By the time I was leaving the Chrysler Building, it was late afternoon and the weather had shifted to a dark cloudy mess. I'd spent a little while longer making small talk with Jesse while I signed the employment paperwork and he put my direct deposit information into the system, and then he'd escorted me down the hall and introduced me to Aly, one of the administrative assistants, who would give me a complete tour of Advantage Republic.

Aly was a tall, long legged redhead with a fiery personality to match. She really showed her Irish with freckles dotting nearly every inch of her exposed skin. At first, she'd come off as a bit disinterested in working with me, but I'd quickly found a way to break through her exterior wall and get her laughing and having girl talk with me. Aly reminded me a lot of Haley. Both women had colossal personalities and big, toothy grins. I could tell I was going to get along with Aly just fine.

Leaving the skyscraper, my feet were aching something ferocious from wearing Haley's heels all day, and I hurried to flag down a cab. Our apartment wasn't too far away – only about two miles. I made a mental note to bring a small duffle bag to work with a pair of running shoes and some athletic wear. I liked to run often. It was a good way to clear my head. As close as our apartment was to my new office, it would be reasonable for me to run home from work when the weather was good.

Speaking of my new office – Holy shit! I have my own office! – it was about three quarters the size of Jesse's and Erica's offices and it, too, had huge windows with a breathtaking view. My jaw had nearly hit the floor when Aly had first showed the room to me. It had a tiny coffee bar on one side – which I'd be living for, of course – and beautiful modern furniture. Nearly all the electronics were Apple products – I couldn't wait to get my hands on the big ass iMac on my new desk. With the exception of a couple decorative items, all the shelves were blank and eagerly awaiting my personal touch, and I got a little too much satisfaction out of clicking my heels against the shiny hardwood floors. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to have my own office just like that one, and now that it was finally a reality, I couldn't stop pinching my arm.

The cab ride home was longer than I'd expected, but go figure with it being four in the afternoon in midtown Manhattan. I paid the driver and scrambled out of the car, anxious to get in the apartment so I could word vomit my entire day in thirty seconds to Haley. This was the first time I'd been so excited about something since I'd gotten my acceptance letter from the University of Texas several years back.

Rushing across the lobby to the elevator, I must've pressed the up button twelve times before the doors opened. I was walking on sunshine and I wanted to scream to the whole world that I was in love with my new job and I didn't care who knew it – full blown Buddy the Elf style.

Before I could even finish closing the door to our apartment, Haley leaped off the couch and screamed, "you got the job!"

"I did!" I screamed back and bounced up and down like an excited five-year-old. "Haley, this place is incredible! I can't wait to show you... wait for it... my office! I have my own office!"

"Oh my god! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Haley hugged me so tight, I almost couldn't breathe. "Come sit down. You have to tell me all about it!"

"Let me get comfortable," I laughed, sliding her blazer off my shoulders and tossing it to her.

Haley followed me into my bedroom and quizzed me about detail upon detail while I undressed and hunted for my favorite comfy sweatpants. She was so hyped up for me, I think she was more excited about my new job than she had been about her own.

We flopped down on the couch with our favorite pints of ice cream in hand – chocolate peanut butter for me and strawberry for her – and I gave her a twenty-minute play by play of the entire interview and hiring processes. Haley sat, wide-eyed, shoveling ice cream into her mouth and squealing each time I mentioned my attractive new boss.

I immediately regretted mentioning Jesse to her, knowing she'd be pestering me for the next month or two about the idea of having some whirlwind secret office romance.

Although it definitely wasn't in the cards as far as I was concerned, Haley had been nudging me off and on for the last few months about putting myself back out there and meeting someone new. She understood my fear of the unknown and not wanting to get burned again, but Haley also had a much more optimistic view of romance than I did. In fact, she was the complete Hallmark-movie-watching, romance-novel-reading, Fifty-Shades-obsessing love addict who firmly believed that Prince Charming was somewhere in the world right that very moment, waiting patiently just for her.

To be honest, I was a bit jealous. I couldn't bring myself to have that point of view on love, and I kind of hated that about myself. I'd been a hopeless romantic like Haley a long time ago – but that was back before The Bradley Chronicles, as we now referred to all of my ex's bullshittery.

"So this Mr. Reese," Haley piped up after I'd finished telling her about Aly showing me around. "What's he like? Besides hot, that is. Tell me more. Is he married?"

She said it teasingly, like she was already thinking up ways to connive and get us together.

"Haley," I groaned, dragging out her name. "You know how I feel about men."

She burst into a fit of giggles, choking on a spoonful of ice cream. "Oh, come on, Vanessa! If you really hate men that much, you may as well become a lesbian! Although, don't look at me. My kitty is reserved for Prince Charming, not Princess Charming. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I love lesbians. They're inspirational. They-"

"Just stop while you're ahead," I grinned, my stomach hurting from laughing so hard at her words.

