That Certain Something
Created | Updated Apr 15, 2006
Samantha thought of him often, and wondered if he ever thought of her. On the face of it he wasn’t her usual type, not by a long chalk, but he did have that 'certain something’ about him.
They'd met a few weeks earlier, in the little corner café, the one near to the office which she often frequented during her lunch hour. It had been a typical Monday morning. She’d overslept again – causing her to miss both an early morning cup of tea, and the early morning train. The bleak, grey sky which greeted Samantha that chilly morning seemed to reflect her current mood.
Arriving at the office out of breath, from hurrying off the train, in a vain attempt to make up for lost time, and feeling irritated by the close proximity of the other passengers she'd been forced to endure in the crowded carriage, she was already feeling down-in-the-dumps. Her boss Mike muttered a quick “Good Morning Samantha,” and informed her that she would have to hold the fort because he'd be tied up in meetings most of the day.
The rest of the morning hadn’t preceded much smoother either. When Mr Goldsmith, their biggest client had rung in to complain about a very large overcharge on his account, she’d been left to deal with it. Samantha sighed. Just her luck! Of all the people in the world Mr Goldsmith was the last person she would have preferred to speak to at the best of times, yet alone this morning.
Biggest client he might be, but somehow he always managed to gall her in one way or the other. His pompous know-it-all telephone manner didn’t help matters much, and he had this annoying habit of calling her ‘dear,’ a term she strongly detested. She almost had the urge to scream, “I’m certainly not your dear, and so will you just shut the hell up...dear!" Of course, it would have been more than her job was worth to voice her opinion, so it was, “Yes,” Mr Goldsmith, “No,” Mr Goldsmith,” and “Three Bags Full,” Mr Goldsmith.
Typically it turned out that Mr Goldsmith had been correct in his findings, so she was forced to eat humble pie. By the time she'd finally managed to sweet talk him off the phone, her nerves were frayed, and a dull ache was beginning to form in the back of her skull. Samantha knew exactly where she would have gladly stuck Mr Goldsmith’s account, although she was quite sure Mr Goldsmith wouldn’t have taken kindly to the idea. It was quite a relief when Mike popped his head around the door, informing her that he’d finished his morning meeting, and she could slip out for an early lunch.
Grabbing a magazine along the way, she hurried into the café and ordered a sandwich. She was skimming through the pages of the magazine, lost in her own private world, when suddenly she found herself gazing into the bluest pair of eyes that she had ever seen. He was very cute, but not the kind of guy she normally went for. But from the moment he first looked her way, she felt drawn to him like a magnet.
Jonathan soon made her feel at ease, and it wasn't long before she was pouring out her troubles, her non existent love life, and how she felt stuck in a rut, with her dull job, and an all together dull life. Jonathan looked at her with his big blue eyes. “You may be feeling a little downhearted at the moment, but all is not lost,” he said kindly. “Try making the most of what's going on in your life, even if currently the most you can make of it is not very much. Trust, and have faith. Love will come your way again.”
Samantha was completely taken back by his positive response. How refreshingly different to the kind of reply she was used to, such as, "Sorry to hear that love, but you could always give me a try.” Of course Jonathan did have a good point. It was time for her to stop feeling sorry for herself, pick herself up and take charge of her own life.
When he'd offered Samantha his telephone number, her heartbeat skipped a little faster. She could hardly wait to talk to him again. That evening, when Samantha arrived home from work she picked up the phone, and immediately upon hearing his warm reassuring voice she was well and truly hooked. He was so good for her, so thoughtful, and so understanding. Suddenly, it was Jonathan thinks this, and Jonathan thinks that, and Jonathan said this, and Jonathan said that. Over the following weeks they'd slipped into a comfortable relationship, and now she could barely get through a single day without him.
It seemed everything was perfect. That was until Luke arrived on the scene, and threw a spanner into the works. Luke was one of the new salesmen in the office. He had dark brown eyes, a boyish grin, and oodles of confidence. Secretly she had to admit he was very attractive. When one afternoon he'd perched himself on the end of her desk and asked cheekily, “What’s a nice girl like you doing a place like this?” she tried not to smile at his corny chat up line, but was unable to stop herself from grinning.
