She has been called "The One Who Tamed the Lion" by many in the building. It was not known who originally coined the phrase nor would anyone cop to it if asked. I had heard it in reference to her a few times, but never thought about it. Maybe it was because I believed it more than I had cared to admit. I mean, sure I understand the intent behind it. Before Marcie became a huge part of my life, I was a strong proponent of keeping my personal and professional lives separate. And as much as Missy, my late wife, had sort of control, she stayed out of work stuff as well. It was the time I spent working from home that did it. Initially staying home because Matt thought it was a good idea, it led to Marcie being closer before we had our first moment.
We never intended to push our late spouses away. Hell, we still visit their graves to talk to them and spend time with them. It was just we came together out of whatever. Marcie was and is a gorgeous woman who could have had any man she wanted if she wanted to. She chose me though. That thought alone gives me the feeling of being blessed. It was moments like today that reminded me how lucky I truly was.
We made it to the office. We took the private entrance before we had to sign Marcie in. I was a bit taken aback to believe it. It was only then that thanks to Aubrey's ex, the security detail started double checking our ID cards. Since Marcie was not an employee, she had to sign up for a visitor's pass. The bustle was just beginning for the day when we slipped into the elevator to head to my floor. It was when we reached it that the situation was revealed.
There were three lines on hold to start. I went to Aubrey's desk and hit the first button. It was a customer with questions regarding something I had no clue about. I went ahead and took down their information before hitting the second. That one was trying to schedule a sales call with Matt. I took down their information before reaching the third. Feeling myself begin to want to yell at them as they yelled at me, it was Marcie's reassuring hand that soothed me before I was able to deescalate the situation. That call turned out to be someone attempting to convince us to take their sales call as well. I looked at Marcie and smiled.
"I didn't think Aubrey had to handle this first thing on a Monday."
"You starting to think that Aubrey is Wonder Woman, huh?"
I looked at my bride as she sat in the chair smiling at me wearing her flowery top and her white-washed jeans. A part of me just wanted to slip into my office with her and hold her on my couch and forget about everything else. Unfortunately, the practical side of me won out as I started to check her computer for emails. Marcie pulled out her tablet and started to work on her game at that time. It was an hour or so later that Matt arrived at my floor with Shannon and Junior in tow. As the girls hugged, Matt saw my face.
"What happened?" he asked.
I showed him the messages. He looked at them before he shook his head.
"I swear, it was almost like they knew Aubrey would be out. This call is someone trying to get our stuff to do something it's not designed to do. My assistant already told them. I wonder why they thought you'd be different."
We discussed it for about ten minutes before Matt went up to his office. Shannon elected to stay with us on our floor just so she could spend time with Marcie. I started to go through reports while they talked. It was then that Marcie spoke up.
"Leo, can I have Nikki visit? I wanted her to meet Shannon."
I thought about it and smiled.
"Go ahead. I'll call security."
She called her on her phone while I paged security to tell them. They admonished me that I would have to escort her up. That's when Marcie told me she'd be around in an hour or so. I told the guys I'd be down when she arrived. I then went back to my reports.
