Breaking Into the Business Page 3

“My intention is not to make you uncomfortable,” Jeremy continued. “But I have never been taken by someone before. You really are ravishing.”

  I didn’t know how to respond.

  “I can see that I’ve made this uncomfortable.”

  “It’s just that nobody has ever talked to me like that,” I managed. “On top of that, you and I are going to have a working relationship with each other.”

  “Had I known all the facts, I would not have requested you as my editor,” Jeremy said.

  “I apologize,” I said. “I can contact Mr. Leighton and request to be taken off the assignment.”

  “No,” he said quickly. “Don’t do that. I only meant that I would not have requested you as my editor. I still would have come to the office to see you, but it would have been to ask you on a date.”

  “That’s very nice of you to say,” I said. “But the problem remains that I’m still your editor.”

  “So you are saying that if it weren’t for the working relationship, you would go out with me?” he asked.

  I did sort of just admit that. But seriously, who wouldn’t go on a date with this man? He was stunning.

  “In any other situation, I would go out with you,” I confessed. That was the most forward I had ever been with a man.

  “Then I must insist we work out a way to have a professional relationship and another one that is fun,” he said. “Are you capable of separating the two?”

  “I don’t really know,” I said. “I have never been in this situation.”

  “I think that we can make this work.”

  “So what are you talking about here? Just a date?”

  “That would be a start,” he said with a smile.

  “Dating a client is something that my office will probably frown upon.”

  “Then we have to keep it a secret,” he said, “At least for now, while you are on my assignment.”

  “Wow,” I said, sitting back and thinking this through.

  Luckily, our food arrived and that broke the conversation. I had to think this through. The most handsome man I had seen in a while was asking me on a date, and other than the whole work stuff, I had no reason to say no to him. He was kind, educated, rich, and successful in every way I could think of.

  Of course, I had my children to think about, but if I were ever going to date again, they would have to face that reality. In fact, having a male presence in their lives might not be such a bad idea any way.

  Was I ready for this? Frank’s departure and subsequent silence had certainly left me damaged. Sometimes I thought it might have been better if he had stuck around and just treated me like crap. Not knowing the problem was worse.

  I sighed and gave him an answer. “Okay, I will go on a date with you.”

  “Great,” he said.

  “On one condition.”

  “Anything.”

  “We take it slow,” I said. “I’m not even sure if dating is the right thing for me, but I want to give it a try. But I’m very serious about the fact that this has to be slow.”

  “We can go as slow as you want,” he said. His smile was warm, and I could tell that he was sincere about what he said.

  “I should also let you know that I have two children, both teenagers,” I said. “I hope that’s not a problem.”

  “Not a problem at all,” he said.

  Chapter Four

  For some reason, I felt the need to get extra dressed up that night. I had my weekly standing appointment for drinks with the girls and it wasn’t uncommon for guys to ask to buy us drinks. I never put much stock into it, and usually I just declined the offer, but tonight was different.

  Maybe it was the combination of the incident with Derrick and being asked on a date, but tonight I felt sexy. The blouse I chose was low cut, showing an ample amount of cleavage, and the skirt I put on was the shortest that I had. I actually put product in my hair and a little more makeup than usual. I was never a fan of makeup and felt that I looked better without a lot.

  There wasn’t much time before I was to meet them, so I had to hurry. That afternoon, the kids and I had watched a movie to spend some quality time together. Jake and I interacted as we always did, and Mallory typed away on her phone the entire time. I nearly confiscated the device, but knew that wouldn’t help.

  I knocked on her door to tell her bye and got some inaudible response, but Jake actually came out of his room to give me a hug. He was such a sweet boy.

  Before I walked off, he stopped me.

  “You’re going out in that?” he asked.

  “Obviously,” I said. “Is there a problem?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Mom, you look great, but you realize that you will definitely get some male attention in that thing, right?”

  “Maybe that’s the idea,” I smiled.

  “Well, just make sure they are nice,” he said. “And don’t go too far.”

  “What would you know about that sort of thing?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Mom, I’m fifteen,” he said. “I know all about that.”

  “You better not ‘know all about that’ from personal experience, young man.”

  “That’s none of your business,” he laughed.

  I shook my head, not wanting to take the conversation any further. Jake always felt comfortable talking to me about girls, but I had a hard time hearing about it.

  “You two better behave while I’m gone,” I warn him. “I should be home by midnight, but if you need me, call my cell. You are not to go anywhere.”

  “Got it,” he said.

  “And tell your sister for me.”

  “Will do.”

  I kissed him on the forehead and took the stairs as fast as I could manage with three-inch heels. I glanced at myself one more time in the hallway mirror before leaving.

  Damn, I looked good.

  The girls and I met at our normal meeting place, Studio 94, named for the year in which it had opened. The place was swanky, but not too stuffy, and the crowd was eclectic with a mix of the young and the old. It was a shame that the ‘older’ crowd’s age range included my own, but I didn’t really care. I knew I looked better than half the anorexic girls still in college did.

