He was sorry to see Jan go.

Despite her bossiness, her temper, and her overall semi-condescending nature, he liked her. He wished he got to work with her a little longer.

He left for the day shortly after Jan stormed out. After all, he was her assistant, and he had no one to assist. But, in all honesty, it was hard for him to leave.

Not like his job was glamorous or fun. Actually, it was anything but fun. Being a personal assistant was like being a slave. Jan was kind of easy to serve, though, and he hoped his new boss would be just as easy.

Anyway, it was hard for him to leave early for one reason and one reason only. He didn’t want to leave her.

He had a crush on the receptionist.

There was something about Grace that took Hunter’s breath away. She was gorgeous, but he had a feeling she didn’t know she was gorgeous. When he heard her laugh or saw her smile, he just felt happy.

He was pretty sure he was in love with her. At least he knew he never felt anything for anyone like what he felt for Grace. But he was “the new guy” in the office. He had only been there a few weeks and, while he and Grace got along well and quickly became friends, he knew it would take more time before she could think of him in the way he wanted her to.

He wanted to be more than that.

Hunter never thought he would be a personal assistant. He never thought he would even work in a office. It was too routine for him; he liked spontaneity.

His dream was to “make it” in the music industry. He played guitar and sang in his band, Define Normal, which he started with a few friends in high school. Music was his passion. It was an escape from reality, something he desperately needed in his past.

He went to a local community college but dropped out before he had even decided on a major. College wasn’t for him. Still, he needed a job somewhere.

It was with great hesitation that he applied for a job as a personal assistant. But it paid well, and he figured it would be a decent job to have while he worked on furthering his musical career. In all honesty, Hunter never thought he would be hired. He had almost no qualifications. But, only hours after his interview with Jan, she called him and said it would be a pleasure to have him work for her. Even now he wasn’t sure why he got the job. He often thought he might have been the only applicant for the job.

Whatever the reason, Hunter was now a PA at the corporate offices of a deteriorating mid-sized paper company. And he couldn’t have been happier - the job led him to her.

The first time he saw Grace Lupin was the first day of his new job. She was sitting at the reception desk when he walked in juggling Jan’s coffee, his new professional-and-completely-not-him messenger bag, and his own cup of French vanilla coffee.

It was like something out of a movie - when she looked up at him and smiled, their eyes locked for a brief but intense second, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

Then he completely ruined the moment by dropping one of the steaming coffees.

As Hunter frantically snatched the now almost-empty cup off the floor, he heard her speak. Predictably, he found her voice to be just as breathtaking as her appearance.

“Let me help you with that.” He looked up at her. She had the most gorgeous smile, and her kind demeanor immediately alleviated his mortification.

She grabbed the box of tissues from her desk and joined him on the floor.

It was silent for a moment while they both worked to clean up the mess. He was about to thank her when he noticed she was smiling to herself.

He couldn’t help but smile in response to her smile. She spoke before he had the chance.

“Is this French vanilla coffee? I thought I was the only one who still drank that stuff.”

“Well, it was French vanilla coffee. I’m just glad I spilled mine and not Jan’s. That would have been a great move on the first day.”

They stood up and she walked to the other side of her desk. “You must be Hunter Black.” She smiled and held her hand out to him. “I’m Grace, the receptionist of this fascinating office. I’m sure you’ll love it here.”

Hunter smiled as he shook her hand, noticing the sarcasm in her voice. He leaned closer to her and quietly asked, “Is it that bad here?”

“As long as you keep spilling your own coffees and not Jan’s, I think you’ll be fine.”

He felt his cheeks slightly burning, but her smile was still genuine and her eyes were still kind.

“Follow me, I’ll take you to Jan.”

Grace led him to an office he assumed was Jan’s. “She’s expecting you, so you can just walk in.” She turned to leave, looked over her shoulder and added, “Good luck, and welcome to Dunder Mifflin.” Grace flashed another beautiful smile, and once again Hunter felt his heart palpitate.

He gave a weak smile back and turned his attention towards the closed door in front of him. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to regain his composure. A woman had never had such an effect on him.

As he knocked and heard Jan welcome him inside, he thought to himself, If all the women here are like Grace, I might not make it through the day...

_________ 

But he did make it through the day. And over the next few weeks, Hunter realized that there was no one quite like Grace.

Jan was gone. After less than two months working for her, she was gone. The day after Jan was fired, David Wallace called a meeting to discuss “further employment changes at Dunder Mifflin”.

Hunter nervously walked into the intimidating conference room. Surely he was going to be fired. After all, he was Jan’s personal assistant, and Jan was no longer there.

His anxiety vanished when he saw her. She was sitting in the back row, leaning over the chair next to her, and Hunter knew she was trying to inconspicuously save him a seat.

It had only been six weeks since he met Grace, but she had quickly become one of his closest friends. She listened when he talked, whether it was about his band or his family. When she would tell him about her life, her friends or her photography classes, he could not have been more attentive or interested. She had the greatest sense of humor and the most contagious laugh.

