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"Well, well, well, if it isn't Josie Geller," grinned Billy.
Trying to contain the shock that was overcoming her, Josie attempted to smile back.
"Hello Billy," she said.
"You two know each other," asked Mr. Rigfort, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes we do," replied Billy eyeing Josie carefully. Josie and I went to high school together, didn't we Josie?"
Josie nodded looking down at the floor, nervously wringing her hands together. Suddenly, the strong Josie that had grown in the past few months disappeared and the old Josie, the "Josie Grossie" came back.
"Well� Isn't this a coincidence!" exclaimed Mr. Rigfort.
Suddenly Josie turned to her boss and said, "Look, Mr. Rigfort� Maybe this whole thing is a bad idea. I don't think that I'm the right person to do this. I really don't have enough experience to be able to train someone correctly."
Stanley looked over to Rigfort and said, "I thought she was one of your best reporters."
"She is," replied Rigfort. Turning to Josie he said with a threatening voice, "Don't be ridiculous, Geller. Seeing that you two know each other, it will be much easier for you to get your point across, won't it?"
Wincing slightly, Josie nodded. "Yes sir."
"Oh ,Josie sure knows how to express herself ," Billy snickered. "She used to write the best poems� Didn't you Josie?"
Josie cringed and wanted nothing more at that moment than to disappear. All the memories of what he had made her go through came flooding back, all the insecurities, all the shame, all the unhappiness. She could barely look at him, much less work with him. How was she going to get through these next two months?
"Well, you two get started." Turning to his friend he said," Stan, why don't we get a bite to eat. The Country Club makes the best shrimp."
"Sounds fine to me." Turning to Josie, Stanley Prince smiled and held out his hand. " It was nice to meet you, Josie. I hope my son won't give you too much trouble."
"Dad, please," Billy said rolling his eyes.
"William, I know what your capable of. If some of Josie's influence would rub off on you I'd be happy," he smiled again at Josie.
Josie smiled back at Billy's father. She liked him. 'How could father and son be so different?' she asked herself. This made it easier on her. A little bit of her confidence was coming back.
"It was nice to meet you, too. Have a good lunch," smiled Josie.
As soon as they left the office, Billy turned to Josie.
"Well Josie, looks as if we're going to be spending some time together," he said, smirking.
Josie looked at him, trying to regain her composure.
"Yes ,Billy� And I guess I'm going to have to make the best of it, won't I?" Josie replied, glaring at him.
"My, my, we have changed haven't we? Your still not mad at me because of what happened way back in high school are you?" Billy grinned.
Josie looked at the floor and closed her eyes, trying to forget how humiliated he'd made her feel.
The memory of that awful night when he had been so cruel to her flooded her brain. But the strong Josie came out again and tried not to show him how he was affecting her at that moment. Mustering all her courage, she started babbling.
"How silly of you to even think that I would remember such an infantile incident. We were kids Billy, and kids do things without thinking sometimes," thinking that in reality, no kid could be as cold hearted as he had been to her. "I've grown up. What about you?"
"Oh, yes you have grown up, haven't you, Josie?" Billy intoned, looking her up and down pointedly, ignoring her question.
Josie felt a shiver of discomfort run up and down her spine. Nervously she started walking out of Mr. Rigfort's office, and as she passed Billy, he grabbed her arm stopped her and said, "Hey! Wait a minute, Josie� Look, I'm sorry about that remark, but we're going to have to work together here, so let's call a truce."
Josie looked up at him, and taking in a deep breath, she nodded. She didn't really want to trust him, but at this point, she didn't have a choice.
" Okay, Billy," she said. "Now let's go down to my office and start getting some work done."
"Aren't we going to eat, too?" exclaimed Billy with surprise. "You know, I know this great restaurant a couple of blocks from here�."
"Billy, please. I usually eat lunch at the cafeteria here at the paper. I have tons of work to do. I've got to get a column started and a stack of news articles to edit by five."
"Boy, I guess you haven't changed that much after all," he said ironically.
Josie walked past him without answering. "God," she thought, "give me the strength to get through this."
They walked down to her office and as they arrived, they stopped in front of Merkin's desk.
"Billy, this is my assistant Merkin," said Josie. "Merkin, this is Bill Prince. He'll be working with me for a while."
"Hello, Mr. Prince," said Merkin holding out his hand. "Anything you need Merk's the word."
"Right. Nice to meet you too, Merkin," replied Billy, eyeing him oddly. "I didn't know copy editors had assistants."
"Well, Miss Geller is a big time reporter now," answered Merkin.
"Yeah� So I heard�," said Billy dryly, looking over at Josie who was now sitting at her desk apparently working on her computer.
