I was grateful that the next day was Friday, and my second week would be over at my new job.

As I was at my new desk at work, I could feel the exhaustion settling in, as I had woken up too late that morning and didn't have time to make coffee.

Grace came up to me with a coffee cup in hand.

"Hey," she smiled at me, "Happy Friday."

"TGIF," I nodded, "I am so jealous to see a coffee in your hand. I woke up late and had no time to make an espresso. I'll probably have to wait until lunch to get an iced latte or something. I haven't seen any Nespressos or Keurigs around here."

"The Accounting Department has a Keurig in their break room, but even better, Kori has a mini Keurig and Nespresso in her office. It's tucked away into a corner so it's kind of easy to miss. That's how I got my coffee this morning."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to bother Kori just for coffee," I said back to Grace.

"She won't care! I promise. I make coffee in her office multiple times a week, she's used to it. She has a mini fridge too with creamers. I think she secretly doesn't mind us coming into her office for it. I mentioned to her once that I use almond milk creamer, and next time it was in her fridge."

"That's very thoughtful," I nodded, "Okay. I'll go to her office."

Even though I felt apprehensive, I got up and walked down the hall to Kori's office, and when I reached it, the door was closed.

I held my breath and knocked.

A second later, Kori's voice came through, "Come in."

I opened the door, took a step into her office, and closed the door.

She looked up from her laptop and her eyes slightly widened when she saw me.

"Ashley, good morning," she said, "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm sorry to bother. Grace told me you had a Nespresso and Keurig in here. May I make myself coffee?"

"Go ahead," Kori nodded, and I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or not.

"Sorry," I said, not moving, "I overslept and had no time to make myself a shot of espresso."

Kori looked at me blankly, "You don't have to apologize."

"Thank you," I mumbled, and I walked over to the small table with a Nespresso and Keurig. I decided to make myself two shots of espresso, and I wanted to add a splash of creamer in there as well.

As I was making my second shot of espresso, Kori said to me, "If you ever oversleep and are running late, just text me. I'm not going to be mad at you for being a bit late for work."

I turned to look at her, "Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I actually don't believe I have your phone number."

"Finish making your coffee, and I'll put it in your phone. I prefer that everyone that reports to me has my phone number."

I nodded, "Makes sense. Do you have any creamer?"

Kori nodded, "In the mini fridge by my desk. Any preference on what kind or flavor?"

"Do you have oat milk creamer?" I asked Kori.

"I do. It's vanilla, is that okay?"

"Of course," I nodded.

I watched as Kori grabbed the bottle of creamer, got up and walked to hand it to me. As she did, her hand lightly brushed against me, and I was very conscious of even the slightest touch from her.

"Thank you," I said, and I finished making my coffee. I put a lid on my cup, and then walked over to her desk and took my phone out of my pocket and went to the phone app.

"You can add yourself as a contact," I said to her, "I'll text you that it's me if that works."

Kori nodded as I handed her my phone. She was standing by her desk, facing me. There was a bit of a height difference there, she was a few inches taller than my 5 foot four.

I looked up at her as she handed me my phone back, "Thanks. I'll text you right now that it's me."

I did so, and I then swiped out of the phone app.

Kori looked down at that exact moment, able to see my background photo.

It's me and my two sisters, Addison and Alyssa, who is 29 years old. The picture is at Alyssa's wedding that she had recently, and a close up of the three of us, Alyssa in the middle.

"Not to pry, but are those your sisters?" Kori asked me, "You all look alike."

I noticed Kori study the picture for a second longer, and then look right at me.

"Yes, the one in the middle is my older sister, Alyssa. She just got married in August. The other one is my younger sister, Addison."

"Guess your parents liked names that start with an A?"

I laughed, "I'd say so, especially since my dad's name is Adam and my mom's is Amy."

That got a chuckle out of Kori, and I smiled at her.

I rarely saw her smile, but she met my gaze and flashed me a grin.

She's got a really pretty smile, and cute dimples.

I felt frozen for a moment after Kori smiled at me, but I quickly got myself together and said, "Sorry, not meaning to keep you from doing your work. Thank you for letting me make coffee."

Kori's eyes bore into me as she said, "You really don't have to apologize, Ashley."

"Okay," I nodded, my heart starting to race just by Kori's eyes on me, "Thanks. I'll see you later."

Kori nodded, and then took a seat at her desk. My heart was still thumping as I walked out of her office and closed the door.

For the rest of the day, I didn't see much of Kori. However, at the very end of the day she came out to the IT section...and walked straight up to me.

I turned my chair and looked up at her.

"Did everything go alright today?" she asked me.

I nodded, "Yes, for sure. It wasn't super busy."

"Fridays tend to not be. Great job this week, happy to have you here."

I felt myself smile, "Thank you. Any fun weekend plans?"

Why the fuck did I just ask that?

I couldn't tell if Kori was annoyed that I asked her something personal, as her stoic expression didn't change.

She answered, "Not especially, no. I'll probably just go to the gym and take my dog on a walk in the park."

