Chance Encounter

Two weeks past. Brian sat on the couch at his house, staring at her card on the coffee table. Leighanne had gone out for the day. To spend more of his money, no doubt. He looked down at the phone in his hand. He wanted to call her so much, but what would he say? What was he thinking anyway? He couldn't call up this girl and ask her on a date or anything. He was married. Here he was, feeling like a teenage boy with a crush on a girl. Why? He knew it was so wrong, but it just didn't feel wrong when he had spent the day with her. It had felt very, very right. He could always call her up as a friend, right? They could be friends. There was nothing wrong with a man and a woman being friends, he rationalized. He pressed his lips together and his jaw clenched with determination as he dialed the number on the card.

"Johnson, Taylor, Lindsey and Rose," the receptionist answered.

"Uh, Samantha Rose please," Brian said, nervously.

"One moment, sir, and I'll connect you with Ms. Rose's office."

A few seconds later, a woman answered. "Samantha Rose's office, Lila speaking."

"Uh, hi, Lila. This is Brian Littrell. Is Samantha available?"

"I'm sorry, honey. She's in court today. Would you like to leave a message?"

"No. No, that's OK. I'll just try her again... tomorrow?"

"Oh, wait. She just walked in. Hold on just a moment and I'll see if she can take your call," Lila said, putting Brian on hold.

"Hi boss," Samantha said, smiling at Lila. She always called her secretary "boss". Lila was her assistant, her best friend, and second Mom all rolled into one. She kept Sam's life organized. A real Godsend.

"Hey hon. There's a Brian Littrell on hold for you. Wanna take it?"

Samantha's heart skipped a beat. Brian actually called her...

"Oh, uh, I'll take it in my office," Samantha said, trying to sound casual. She walked into her office and closed the door. Something she never did. She picked up the phone and picked the call from Lila's line.

"Hey Brian," she said, a smile on her lips.

"Hey," he said quietly. "I... uh... how have you been?"

"Fine. And you?" she replied, propping her feet up on her desk and looking out the window at the Atlanta skyline. He was out there. Somewhere.

"Great. Great. Uh... have you gotten stuck in any more elevators recently?"

"No. Not lately," she laughed.

He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, Samantha. I really don't know why I called you. I didn't have anything important to talk about. I guess I just wanted to see how you were. I won't keep you. I know you're busy."

"I'm not that busy," she replied. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Did she sound too needy? Desperate?

Brian laughed lightly. She loved his laugh. It was so cute. She could picture his sparkly blue eyes with the crinkles around the edges.

"So... how about lunch tomorrow?" he asked softly. His nerves were getting to him.

"I've got a lunch meeting with the other partners tomorrow," she responded, cursing her schedule.

"Dinner?"

"I have a t-ball game tomorrow afternoon," she said, consulting her calendar.

"You play t-ball?" Brian asked, laughing.

"No. My son plays t-ball," Samantha replied. "Smart ass."

"You have a son?" Brian asked, swallowing hard. "How old is he?"

"He's three and a half," she said, looking at one of the pictures of Adam that was on her desk. Such a beautiful little boy. Dark hair, blue eyes, sweet smile. He was the happiest, most loving little boy she had ever seen.

"Oh. Well, it sounds like your schedule is pretty hectic. Maybe some other time?" he said.

"Brian..."

"Huh?"

"Friday. Lunch. My office. How's that?" she asked quietly.

"Sounds good."

"OK. I'll put you down on my calendar. Say, 12:30?"
*****************************
Brian parked his car on the street and walked up to the impressive gray granite building. He looked up. The building must have been 50 stories tall. This was where she worked? When she said she was an attorney, he expected something smaller. He got on the elevator and pushed the button for the 32nd floor. When the doors opened, he was greeted by a polished marble sign on the wall that read Johnson, Taylor, Lindsey, & Rose, PC. He walked into the office and stood in front of the highly polished cherry desk of the receptionist. She looked up and smiled.

"Yes sir, can I help you?"

"Yes. Um, Samantha is expecting me. Brian Littrell."

The receptionist called Samantha's office. "Ms. Rose, there's a Backstreet Boy in the lobby for you," she said, giggling.

"Thank you, Renee," Samantha said, sounding irritated.

Samantha's heart was racing by the time she reached the lobby. She smiled when she saw Brian standing there, looking at the plaques and pictures on the walls. He had on a pair of jeans that actually fit for once (she had done a lot of research and knew Brian didn't always wear clothes that fit him very well) and a black t-shirt that hugged his body (and what an incredible body it was, too, surprisingly enough). His blondish hair was so shiny and soft looking, and she just wanted to run her fingers through it. He looked so... handsome? No, that wasn't the word she was looking for. Cute? No, that wasn't it either. Super incredibly fucking hot? Yeah, that's more like it. She entered the lobby.

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