Meanwhile, Josie sat at her desk, needing the pretext of keeping busy to get a grip on herself. How could Billy still have such an effect on her, even after all this time? After all that he had done to her? The ruthless way he had treated her during high school and the dirty joke he played on her at prom still burned a hole in her memory.
Even so, she felt a certain kind of strength deep inside of her that stemmed from the realization that she really didn't need to prove anything to him, or anyone else for that matter. Not anymore. Her second time around at high school had taught her that, at least. She liked the person she had become. Most of all she had one thing that could make get through anything: Sam. Sam's strength and belief in her made her feel like she could conquer the world. With him by her side she wasn't afraid of anything. How she wished he were there now to help her through this!
At that moment the phone rang.
"Hello, Josie Geller speaking," answered Josie.
"Hey, Josie." It was Sam.
"Sam!" Josie closed her eyes, letting herself bask in the warmth of his voice.
"Hi, sweetheart," Sam said smiling into the phone. "It's been a long morning without you, and I needed to hear your voice. I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful time I had last night, and �I also wanted to say 'I love you'," said Sam tenderly.
"Sam, " she repeated, thinking how much she needed to hear those words at that moment. "I love you, too."
"Josie, is something wrong?" asked Sam worriedly, noticing the strange tone in her voice.
"No, everything is fine now," she said, wishing with all her heart that he was there with her. "Like you said, it's been a long morning. What's up?"
"Actually, I wanted to know when you get off work today."
"I get off around five thirty; why?"
"You'll see," he said mysteriously.
"Sam, come on. What are you up to?" asked Josie, curious.
"You reporters are just so nosey, aren't you?" Sam teased. She could tell he was grinning.
"Sam, " she pleaded. "Give me a hint at least."
"Patience is a virtue, my love. I'll see you when you get home, bye." At that he hung up.
Josie hung up the phone smiling and sighing, she came back down to earth. Sam's phone call had come just at the right moment. It was just what she needed to get through the rest of the day.
She looked up and saw Billy standing in front of her desk. She hadn't even noticed that he had walked into her office.
"From the look on your face, I take it that phone call was from your boyfriend, huh?" asked Billy.
"Look Billy� Let's get one thing straight," said Josie suddenly feeling stronger, standing up she looked at him straight in the eye. "My job is to teach you how a newspaper works. We can talk about anything you want, as long as it has to do with work. My private life is none of your business. It never interested you when we were in high school, and it doesn't have to interest you now."
"Boy, aren't we touchy!" Billy put up his hands as if to defend himself. "Excuse me. I was just trying to make small talk."
"Look," Josie said, trying to calm down, "I didn't mean to be rude. I just don't want our relationship to go beyond the professional level. Let's just keep it that, okay?" Josie focused on a piece of paper on her desk an twirled a pencil between her fingers trying to regain her composure.
What was wrong with her? What had made her react that way? She guessed that Billy just brought out the worst in her. She was going to have to control herself in the future.
'Whoa', Billy thought to himself. Josie Geller had sure turned out to be a surprise. When he first read her article, he couldn't believe it was actually her. But her reference to him in her article had given her away. "Josie Grossie" one of the major reporters for The Sun-Times.
He remembered an awkward, overweight girl with long dark greasy hair and braces. That had nothing to do with the beautiful young woman she had become. When he saw her that morning, he almost fell backwards at her transformation. She was beautiful, smart, feisty, and sexy. And the best part was that she didn't even realize it.
He remembered the "prom incident" as she put it, and truthfully, he hadn't given it much thought before now. But now he felt a little embarrassed at his behavior. If he'd known she was going to grow up into a smart, successful babe, maybe he'd have been a little nicer to her. But luckily, she apparently considered all that kid stuff and it at least seemed like she had put it out of her mind. He knew she'd had a crush on him when they were in high school, and it was obvious by her reaction that he still had an effect on her.
Well, he sure was going to make up for lost time. This teacher boyfriend of hers was sure going to have a run for his money. He might of let her go before, but he wasn't going to let her slip away now. Her position on the Sun-Times couldn't have been more perfect. With her by his side, he could probably climb the carrier ladder much faster and much easier than he'd hoped. The added bonus was that his father also seemed to like her. His father never liked any of the women he usually went out with. He was so stuffy sometimes. But he knew that Josie had won points in his father's book, and for that matter, in his also. He found that he was intrigued by her. She exuded a confidence an inner strength and determination that even he lacked. One had to be in her presence only a few minutes to realize it. She was very attractive and very sexy and she stirred something inside of himself that he had never felt before. She was just too tempting to pass up.
He was going to have to be very careful, though. He knew that he had to gain back her trust. That stupid little joke he played on her at their senior prom was probably a point up against him but he knew how to make her forgive him. It shouldn't be too difficult for him. He never had any problems with women before, and Josie wasn't going to be any different.
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