4/29/20
3/9/21
Annabeth

There he is. The very man I had hoped to never see again, standing right in front of me. Well, more specifically, leaning on the receptionist's desk and nervously tapping his fingers against the counter like I'd seen him do so many times before.

It took me a while to confirm that it was him but, yes, indeed it was. I'm surprised that he hasn't noticed me yet with all my glancing in his general direction.

But when he turned, just slightly so I could make out his face, I knew that it was him.

My memory is hazy, but he looks fairly similar to how I remember him appearing. His jet black hair that was usually swept over his face was now trimmed shorter, but still as messy as always. He was a few inches taller, but that's expected as I haven't seen him since high school.

As soon as it clicked in my head, I instantly stood up and rushed out of the room, trying best to conceal myself and make as little noise as possible.

By the time I made it halfway across the room I paused and watched as the receptionist nodded and then pointed towards my boss's office. In response he grinned, clearly thanking her, and headed in that direction, straight towards me.

My eyes widened as I peered around, feeling cornered. I desperately tried to find some mean of escaping or disguising myself. A few ideas ran through my head, but none of them good enough.

Then it was too late. He approached me and nodded like I was any other random person. Then he headed towards the door to my boss's office, not addressing me in the slightest.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips. He hadn't noticed me. He definitely hasn't recognized me, and if he did he clearly didn't show it.

But even that was too good to be true. I tried to make my way back to my desk like nothing had happened, but his shoulders clenched and he turned to face me.

He pointed his finger out at me, a look of puzzlement on his face. When he spoke the words came out in a New York accent and he sounded familiar. "Excuse me, this is going to sound crazy, but are you Annabeth Chase?"

I hadn't heard that voice in years. Around six years, to be precise.

A nervous laugh escaped my lips and I tried to force myself to smile with no success. "Guilty. And, uh, you are?"

I know damn well who he is. I know him too well.

He frowned as if I'd hurt his feelings, which made me feel guilty. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "You seriously don't remember me? We-we went to the same high school. Goode High, in New York? It's Percy!"

"Percy....Jackson?" I asked wearily, trying my best to pretend like I had somehow just remembered who he was and act like I hadn't been thinking about him for the last six years. He nodded, confirming. "Ah, I'm sorry, you've just grown so much...."

The last part wasn't a lie. Not only had Percy grown physically, he also was acting different. More mature. The Percy I thought I knew would've never worn a suit like this, or actually worn a tie.

He smiled weakly. "Yeah, you've grown, too. You're even prettier than I remember."

My face turned crimson against my will. Somehow I had forgotten how charming Percy was over our years of separation. "Uh, thanks. You're too kind. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

I gestured around my office place, which was about the most boring one I'd ever seen. The floors were old carpeting from decades ago with bleakly beige painted walls. There was one office and one conference room. Several desks were crammed into a common space along with several dying plants as if that could make this place less gloomy.

"My job actually brings me here," he explained casually, causing me to frown and furrow my eyebrows with confusion. "You see, I'm a marine biologist."

"So you're at an architecture firm?" I questioned him.

He laughed. "Yes, but there's a reason. I joined a few college buddies of mine in creating a new company, and we surprisingly took off. Since we're growing, we need a new space, and I'm in charge of finding that."

"Why are you in California, though?" I asked, trying my best not to sound rude. "Last I heard you were going to a state school in New York."

Both Percy and I were from New York. We'd attended school together since middle school and even started dating in high school, which resulted in a break up when I left for college in California.

"I go where the company takes me," Percy said with a grin. "I see you're still in California. And you're an architect, like you've always wanted."

Before I could respond I realized I was getting far too comfortable with Percy. Something might slip with his cute smile and charming words, and I can't allow that.

"Ah, yeah. Anyways, enough about me. You're here for business, and I won't waste your time," I said with a fake smile. I ushered towards the door in front of us. "Well, this is my boss's office. I'm assuming that's who you're here to talk to!"

Percy nodded but his smile dropped. He was clearly disappointed. "Yeah, I suppose I am. Well, it was great catching up. Maybe after this since I'm new to California you could show me around—"

I stood there, petrified, desperately trying to think my way out of this. Then, as if a miracle had happened, my boss stuck his head out of his office and frowned.

"Ah, Mr.Jackson. There you are, I was starting to get worried," he said as he checked his watch. "And you're chatting with one of my employees."

Percy grinned. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

As my boss ushered him inside he winked at me, nearly causing me to faint. The two entered my boss's office. Once the door was shut, I could no longer see either of them.

My heart was still racing as I made my way back to my desk, trying my best to act as normally as possible. Yet I couldn't get my eyes off of the office.

Unable to contain myself, I grabbed my phone and rushed into the bathroom to get a break from everything.

I quickly whipped out my phone and started anxiously texting my best friend and roommate, Thalia.

<Annabeth> Thals, I need your help!

<Thalia> whats wrong

<Annabeth>Percy's here. Percy from high school!