Soon Luke was finding feeble excuses to appear at her desk more and more often, until finally he'd invited her out for a drink. Much to her surprise, she found herslef tempted to accept, but then images of Jonathan flashed into her mind. As she turned Luke down flat Samantha felt the colour rise in her cheeks at her thoughts of betrayal. But Luke was not the type of guy to be put off that easily, and today he'd offered to take her to see her favourite band the coming weekend.
“Come on Sam,” you know it will be fun, let your hair down and live a little, he had pleaded with his big puppy eyes. We'll have a great time. I promise.”
She was finding him increasingly difficult to resist, and unexpectedly heard herself telling him she would have to think about it, agreeing to give him an answer the following day. Samantha sighed. What a fine mess she'd gotten herself into. She felt torn between the two men, unsure of what to do for the best.
That evening Sam hurried home from work with thoughts of both men turning over and over in her mind. Almost as soon as she was through the door she grabbed the phone and carefully dialled Jonathan’s number. She held her breath as the dialling tone clicked into place, and she waited for him to pick up the call the other end.
“Good evening Aquarian, thank you for calling the Jonathan Roberts horoscope line," said the recorded message. "This week is all about love. If you feel you have been waiting endlessly for perfect love to arrive, the wait is over, it's finally here. It could be that a romance turns the corner now. Maybe someone you’ve considered a friend suddenly feels like so much more.”
Samantha squealed with delight, jumping up and down with excitement, unable to conceal her happiness. From the first time Jonathan’s face had smiled up at her from his weekly horoscope column in the magazine, her life had changed for the better. She could hardly wait for tomorrow to get here so she could tell Luke that she would definitely be joining him at the concert on Saturday.
“Thank you Jonathan,” she screamed out loudly - to nobody in particular except herself. “I knew I could trust you to give me the right answer.”
Samantha had a great feeling in her waters about Luke. After all, it was written in the stars!
They'd met a few weeks earlier, in the little corner café, the one near to the office which she often frequented during her lunch hour. It had been a typical Monday morning. She’d overslept again – causing her to miss both an early morning cup of tea, and the early morning train. The bleak, grey sky which greeted Samantha that chilly morning seemed to reflect her current mood.
Arriving at the office out of breath, from hurrying off the train, in a vain attempt to make up for lost time, and feeling irritated by the close proximity of the other passengers she'd been forced to endure in the crowded carriage, she was already feeling down-in-the-dumps. Her boss Mike muttered a quick “Good Morning Samantha,” and informed her that she would have to hold the fort because he'd be tied up in meetings most of the day.
The rest of the morning hadn’t preceded much smoother either. When Mr Goldsmith, their biggest client had rung in to complain about a very large overcharge on his account, she’d been left to deal with it. Samantha sighed. Just her luck! Of all the people in the world Mr Goldsmith was the last person she would have preferred to speak to at the best of times, yet alone this morning.
Biggest client he might be, but somehow he always managed to gall her in one way or the other. His pompous know-it-all telephone manner didn’t help matters much, and he had this annoying habit of calling her ‘dear,’ a term she strongly detested. She almost had the urge to scream, “I’m certainly not your dear, and so will you just shut the hell up...dear!" Of course, it would have been more than her job was worth to voice her opinion, so it was, “Yes,” Mr Goldsmith, “No,” Mr Goldsmith,” and “Three Bags Full,” Mr Goldsmith.
Typically it turned out that Mr Goldsmith had been correct in his findings, so she was forced to eat humble pie. By the time she'd finally managed to sweet talk him off the phone, her nerves were frayed, and a dull ache was beginning to form in the back of her skull. Samantha knew exactly where she would have gladly stuck Mr Goldsmith’s account, although she was quite sure Mr Goldsmith wouldn’t have taken kindly to the idea. It was quite a relief when Mike popped his head around the door, informing her that he’d finished his morning meeting, and she could slip out for an early lunch.
