A Second Chance

Chapter 16

Ally had high hopes for her second day. Her calendar was filled with one on one meetings with Evan’s team members. She noticed the day before that the dress code was a bit more casual than business casual, and she tried to match that mood with dark jeans, a grey sweater and knee high boots. She didn’t want to appear stuffy or too full of herself. She wasn’t here to be their boss, but to help them reach their goal.

Coreine had a breakfast engagement with her husband, and riding with Evan seemed unwise, so she ordered a Lyft. The ride in was peaceful and it gave her time to mentally prepare for the day. She arrived before the bulk of the staff, She watched through her window as the staff filtered in. She saw Evan walk past, but then he circled back. The door slid open. “Hey I forgot to mention our driver reports on site by 6:30. Please feel free to use that service. I will send you his number. There is no need to hire a service or rideshare.”

She shot him a polite smile, “Thanks, I will keep that in mind.” He must have noticed she left in a Lyft that morning. It struck her as odd for a brief moment, but the fact that he likely was just looking out his own window or heard a noise and looked at the camera footage was more likely. Almost on cue their administrative assistant popped in, “Are you ready for Greg?” Ally nodded her head and in waddled Greg.

Greg was the stereotypical nerd. He was everything you pictured when you thought of a Magic the Gathering player minus the smell. A chubby guy in a graphic tee and jeans without a belt. He was married with two teen girls he lived to embarrass. You see these one on ones not only gave the team members an opportunity to share their ideas, but it gave Ally a chance to get to know them.

If she was going to support the team, she needed to know the team. Who are they? What made them unique? Why did they love their job? She spent the day listening to their ideas and stories. Allen spoke of his partner and their plans to marry the following year. Lily is the youngest on the team. She was still in the phase of her life where she could be at the bar all night and still be ready to work at 8:00. Erica was divorced, but still considered her ex her best friend as they coparented their daughter. Steven was the bachelor of the group, He was passionate about music and photography.

Ally listened to every person and took copious notes. She was starting to see how this all came together. She had to figure out a way to bring out the best in all of them to complete her task. After the meetings were over she sat looking over her notes. She began to look at their proposals more in depth. Her stomach growled in protest of her skipping lunch. Thankfully Josh and Jake would be there soon to whisk her away to dinner.

The boys had moved to Chicago five years ago for work. Ally was devastated when they moved. They were all she had left. Her father died when she was five. Her mother abandoned her when she was thirteen. The landlord found her when he started the eviction proceedings and she was taken by social services. Thankfully her grandmother came to her rescue. Josh and Jake joined the family a few years later. They cried with her when her grandmother died. They saw her through heartbreak and imperfect relationships. Her gut reaction was one of deep sorrow. How could she “adult” without them? As Jake pointed out, with her job Ally was never really home. Ally’s job kept her on the road for weeks at a time. When she was home, she worked long hours. They spent a good chunk of their time video chatting. How would this be any different?

Now they were living in the same city again at least for a little while, and she could not wait to see them. The clock hit 5:00 and she quickly packed up her things and made her way to the elevator. She saw her bestfriends waiting in the lobby. They hugged and then made their way onto the crowded sidewalk. They didn’t live far from her building. Jake worked from home and Josh’s office was just a short walk away. They loved living downtown and being within walking distance of everything. They led her to a little cantina and were lucky enough to score a table right away. Ally looked forward to some street tacos and margaritas.

The trio gossiped and chatted. They couldn’t believe Evan’s new girlfriend could be so jealous and worried. “So after a decade you are basically forced to come back into his life because of work, and she’s worried you're still secretly pining for him?” Jake asked.

“What I found more disturbing is that she trusts him so little. Even if I was still clinging to my unrequited feelings from a decade ago, why does she think he’d leave her and come back to me?” she replied.

Josh kept his mouth shut. He crossed paths with Evan over the years, and knew that while Ally had completely cut off communication and interaction Evan had not. Evan asked about Ally and would stalk social media posts to see how she was doing. Still, Evan never made contact and by all means appeared to be happy with Miranda.