No mention of a wife...

"Aw, what kind of dog do you have?" I asked her, still not knowing if it was okay that I was asking her these questions.

Kori pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and pulled up a photo of a gorgeous German Shepherd.

"German Shepherd, as you can see. His name is Chester."

"He's a beautiful dog," I said back to Kori.

Another rare smile as she said, "He's the best. Do you have any fun plans?"

I assumed she was just asking me this to be polite.

"I'll probably just spend time with my roommates, and I'm going to my parents for dinner on Saturday."

"I hope you have a nice weekend. I'll see you on Monday," Kori gave me a small smile, and then strolled away a bit abruptly.

As much as the weekend would be nice, I wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing my parents. Thankfully my sisters were going to be there as well,

When it comes to my parents, I've learned to forgive them for a lot...but it's never been forgotten.

They live about an hour North from me in a very large home on an acre of land. It's in a more rural town in Pennsylvania, and they moved there about a year ago.

The home is beautiful, the land is absolutely stunning, mostly due to my dads landscaping. From the outside, it looks like my parents have it all. It always has.

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

Addison has been quick to forgive my parents for all they've done, but Alyssa has a lot more animosity toward them.

I knew that Saturday night was going to be interesting to say the least.

I drove up to my parents home, and I was the first one to arrive.

My mom greeted me at the door with a hug. As soon as I stepped in the house, it smelled absolutely delicious from whatever meal she was cooking.

"Hi, sweetie," my mom said to me, "How was the ride up, not too bad I hope?"

"No, not bad at all. What are you cooking? It smells amazing."

"Just some rosemary lemon roasted chicken, smashed potatoes, and other vegetables on the side. You'll love it, I'm sure," my mom said back, "Come on in, your father is helping in the kitchen."

I followed my mom into the kitchen, admiring the wooden accents in their home. It was decorated in a modern farmhouse style, which is the style we always had in our homes growing up.

When I walked into the kitchen, my dad greeted me with a hug as well.

"Ash! So good to see you," he said.

Instinctively, I inhaled to see if I smelled any booze on him.

It always makes me hold my breath, but thankfully I didn't.

"Would you like anything to drink?" my mom asked me, "I've got some sparkling cider, soda, iced tea...whatever you want."

"I'll take a Dr. Pepper," I said, "Thank you."

My mom went into the fridge and quickly emerged with a bottle of Dr. Pepper, which she handed to me.

"So, how are you?" my dad asked, leaning against the counter across from me, "How is your new job, are you still seeing that girl?"

Right when my new job was mentioned, I thought of Kori.

"My new job is going well, I like it so far. It seems like it's going to be a great company to work for. As for the girl...no, I'm not seeing Gabby anymore. She ended things."

"I'm glad to hear about your new job, but I'm sorry to hear about Gabby," my dad said to me.

"So am I," my mom said from the other side of the counter my dad was leaning against, "Especially since it didn't end on your terms."

"It's okay," I said, "It definitely sucks, but I realize she wasn't the right person for me."

At that moment, there was another knock on the door. My mom answered and came back with Addison, and soon after there was another knock, and in walked Alyssa and her husband, Damon.

Alyssa is quite busy, so I don't get to see her as much. I could sense some tension as she gave our dad a quick hug.

"You look so cute," Alyssa said to me, "Love this cranberry color on you."

"Thanks, Lyss," I smiled at her.

Alyssa and I look like we could be twins. We both have dark hair and deep blue eyes, as well as very similar facial features. We always got mistaken for being twins when we grew up, even though she is a little over 2 years older than me.

The six of us sat down in the dining room as my mom put out all of the food, family style.

As we ate, my parents started asking my sisters and I, plus Damon, about what was going on in our lives.

I know they're trying to make up for everything that happened in my childhood, but it still brings up emotions I haven't yet conquered.

"Ash, your 27th birthday is in 2 weeks!" my mom looked at me, "Are you doing anything fun?"

"I'll probably do something with Trey and Rachel," I said back to my mom, "You know birthdays aren't a big deal to me."

"Your father and I would love to take you out to dinner as well," my mom smiled at me, "It doesn't have to be on your birthday of course, or even that weekend, it can be the week after."

"Sure," I nodded, "That sounds nice."

My parents then focused their attention on Addison.

"Addie, are you seeing anyone?" my mom asked her, "Last you told me, you were seeing that guy...what was his name, Chris?"

Addison took a sip of sparkling cider, and then nodded, "Yep, Chris. And no, I'm not seeing him anymore. I actually have a date this week coming up with a guy I met on Hinge. He's a bit older than me, he's 30, but I don't see anything wrong with that."

"25 and 30 is perfectly fine," my dad said back to Addison, "Nothing wrong with a bit of an age gap, as long as it's legal, and if it is legal, it still shouldn't be weird. Like how Leonardo DiCaprio is basically 50 years old only dating women that are like, 19."

Immediately, my mind floated to Kori.

I still don't know how old she is.

Part of me...really doesn't care.