The Contestant: Ex Lover Edition

The Client

I walked into the office. It was Monday morning and I already had 3 messages on my voicemail. I really need coffee to get through this week.

My name is Stacey Jenson and I am the lead executive assistant at an accounting firm. It is basically a fancy title for the secretary to the partner in charge of the firm. I have worked for Chris Davis for 4 years now. I am in charge of his scheduling and I do some light accounting work for him. He takes care of all the hard stuff.

Chris was not in the office yet. He rarely beat me in the office. I like to be here before him. I can check my emails, voice mails and make sure the receptionist has pulled all of the correct files for Chris's client meetings for the day.

I had just listened to my last voice mail when I heard Chris walk in the door. I heard him say good morning to Karen, the receptionist, and heard him coming my way.

"Medium Carmel frappe, no whipped cream", said Chris.

He had stopped at McDonald's for coffee. He, of course, bought me my favorite. We have been picking up coffee and lunch for each other for 4 years. We knew each others orders.

"I think you read my mind." I said, excited.

"I still don't understand why you don't like whipped cream." He teased.

"Actually, I love whipped cream. I just don't want to waste the extra 35 calories when I'm already starting the day off with a 250 calorie frappe. The frappe is worth the calories. The whipped cream is not." I explained.

Chris rolled his eyes at me. He did this frequently. We liked to joke with each other like that.

"Anything urgent?" he asked.

"Nothing urgent. Your first appointment is due in about 25 minutes. It's with Mr. Carter. Check the inside of the files for notes. Don't ask about his last show, the RV race one. It was a flop. I have the files on your desk. I'm not sure why he wants to come in before the end of the quarter, there are no notes on the appointment." I explained.

We kept notes on the inside of the files. They contained information about the client. Wife, ex-wife, kids, sensitive information, interests, etc. The accountants checked them out before meeting with the client and then everything would be fresh in their minds. It makes the client feel important and keeps us from embarrassing ourselves and not asking about an ex.

Chris went into his office and shut his door. I started working on some bookkeeping for a small trucking company and started sipping my coffee.

About 25 minutes later, I noticed Mr. Josh Carter pulled up to the office. My desk was right off of the reception area, so I had a nice window with a view of the street. The car was a nice BMW so I knew it was Josh before he got out of the car. Mr. Carter was one of our biggest clients. I like to meet our big clients at the door. We are a small firm, so it is important to keep our big clients happy.

Josh is a producer for a network and we do his payroll and books for all of his projects. He is tall and handsome. I held my breath for a second as he opened the door. I walked over to him and shook his hand. I noticed the wedding ring was still there. My daydream of becoming Mrs. Joshua Carter was quickly crushed. His wife was just as gorgeous as him.

"Mr. Carter, so nice to see you! Can I have Karen get you a drink while I let Chris know you are here?" I asked.

"If you have a stiff drink, I'll take it. Please call me Josh. We go over this every time I come here." He insisted.

I laughed. Handsome and funny. His wife is lucky.

"My apologies, Josh. We only have Coke, coffee or water. Although I would enjoy a stiff beverage sometimes to get through the day, Chris is still against letting us drink at work." I joked.

Josh grinned.

"I'll take a Coke. I see there still isn't a ring on that finger... still no prince charming?" He asked me.

Did he see me looking at his ring? I wondered. A few years ago he was here when I was going through a nasty break-up. Josh had caught wind of this somehow. He was very sympathetic and every time he came in since then he would ask if I found my prince charming.

I turned to Karen, the receptionist, and she already had a Coke in hand for Josh. I grabbed it and handed the Coke to Josh.

I looked up at the tall, handsome, married, producer and sighed.

"I am still working through all the toads." I answered his question.

"Well, you see you are doing it all wrong. You are supposed to be kissing frogs!" He joked.

This got a big laugh out of me.

"Let me let Chris know you are here." I said.

I noticed Chris's door was still closed, so I decided to step inside my office and give him a call.

"Yes, Stacey?" Chris answered. He could see my number on the ID.

"Josh has arrived and he is in a great mood," I warned.

"Josh? You must have called him 'Mr. Carter' again. He hates that. I'll be right out in a sec." He responded.

"Thanks! I'll let him know." I hung up.

I walked back out to see Josh talking to Karen. They both got quiet and looked up at me as I approached.

"Well, if I didn't know any better I would say that you two were talking about me." I joked.

"We were," Josh answered plainly.

Karen looked a little panicked, like she couldn't believe how blunt he was. She smiled awkwardly.

Just as I was about to ask, I heard Chris's voice from behind me.

"Josh, good to see you. Hopefully, these ladies took care of you while I was waiting. Are you ready to get started?" He asked Josh.

Chris shook Josh's hand to greet him.

"Lead the way. Stacey, If you're free, I'm actually going to need you in this meeting as well," Josh said.

I looked at Josh and then looked at Chris for approval. Chris nodded.

"Let me grab my notebook and I'll be right in." I said.

As I walked to my office, I wondered why Karen and Josh were talking about me. What could they possibly be talking about? I grabbed a notebook and pen and headed to the conference room. Chris met with clients in the conference room, so he didn't have to keep confidential papers hidden at all times from client to client. It was uncommon for me to be invited to a meeting with Chris and a client. Usually, I just pop in with coffee or a file, or papers Chris has printed for the client.

When I entered the conference room, both men were chatting and catching up. Chris was sitting at the desk behind the laptop and there were two chairs in front of the desk. I took the only seat available, next to Josh.

"Okay, what brings you in today? Do you want to go over your quarterly financial statements?" Chris asked Josh.

"Actually, I have something else in mind." Josh looked at me and then looked at Chris.

"So, Chris, you've been my accountant for 5 years, and we've been friends for a while. Stacey, you've been here almost as long. As both of you have probably heard, my last show flopped. I'm on the chopping block with the studio and I have a brilliant idea for a new reality show," Josh explained.