smile as I watch her eat. She’s warm
and round and absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately most guys won’t
ever look past her slightly plus sized figure to see that she’s got
gorgeous cheekbones, the most amazingly shaped