Gwen walked to her office toting a smile of appreciation. As she approached the open door that lead to the lavishly styled Victorian office, she was greeted by a bottle of White Zinfandel and a bouquet of a dozen white roses, surrounding a dozen red roses.
"Natalie,"
Gwen called to her secretary.
"Yes Ms. Matthews,"
a thin, light skinned young lady who looked as
though she could be a model spoke as she poked her head into Gwen's
office.
"Who did these come from?"
Gwen asked with a smile.
"Ms. Matthews, I have no idea. They were here when I got back from
lunch. I brought your mail in and there they were."
"That's funny,"
Gwen said as she looked over the roses.
"What's funny?"
"There is no card with them."
"That is funny, because if I were the guy who got them for you, I know
I would want credit for them."
"Oh well," Gwen said as she began to check her voice mail for any new
messages.
Gwen began to open the mail that Natalie had placed in her incoming
mailbox while she listened to her messages. Suddenly, Gwen stood up
and slammed the mail on her desk.
"Who in the hell does he think he is?"
Gwen said as she gritted her
teeth? Natalie, please take these roses to the trash for me without any
questions."
"Ms. Matthews, you're kidding me right?"
"No, and pour this bottle of wine down the drain."
"Ms. Matthews, I know you said do this with no questions asked, but I
just have one question if you don't mind."
"What Natalie?"
Gwen said with frustration.
"Do I have to pour this wine down the drain, I have a date tonight, I
mean, couldn't I take it home?"
Natalie asked as though she was a child
asking for candy.
"Girl,"
Gwen began to smile,
"you can take the wine and the flowers
home, just get them out of here."
"Thank you, I'll get them out right away."
Natalie hurriedly gathered the items and headed for her desk. As she
reached Gwen's doorway, she turned to ask her if she wanted to talk.
Gwen kindly rejected the invitation to be formal with Natalie, and
returned to work. As she worked she cringed at the thought of the
message that was left by the sender of the love trinkets. Gwen got out of
her chair and walked over to the corner window to try and get as clear a
picture as her landscaped corner window offered.
Gwen wondered what
would be the best thing to do. Should she confront her caller or should
she just let it go. Whatever she decided to do, she knew that she had to
act with a clear mind. Gwen decided to call Jes and tell her what had
happened, then call CJ and tell her what had happened. Once she had
told each of them, she would see who had the best advice.