Grabbing a magazine along the way, she hurried into the café and ordered a sandwich. She was skimming through the pages of the magazine, lost in her own private world, when suddenly she found herself gazing into the bluest pair of eyes that she had ever seen. He was very cute, but not the kind of guy she normally went for. But from the moment he first looked her way, she felt drawn to him like a magnet.
Jonathan soon made her feel at ease, and it wasn't long before she was pouring out her troubles, her non existent love life, and how she felt stuck in a rut, with her dull job, and an all together dull life. Jonathan looked at her with his big blue eyes. “You may be feeling a little downhearted at the moment, but all is not lost,” he said kindly. “Try making the most of what's going on in your life, even if currently the most you can make of it is not very much. Trust, and have faith. Love will come your way again.”
Samantha was completely taken back by his positive response. How refreshingly different to the kind of reply she was used to, such as, "Sorry to hear that love, but you could always give me a try.” Of course Jonathan did have a good point. It was time for her to stop feeling sorry for herself, pick herself up and take charge of her own life.
When he'd offered Samantha his telephone number, her heartbeat skipped a little faster. She could hardly wait to talk to him again. That evening, when Samantha arrived home from work she picked up the phone, and immediately upon hearing his warm reassuring voice she was well and truly hooked. He was so good for her, so thoughtful, and so understanding. Suddenly, it was Jonathan thinks this, and Jonathan thinks that, and Jonathan said this, and Jonathan said that. Over the following weeks they'd slipped into a comfortable relationship, and now she could barely get through a single day without him.
It seemed everything was perfect. That was until Luke arrived on the scene, and threw a spanner into the works. Luke was one of the new salesmen in the office. He had dark brown eyes, a boyish grin, and oodles of confidence. Secretly she had to admit he was very attractive. When one afternoon he'd perched himself on the end of her desk and asked cheekily, “What’s a nice girl like you doing a place like this?” she tried not to smile at his corny chat up line, but was unable to stop herself from grinning.
Soon Luke was finding feeble excuses to appear at her desk more and more often, until finally he'd invited her out for a drink. Much to her surprise, she found herslef tempted to accept, but then images of Jonathan flashed into her mind. As she turned Luke down flat Samantha felt the colour rise in her cheeks at her thoughts of betrayal. But Luke was not the type of guy to be put off that easily, and today he'd offered to take her to see her favourite band the coming weekend.
“Come on Sam,” you know it will be fun, let your hair down and live a little, he had pleaded with his big puppy eyes. We'll have a great time. I promise.”
She was finding him increasingly difficult to resist, and unexpectedly heard herself telling him she would have to think about it, agreeing to give him an answer the following day. Samantha sighed. What a fine mess she'd gotten herself into. She felt torn between the two men, unsure of what to do for the best.
That evening Sam hurried home from work with thoughts of both men turning over and over in her mind. Almost as soon as she was through the door she grabbed the phone and carefully dialled Jonathan’s number. She held her breath as the dialling tone clicked into place, and she waited for him to pick up the call the other end.
“Good evening Aquarian, thank you for calling the Jonathan Roberts horoscope line," said the recorded message. "This week is all about love. If you feel you have been waiting endlessly for perfect love to arrive, the wait is over, it's finally here. It could be that a romance turns the corner now. Maybe someone you’ve considered a friend suddenly feels like so much more.”
Samantha squealed with delight, jumping up and down with excitement, unable to conceal her happiness. From the first time Jonathan’s face had smiled up at her from his weekly horoscope column in the magazine, her life had changed for the better. She could hardly wait for tomorrow to get here so she could tell Luke that she would definitely be joining him at the concert on Saturday.
“Thank you Jonathan,” she screamed out loudly - to nobody in particular except herself. “I knew I could trust you to give me the right answer.”
Samantha had a great feeling in her waters about Luke. After all, it was written in the stars!
