Alyssa's Second Chance [Completed]

43- The Promise

The faraway sound of a cell phone interrupts the hug from my sister and I look around for the source of the sound. Following the sound of the phone to the other side of the room, I pull my cell phone out of my long-forgotten purse and answer the call without looking at the caller-id.

"Hello?"

"Alyssa. Love, where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."

"Alex? I told you that I was visiting my sister this week. I'll be back on Sunday. What's the emergency? Is Liz alright? Are the girls OK?"

"No, no the family is all fine. I'm calling because you'll never guess who invited me to lunch yesterday. In fact, we had a very a very interesting lunch conversation at my favorite steakhouse and no expense was spared. I'll fill you in on our conversation if you have a few minutes to talk."

I point to the phone and mouth that I am sorry and need to take the call to my sister who seems to be waiting to drag me out to the pool. Instead of leaving the room, she plants herself in the chair next to me. She has always loved to eavesdrop when she was younger and it seems like that hasn't changed.

"Sorry Alex. I have a few minutes to talk, but sister is sitting on the sidelines and listening in. Don't keep me in suspense. Who was your mystery lunch date?"

"I was summoned to a very last-minute lunch by Amir. I know that it doesn't seem that shocking. He became my boss when he took Geoff's old job. The interesting part is that business played almost no part in our conversation. Guess who was the center of our conversation?"

I let out a deep sigh. "Please don't tell me that he invited you to lunch to get information about me."

"You guessed it. Look don't be mad. It obvious that he is really into you and the poor guy doesn't seem to know what to do win you over. He said that you kicked him to the curb with no warning. What did he do wrong? Did he act like a dick again? Do I need to kick his ass for you?"

"Oh Alex, I started off thinking he was a jerk, but I was wrong. I got to know him over the weekend and I think he is a genuinely nice guy. That's not the problem. There are so many other reasons why dating Amir would be a terrible idea. I'm scared to date him and take the chance that things will turn out badly. There is too much at stake."

"Would rather be alone for the rest of your life? Maybe, you should get started now. I could run by the animal shelter and adopt a couple dozen cats for you. Then, you would be prepared for your life after the kids leave for college."

"Okay, now you sound like my sister. I'm not ready to date right now, but doesn't mean that I'm turning into a crazy cat lady."

"Look. I was kidding about the cats, but I think you should give Amir a chance. Give me one good reason why you shouldn't see where it goes."

"It would be a huge conflict of interest at work. Employees will eventually find out. As soon as that happens, people won't feel comfortable bring forward about issues related to Amir. Then, who will be their advocate? The company doesn't need me if I can't do my job."

"Try again. The last time that I looked you were not the only HR person at DNT Consulting and that scenario isn't your only job responsibility."

"What if we date for a while and then we break up? Everyone at work will gossip about me. It will be uncomfortable for Amir, me and everyone we work with."

"Yeah, it would be really uncomfortable. Sort of like when you go to lunch with your boss thinking that you are going to talk about business. Then, your boss shows up looking like someone kicked his puppy. So, you feel obligated to talk to the girl who stomped on his heart. I bet it would really suck if that girl was one of your best friends and you had to call her on vacation to plead his case."

"See that's a perfect example of why I shouldn't date Amir. He's already crossing the line and we aren't even dating."

"You are making excuses and you know it. What else is stopping you?"

"What about my kids? You weren't around when the whole Kyle thing went down. They hated the idea of me dating him."

"Did they hate you dating or did they hate Kyle? I heard that everyone hated Kyle including most of our friends. I don't think your kids were alone on that one."

"Okay, so that part is true. Kyle didn't make many friends before or after our short relationship."

"Look, Alyssa, I don't normally tell you what to do with your life. That's usually my wife's job. In this case, I think you should give Amir a chance. He seems to really care about you. I want you to be happy again. You deserve to have someone love and take care of you. Take a chance on him and see if he can be that guy. Promise me that you will think about it."

I know that Alex won't give up until he gets his way. "Okay, I promise."

"Thank you. I'll let you get back to your vacation. Then, I will see you guys when you get home. Goodbye, love. Safe travels."

I turn to my sister. Her face is practically glowing with delight. It's obvious that she's heard every word of my conversation with Alex. She has the world's best hearing when there is an opportunity to meddle. I know her well enough that she won't be happy until I give in and give Amir a chance. Maybe, its time to give him a call.