Although I was a manager/supervisor at my place of employment, I never had anything to do with the hiring process. But, every once in a while, if I knew somebody looking for a job or knew somebody that would fit a particular position, I could make a recommendation to the hiring director and it would usually work.
And such was the case a few days after Taylor had asked if I would be a reference on any job application she filled out. My work was hiring for a part-time office assistant, I reached out to Taylor to see if she was interested, and I let the hiring director know about her.
"So, do you know exactly what I would be doing if I got the job?" Read a text from Taylor after letting her know about it.
"I'm not sure, honestly. Answering phones, making appointments for trucks that are coming in, helping customers, probably stuff like that," I wrote back to her.
"Would I see you there a lot?" She asked.
"Not a whole ton. I'm in and out of the office. But, since you wouldn't be coming in until noon or later and I'm off at two, it wouldn't be for very long," I told her.
"Oh darn. Maybe I don't want the job," she replied with a laughing emoji attached to it.
Without really thinking about what I was saying or who I was talking to, I sent back, "I mean, if you're end goal is just to see me, we can make other arrangements."
Upon realizing what I said, I typed out, "Sorry, Taylor, not sure why I sent that. Brain fart, I guess."
But before I could send it, she replied back, "I would like that, actually."
I was sitting in my office at work as I texted her and I sat back in my chair, unsure of how to respond. "Really? Why?" I asked, generally curious.
Instead of telling me why, Taylor's next text informed me that she just got a call from my work, and she had an interview set up for later that afternoon. I wished her good lucked, confirmed what time it was at, and told her I would try to run up to the office before she left.
Later that afternoon, as I was trying to leave for the day, I spied Taylor sitting in the office of the hiring manager. I quickly sent a text to my kids daycare to let them know I was running a little late and I went outside to wait for Taylor. She came bouncing out of the office a few minutes later, saw me leaning up against my car, and said, with a smile on her face, "Christopher! You waited."
"Of course," I said. "How did it go?"
Taylor was standing right in front of me as she looked down at the ground, twisted around to look back at the office, then looked up at me and said, "Pretty good. I start on Monday."
"Really? I asked with a smile on my face. "That's awesome!"
"Yeah, I'm excited. They seemed pretty impressed by something, plus being able to start immediately and knowing you definitely helped," she said, holding her phone and keys in front of her. She was wearing a dress that flowed down to her ankles and I was pretty sure I had seen her wear it at church before.
She tucked her brown hair behind her ear and asked me, "So, you're just getting off? Do you have any plans the rest of the day?"
"Yeah, just got off. Need to go pick up Alexis, then head back to the house to wait for the other two. You're more then welcomed to stop by if you want and I can try to answer any questions you might have about this place," I told the young woman.
Taylor looked around for a second before saying, "Yeah, actually, that sounds great. I'll see you back at your place, OK?"
I agreed and went to get in my car, but Taylor opened her arms up and wrapped them around my neck. Even though I had hugged Taylor before, there was something a little extra about this hug as I wrapped my arm around her waist and prayed that none of my co-workers were watching.
Taylor stayed at my house for most of the afternoon. We talked about her new job, co-workers, office gossip, and stuff like that as my kids all came home and I got them a snack and going on their homework.
As it started to get later and I was debating on what to make for dinner, I had just finished changing the diaper of my youngest daughter, and walked back out to the living room. Taylor was sitting on the couch with my phone besides her. I briefly was confused, not remembering my phone being there before, but the thought left my head as Taylor saw me and said, "I think I'm going to get going. My dad was just asking if I'll be home for dinner and I told him yes."
"Oh OK," I said as Taylor got up and started to say goodbye to my daughters. When she got to me, I noticed that she didn't really look at me and quickly said bye before she walked out the door, closing it behind her. I was concerned about her abrupt change but thought maybe I was reading too much into it and so I went into the kitchen and started to make dinner.
It wasn't until later that night, after my kids were in bed, that I grabbed my phone off the couch, thinking I would send a text to Taylor to make sure she was OK. Instead, I was surprised to a text from Stacy that I missed from when Taylor was over. As I read it, I started to wonder if Taylor saw it and it was the reason for her leaving abruptly. It read, "Hey Christopher, did you say that Lauren was coming over this weekend? Or was that last weekend? The camping trip threw me off, I think. Hopefully it was last weekend and you two had a good time. Let me know if you're available this weekend for me to come over."
If Taylor did read that text, I could see how she could take it wrong, I thought to myself. I debated on texting her and what to say while I texted Stacy back, telling her she was good to come over during the weekend.
As I tried to figure out what to say to Taylor, I lay down on my bed and thought to when Stacy found out about me and Lauren.
It was the Fourth of July and about a month since Lauren and I had started to sleep together. We had gotten together probably a total five times at this point, not including the very first time when we didn't have sex.
That morning, there was a big parade in the city next to where I lived and I met up with Stacy and her kids during it, so mine would have somebody to sit with. As the kids stood by the road to catch candy, Stacy and I hung back a bit, watching and talking.
"What are you doing later today?" She asked me.