Haley put on her serious face then and set her pint aside. "Look, Vanessa, I know you hate when I heckle you about this, but you're twenty-seven years old. You've only had one serious relationship. I know you love being fully invested in work and whatever else you're passionate about at the time, but don't you feel like something's missing?"

She had a point. I did feel like something was missing, but I didn't want to admit that to her. She'd use my admission to drive her point home.

"Haley, I don't need a man," I grumbled. "And certainly not one I work for."

She shook her head. "I know you don't need a man, but wouldn't it be nice to find someone who makes you happy again?"

Of course, it would be nice. It would be nice to have someone to spend time with, someone to go on dates with and try new restaurants together. It would be nice to have someone around to keep me company on nights when Haley worked late and I was home alone. It would be nice to have someone to kiss again – I hadn't kissed anyone since... Jesse. A lump rose to my throat at that realization.

The still-vivid memory of Jesse's lips crashing against mine in a perfect storm of want and need and every emotion in between yanked at my heartstrings and I instantly felt flushed. Haley noticed my cheeks redden and took it as a sign that I was thinking about my hot new boss, as I'd referred to him. I had yet to divulge to her that Mr. Reese, my boss, was the same Jesse Reese I'd made out with hot and heavy on an airplane three years back.

Haley had had a field day over that story. I'd called and told her all about my wild escapade with the handsome stranger the next morning after I'd made it to my parents' house. I'd also chosen that time to tell her all about the breakup with Brad and how I'd caught him in the act. Between the two stories, I think I'd sufficiently blown her mind for the entire week; and for weeks, Haley hadn't stopped pecking at me to call the man whose business card I still to this day had housed in my wallet.

I'd never called him, though. Because as soon as I'd gotten up the courage to give Jesse a call and see about those business connections he'd mentioned, that's when Brad had begun his live action autobiography: How to Be the Biggest Asshole Ex-Boyfriend in the World. From that point on, I was soured towards love and sex and anything having to do with being involved with a man.

Although, damn, I really missed sex.

"Well, if you're not going to pursue him, at least give me some details about the man," Haley huffed, taking her now melted ice cream back to the kitchen. "Because you said he was hot, and now I, as your best friend, need to know what level of hot we're talking about here. Is he lukewarm, smoking, burning pits of hell...? What kind of hot?"

I rolled my eyes, following her into the kitchen and putting the lid back on my pint. I didn't want to have a discussion about how drop dead sexy my boss was, and Haley knew that, which was why she was getting such a kick out of teasing me about it.

"If there's any level higher than burning pits of hell, he's somewhere way up there," I finally admitted, feeling my cheeks heat up again. "But I'm not interested, Haley! I mean it!"

She'd stopped listening after "way up there," and now she was enthusiastically dancing around the kitchen with her spoon, giggling about how I, the queen of never having another love interest, had admitted to finding my new boss extremely sexy. I wasn't going to hear the end of this for at least two weeks.

"Haley," I groaned again, though it was hard not to smile at her silliness.

She finally calmed down, but her shit eating grin didn't. She was smiling ear-to-ear, flashing around her blinding white smile like a Cheshire Cat.

"But the important part is: Is. He. Married?"

She just couldn't help herself.

I blew out a heavy breath and started fishing through the fridge for something to make us for dinner – though the ice cream had probably already ruined our appetites.

It was my turn to cook. Upon moving in together back in Saint Paul, we'd come up with a system where we took turns each day with who did the cooking and who did the laundry and other chores. She'd been working a lot more lately, though, and since I had been home all the time anyway, I'd been doing pretty much everything, mostly because I felt guilty for not having a stable, high-paying job like hers as soon as we'd moved to New York.

In a way, I felt like I owed Haley. She'd done so much for me and put up with my rocky career path and lack of financial stability for longer than she ever should have. I'd already made up my mind that the next couple months' rent should be entirely on me.

"Hello? Earth to Vanessa!" Haley giggled while I laid out some veggies on the cutting board.

"Just remember, if you bug me too much, I'm about to have a chef's knife in hand," I joked, prepping the vegetables for a quick pot of stew.

She cozied up next to me, leaning against the counter, and gave me that cheesy smile again. "But you know you love me, and you shouldn't keep important details from your best friend in the whole wide world."

I cocked a brow. "Important details like my boss's relationship status?"

"Exactly."

I huffed again, knowing I was losing the battle. I may as well tell her, I thought to myself, though I knew I'd probably regret it later.

"No, he's not married," I said. "And he's also the same Jesse Reese who I kissed on that plane on New Year's Eve."

"What?!"