  Betsy and Pearl were already there when I arrived and had managed to secure our normal table, which looked like it had been a fete considering the bustling crowd inside.

  The two women were my best friends. No, they were so much more than best friends were; they were my rock. We had met in our freshmen year in high school and had managed to stay friends through all that life had delivered. When I was pregnant in high school with Jake, those two had never left my side, even when many at my school had chosen to ostracize me. When Frank had left, they were there with the exact words that I had needed to hear.

  Betsy saw me first. As always, she looked stunning. She stood a few inches over most other women and typically wore heels to make that fact even more pronounced. Her luscious brown hair was usually pulled back, but it still found some way to flow outwards. Her curls seemed to seduce men, beckoning them back to her. She had never faced issues with confidence or attracting men with her legs that went on for days. Her second marriage had ended right after Frank left, and sometimes I felt as if the time she spent with me helping to get over my failed marriage had contributed to the downfall of her second.

  Bright glistening green eyes greeted me and she held up her martini to salute my arrival. Her outfit showed a good deal of cleavage, more than I would have been comfortable with, and her skirt was at least an inch or two shorter than mine was.

  As I approached the table, Pearl turned and held out her arms. She couldn’t have been any more different than Betsy. Short of stature and just a little thick, she was just as outgoing as the other. Her dark skin made her brown eyes appear the color of toffee. That feature was the one that men noticed first about her, and she too had never had problems attracting them.

  The fact that both of them had never lost their confidence w
as the main reason they pushed me so hard to get back into the world of dating. For most of our friendship, I was with Frank, and both of them had admitted to me recently that they were excited about the prospect of a single Lana.

  “What took you so long?” Pearl asked.

  “Sorry,” I said as I pulled up to the table. I exchanged air kisses with each of them.

  “I just ordered you a drink,” Betsy announced.

  “Thank you,” I said. My usual raspberry martini sounded delicious.

  Betsy waved her hand. “So Pearl here was just telling me about the maintenance guy at her office who has been eyeing her every day this week.”

  “Really?” I asked, intrigued.

  Pearl worked as claims adjuster at the local insurance company. The pay was great, the stress high, and she loved her job. I personally couldn’t see the appeal, but Pearl liked a good confrontation.

  “So this company came in to redo some of the lighting in the office,” Pearl said. “I noticed this guy named Hector walking up and down my aisle on Monday. He passed my desk four times that day. Then the rest of the week, he keeps coming by.”

  “Is he sending you any signals?” I asked.

  “Signals?” she asked, clearly shocked. “Girl, he is eyeing me like he’s a hungry man staring at a Thanksgiving feast.”

  I burst out laughing. Pearl’s sense of humor was the best.

  “So did you talk to him?” I asked as the waiter set our drinks down.

  “On Friday, he walked by my desk four times before lunch, so right before I left for lunch, I stopped him and gave him a folded up piece of paper with my number on it.”

  “That’s awesome,” I chuckled. “Do you think he will call?”

  “Um, he’s already called my cell three times,” Pearl said with a smile.

  “What did he say?”

  “I don’t know because I haven’t answered the phone.”

  “Then why did you give him your number?” I asked.

  “A girl has to play hard to get a little,” she said. “I don’t want to appear too easy. I mean, I was bold enough to give him my number. I can’t answer on the first ring like he’s the only man I can get right now.”

  “You have other men lined up?” Betsy asked.

  “Not right now, but you never know.” She turned back to me. “So what’s new in your world dear? I can tell by that sexy outfit you wore that something is on your mind.”

  I blushed, but tried to hide that fact by taking a big drink from my glass.

  “I had a little episode with the pool boy,” I announced in a quiet voice.

  “What?” Pearl almost screamed. She also used Derrick as her pool boy, so she knew how hot he was. “What do you call an ‘episode’?”

  “It’s not much really,” I said. “But I came outside this morning and he was skinny dipping.”

  “Oh, dear,” Betsy said, clutching her chest with one hand and then fanning herself with the other. “He’s such a pretty young man. What did you do?”

  “You know she probably asked him in to play cards or something,” Pearl said, waving her off.

  “No, I didn’t,” I said. “At first, I was a little dumbstruck from embarrassment. He’s just as attractive naked.”

  “How big was it?”

  “Oh my god, Pearl!”

  “It’s a valid question,” Betsy chimed in.

  I shook my head. Sometimes they were insufferable. But I knew an answer was required to satisfy their curiosity. “Now I don’t have much to go off of for comparison, but let’s say he was much larger than Frank.”

  “I knew it!” Pearl said, slamming her first on the table. “So what did you do?”

  “Well, he stepped out of the water and then he noticed me,” I continued. “He was as shocked as me. He just stood there and didn’t even bother covering up at first. But he wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I was.”

  “He was probably waiting on you to make a move,” Pearl said.

  “No, he wasn’t,” I said.

  “Sounds like he was,” Betsy said. “So did you make a move?”

  “No,” I said quickly.