And that was only the beginning. To him, she was perfect. And today, at the end of the workday (that is, if he still had a job), he was going to make his move - he had the perfect plan. He was going to officially ask her out on a date.

Hunter walked to the back where she was awkwardly positioned between the two seats.

“Is this seat taken?”, he playfully asked through his developing smile.

Her eyes bore into his as she replied, “Just hurry up and sit down before I change my mind.”

He happily obeyed and took his seat as David walked into the room. His nerves returned and the thought of losing his job slowly crept back.

Grace seemed to have read his mind. “You have nothing to worry about. You were the perfect assistant to Jan, and he would be crazy to get rid of you.”

Hunter felt his heart flutter, but, as usual, Grace’s words had the power to calm and soothe him. It was the best he had felt all day, and when the meeting started, Hunter felt confident that today would be a good day.

Twenty minutes later, Hunter walked into his office, which was more like a tiny alcove connected to Jan’s former office. He was not fired, but he was told who would be replacing Jan: some former temp from the Scranton branch, Ryan Howard. Apparently, he had only worked for Dunder Mifflin for three years and was barely older than Hunter. But Wallace thought he was ambitious and dedicated and could help turn the company around. Ryan would be starting his new job on Monday.

Hunter didn’t have time to think about his new boss. It was almost four o’clock already; if he was going to go ahead with his creative - albeit somewhat elaborate - plan, he had to act fast.

He had spent the entire previous night thinking (almost obsessing) about the perfect way to ask out the love of his life. He wanted it to be meaningful and special. Grace wasn’t like normal girls; when it came to her, anything less than perfect would be unacceptable.

After hours of laying on his bed listening to music, it came to him. It may be a little juvenile, but it was sweet and personal, and he knew Grace would love it.

It was now past four. He had spent more than ten minutes sitting at his desk, staring at the burned CD in his hands. It had all his favorite love songs on it, everything from Journey to Elton John. He even added an NSYNC song at the last minute.

The last track on the CD was a song he wrote when he first started his band. He had never played it for anyone. It was kind of cheesy and too personal to share with his band mates, but it described his feelings for Grace perfectly.

There was also a note he wrote that morning as a supplement to the music. Just in case she didn’t get the message. He decided against telling her he loved her, even though he was sure he did. He simply asked for a date.

Last night it had seemed like such a good idea. But now, holding the CD in his hand, sitting only a few rooms away from Grace, Hunter was having second thoughts. Maybe it was too much too soon. Maybe he should simply go up to her reception desk and ask her to dinner. Maybe he should just wait a few more weeks until they got to know each other better.

No, he had to do this. He glanced at the clock. Four thirty.

He would just go up to her, give her the note/CD, and tell her to read/listen when she got home. The worst thing that could happen would be that Grace would say no. Then at least he would know that she didn’t feel the same way. They could stay friends, and he could move on with his life. Before he had time to change his mind again, Hunter walked out of his office carrying the CD and letter.

Grace wasn’t at her desk. She wasn’t in the lobby at all. Hunter took a seat and let out a sigh. Maybe she was in the bathroom. The light jacket she brought was still there, so he knew she didn’t leave yet.

Five minutes later he heard her unmistakable laugh filter through the room, and she walked through the doors. She wasn’t alone. Walking a step behind her was a tall, light-haired man who looked slightly familiar to Hunter.

Grace noticed Hunter waiting for her and her face lit up. He knew she cared for him and that she was really happy to work with him. But he didn’t know if she wanted more.

“Hey, Hunter! I was worried you might have left already. This is Ray. He works in the warehouse next door.”

Hunter’s eyes shifted over to the man. The two greeted each other and pleasantly shook hands.

“Ray and I were going to go to Chili’s for a drink. Will you please come with us?”

Hunter felt his mouth go dry. Of course he couldn’t go. He wanted to suggest that they go to Chili’s without Ray. But he just shook his head.

“Sorry, I can’t. I really need to get home. I just was waiting for you in case you wanted to walk out together.”

Grace’s voice interrupted his depressing thoughts.

“What’s that?” Hunter’s gaze followed her fingers to his own hands. He had completely forgotten about his formerly-perfect plan.

“Oh, nothing. I found an old CD when I was cleaning my desk.”

“You’ve been here for how many weeks and you’re already finding lost treasures?” He couldn’t handle her usually adorable teasing. Not now.

“Yeah, really. Well, I should go. See you on Monday.” He turned to leave before he remembered the third party. “Nice to meet you, Ray.”

If Ray said anything back, Hunter didn’t hear it. His heart was pounding in his ears as he returned to his office.

Four forty-five. Technically the day wasn’t over until five. But it was Friday, and usually everyone left a little early. Grace and Ray certainly didn’t have a problem breaking company rules.

Hunter pulled his bag over his shoulder and took the back way out, just in case they were still in the lobby. It wasn’t until he got into his car that he realized he was still clutching the CD and the now-crinkled letter.

He shoved the note into the glove compartment and pushed the CD into his CD player, letting the words of Billy Joel drown out his deafening heartbeat.