<Thalia> you mean the Percy you dated for several years but then you broke his heart when you moved away for college and dumped him? Yeah I remember him

<Annabeth> now is not the time to be snarky! We have a crisis on our hands! What if he finds out about Alice?

<Thalia> so you admit he's the dad?

I groaned and put my phone away as Thalia clearly wasn't helping anything. After I took a few deep breathes I headed out and sat back down at my desk and tried my best to concentrate with little success.

My head looked up as I heard the door to my boss's office open. Percy and my boss were shaking hands, clearly agreeing upon something.

My boss made eye contact with me and grinned. He dropped Percy's handshake only to usher me over towards him and his office.

I sighed and took a shaky breathe before making my way over to them, feeling light headed.

"Congratulations are in order," my boss said with a grin as he placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. Percy beamed knowingly down at me.

"T-they are?" I asked, my eyes wide with shock. Is he working here now or something?

"Mr. Jackson has just chosen us to design his new office building, and we have decided in agreement that you, Annabeth, would be the best architect for the job," he informed me. "You can be the head of the project. The job is yours, if you want it."

My jaw dropped and I felt my heart racing. I couldn't believe it, a project of my very own. Being in my twenties meant I was relatively new to the architectural field, especially to my firm, so I wasn't the head of many projects. My job was mainly to review plans and set up deals, and I got to be a secondary on a project if I was lucky.

"Are you....are you sure?" I asked in disbelief, my breath hitching in between words. "Head of my own project?"

My boss nodded in confirmation, causing me to relax my shoulders with relief and excitement. "Of course. I'm assuming that's a yes, then?"

I started to nod but then I turned towards Percy, who was grinning at me. Taking this job meant I would be working closely with him, did I want that? Could I keep my secrets if I was going to be working with him?

Against my better judgement, I smiled and extended my hand towards Percy. "Yes, I think I'll be accepting this project."

Percy shook my hand, his smile growing even wider. "That's great. I want this project started as soon as possible, so I was wondering if I could take you out to coffee to discuss your base ideas."

"Oh, coffee...?" I asked wearily, my voice trailing off. "I dunno, I'd have to check my schedule."

"You aren't busy today, are you?" Percy asked as he checked his watch, a sly grin on his face. "I'd like to get a baseline of your architectural style, your workday schedule, your credentials, things like that. Strictly business."

My boss turned to me and nodded. From behind him, Percy winked. "Annabeth, I think that would be a great idea. Take the rest of the day off, there's only half an hour left anyways, and knowing you you're already finished with today's work."

"Ahh, are you sure?" I asked. He nodded and waved me away. Percy grinned. "Alright, just let me get my coat."

"I'll help her. Thank you again," Percy said with a nod before following me back to my desk where my coat was swung over the back of my chair.

My boss watched for a second before nodding and heading back into his office. The rest of my co-workers seemed pretty dead to the world, all of them either hunched over blueprints or typing away at their keyboards.

Percy stared at my desk as I swung my coat on. Despite living in California it was still somewhat cold out, so I preferred to wear a light jacket, which sometimes got me strange glares from my native Californian co-workers.

"Is that your niece?" asked Percy as he pointed to a particular picture on my desk, which made me tense in fear.

The picture in particular was one of me and my daughter, Alice. The picture was taken a few months ago. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled into pigtails and her eyes were closed. She grinned, revealing several missing teeth. I was laughing and wrapping my arms around her.

I remembered the photo being taken like it was yesterday. We'd been at a park and Thalia had teased us from behind the camera, causing our laughing expressions.

"Did Bobby or Matthew have a daughter?" he added, forcing me to come back to the conversation.

How does he remember my half-brothers? I wondered as I studied his face. He was still peering at the photo, trying to place it. He's only met them once or twice...

My family, well my father, stepmother, and half-brothers, all used to live in some tiny New York suburb. We'd moved there when I was in sixth grade for my father's job. They moved back to California, where I'm originally from, the year that I graduated high school.

Percy, despite being my long time boyfriend, had only met my family a couple of times as the first meeting didn't go too well. That's why I was so surprised he remembered the names of my half-brothers.

I shook my head and crossed my arms, a nervous laugh escaping my lips. "No, no. They're not even out of college yet. That's...that's actually my daughter."

His face sunk as he studied the picture again. "You're married?"

I shook my head, which caused his face to lighten up again. "Uh, I'm a single mom."

"Sorry to pry," Percy started, "but is that why you moved away to California right after high school? Were you following him, her dad, or something like that?"

He doesn't know?! I thought, trying to remain emotionless. How does he not know?!

I tried my best to laugh it off and change the subject. "Yeah, well, something like that. I, uh, actually met him here. I moved here for college, don't you remember?"

He nodded. "Gotcha. It's all coming back to me now. So, coffee?"

"Coffee," I confirmed as we walked out of the office.

This is going to be a long ride.