  “So that’s the end of the story?” Pearl asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Well, that sucked,” Betsy told her.

  “But I do have a date,” I said.

  “With Derrick?” Pearl asked.

  “No, with Jeremy Towers,” I said.

  “The famous author?” Betsy asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “He heard about my editing abilities from another author that I worked for before, and he requested my services on his next one, so I got the assignment. When we went to lunch today to discuss it, he asked me on a date.”

  “Sounds like he’s interested in your other services,” Pearl said.

  “No,” I shook my head. “He said that he didn’t know what I looked like, and said that if he had known that I was this beautiful, he never would have asked me to be his editor. So he just wants to take me on a date.”

  “And you said yes?” Betsy asked.

  “Of course,” I smiled. “Just on the condition that he takes it slow.”

  “Oh no,” Pearl shook her head. “Why did you have to say take it slow? That’s a nail in the coffin and you haven’t even gone on a date.”

  “I’m just not sure if I’m ready for something serious.”

  “It’s been two years since Frank left,” Betsy pointed out. “You’ve gotten past the point where you are screaming his name out of hatred and you have certainly gotten over your love for him. Just what other stage of grieving are you trying to go through before you start dating again?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

  “Okay, girl, let me lay it on the line for you,” Pearl said. “Can you handle it?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. Narrowing my eyes, I studied her, trying to figure out ahead of time just what she was preparing to say to me. I didn’t know if a night of drinks was the best place for this.

  “Okay, here goes,” Pearl said. She took a deep breath. “You met Frank in high school and your relationship with him was easy in the beginning. The baby forced you both together and made you work through all the problems that came along. You never really had to face the prospect of finding a man and all of that pre-relationship stuff.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “You communicate with people easily,” Pearl continued. “But when it comes to talking to a man in an intimate way, you are clueless. The thought that you could open yourself up so much to another person scares the hell out of you.”

  She had a point, and I knew it. This all seemed like a lot of fuss over little pay off though.

  “So why would I even open myself up?” I asked. “Where would all of this lead me anyways?”

  “Honey, you need some man in your life,” Betsy said. “Don’t ever get to the point where you are dependent on one, but you still need to experience that feeling of having a man there, even if it’s fleeting.”

  “I hear you,” I sighed. I knew they were right, but facing that prospect was a challenge, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle that.

  “So you have to decide when you are ready to change this,” Betsy said. “Let us know when you are at the point where you think you are ready and we will help you.”

  “No,” Pearl held up a hand. “This girl here has lost the right to decide for herself. I declare right here, right now that she will talk to a man.”

  “But I did that today,” I said in defense of myself.

  “No, a man talked to you,” Pearl said. “You didn’t have anything to do with that. You just fell into a situation where a man asked you on a date. But what happens on the date? My guess is that you will sabotage yourself. You will either say something or not say something that will cause the date to end in disaster.”

  “Pearl’s right,” Betsy said. “On paper, this man is perfect, and you have done the unlikely and had
him ask you on a date. Most of us will search a lifetime and never meet a man like this.”

  “So what does your proclamation mean for me?” I asked. I reached down to my martini and took another drink. I was nervous now.

  “Betsy and I are going to pick a man tonight,” Pearl said. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he is nice looking. Whichever one we pick, you will have to go to talk to him.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I don’t mean, just go and say a few things and then come back,” Pearl said. “None of that crap. You will actually carry on a full conversation and get to know him.”

  “Ugh,” I growled. “I don’t want to.”

  Betsy chuckled. “And I don’t want a friend who is stuck in a rut like you.”

  “I’m not in ---,” I began. How could I protest any longer? They were right. “Okay, I give up. Pick this poor sap out.”

  “Not so fast,” Pearl said. “We sit and wait on the right one.”

  “Agreed,” Betsy nodded. “Until then, we enjoy ourselves and have some more beverages.” She turned and flagged down the waiter and ordered another round of drinks.

  “So let’s change the subject,” I volunteered. “How’s work going, Betsy?”

  “I guess it’s okay,” Betsy said. “Not too bad and not really that good either. I closed two sales this week.”

  Pearl began waving one of her hands up and down. “Okay, I hate to cut your story short, honey, but I think I spotted our target.”

  I rolled my eyes and followed the direction of where her finger was pointing. The first man I saw was a heavyset guy in a red flannel shirt that was tucked in on one side. His glasses sat crookedly on his large nose and his hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a week.

  “Sorry, I’m not into that guy,” I said. There was no way I was going to talk to that guy. Deal or no deal, it just wasn’t going to happen.

  “I’m talking about the guy in the blue shirt,” Pearl said.

  I shifted my gaze and managed to find the man who she was talking about. From the moment my eyes stopped on him, I felt my heart flutter. He was possibly the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His brown hair swept back from his forehead, but wasn’t too long. I couldn’t see his face from that distance, but from what I could tell, he seemed good looking. I could see that he was slender in the waist, and had muscular arms that I could see through the sleeves.