First, I want to say I am so sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. I will try my best not to let it happen again :)
Second, Thank you to everyone that is reading and reviewing, I hope you like it so far!
Third, I am forever grateful to Julie and Carol for all their help and encouragement. You both are absolutely amazing!
Lastly, I don't own anything, everything is JE's.
Chapter 4, Month 2
"It's beautiful," I breathed as Alex pulled his white BMW Alphina B7 into the valet area of Water Works Restaurant and Lounge. I thought Ranger's cars were nice. Not even the first Porsche I had destroyed could hold its own against Alex's car.
"Not as beautiful as you," he replied. If he was killing me with kindness, I was surely dead.
It was Saturday night, and one week ago at Marisa's going away party, Alex had asked me on a date as he walked me to my car.
"It's been a while since I've done this, but I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner sometime."
My mouth gaped open, and I watched as the look of concern and anxiety laced his face the longer I put off speaking.
"I'm sorry, from what Marisa said you were available. I'm so sorry."
At his comment, the first thought that flashed through my brain was killing Marisa—after she had her baby—and then I started feeling guilty for leaving him hanging without an answer. He turned to walk away, and I grabbed his arm this time.
"I think that sounds like a great idea." Wait—I was supposed to turn him down nicely. At least that's what I told myself I was going to do.
Alex laughed nervously for a second and then looked directly in my eyes. "Does next Saturday work for you?" At my nod, he said "Is five too early?"
"No, it works for me."
He put his hand over mine where it was still on his arm. "Drive safe and have a good night."
I'd spent all of Saturday trying to work off nervous energy. I'd cleaned Rex's cage— twice, cleaned all the dishes—even the already clean ones—and had scrubbed every nook and cranny of the house. There very possibly were threadbare spots in the carpet from me vacuuming the same spot over and over. At least I was doing stuff off my personal change list. Finally, around three o'clock, I declared there was no more to be done, and I couldn't stall any longer and hopped in the shower.
Getting out freshly washed, shaved and exfoliated, I slathered my body in lightly floral smelling lotion. I had no plans of getting 'lucky' tonight but pulled on a matching set of lacy black underwear and bra. Putting on a robe, I blew my hair dry and put on my makeup. I definitely needed a couple extra coats of mascara, so I kept applying it until my lashes were on the verge of looking gunky. Taking off my robe, I put on a simple, form-fitting, black, short-sleeved dress with a scoop neck and black peep-toe heels.
All I needed was a little jewelry to finish off the look. Alex had come into my office Friday night and told me to dress nice, "Nothing too fancy but not too casual." I opened my jewelry box to look for a simple pair of cubic zirconia studs and a bracelet, and the happy mood I was working myself into was gone. Another reminder of happy times with Joe—the friendship ring he gave me for Christmas. It really was a pretty ring, and I almost debated on wearing it with my outfit, but I would probably be stuck in a melancholy mood the entire night. That is if I could snap out of it before Alex arrived, and I'd more than likely be staring at it throughout dinner.
The doorbell ringing snapped me out my reverie. Glancing at the clock, it was 4:15— earlier than I expected. I fluffed my curls and plastered a smile on my face. This was going to be a good night. Maybe it wouldn't lead to a relationship, but I was going to have fun, even if I had to fake it. I took my time going downstairs. No need to open the door out of breath.
I opened the door to Alex wearing black dress pants and a light blue dress shirt that brought out his eyes. He looked very handsome and was holding a beautiful bouquet of stargazer lilies.
Seeing me staring at the flowers, Alex said, "I didn't want to go overboard with roses yet." I let out a nervous laugh and smiled.
"Come in—I don't have a vase, but I'm sure I can find something to put these in for now." I took the bouquet, instantly smelling them, and led him into the kitchen.
"This is nice. It has a homey feeling," Alex said, glancing around the kitchen and living room.
"Uh Huh—I haven't finished decorating or doing much with it really," I said absently while looking for a jar.
"Our reservations aren't until five, but I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get there."
I had just finished putting the flowers in a pitcher, placing them on my breakfast nook and turned around to give Alex my attention. "Where is 'there'?"
"You'll see as soon as we arrive. I promise you'll like it." He winked and then smirked.
"Okay, I guess we're ready to head out then."
He nodded, and we headed toward the door. As I locked up, Alex had opened the passenger door and was waiting for me. As soon as I was seated and buckled in, he shut my door. I mentally eye rolled and shook my head. He's just being a gentleman. I wasn't used to this treatment, and I was caught between liking it and hating it.
On the way to the restaurant, I found my nervousness wearing off, and I began to relax into a nice conversation with Alex. As soon as we'd arrived at the Water Works, I had been in awe. The historical building was right off the Schuylkill River; its classic 18th century architecture was evident by the large white columns and rock brick.
"Have you ever heard of Water Works before?" he asked as he took my hand and led me to the main dining room.
"No, I wish I would have." My eyes were taking in the floors, ceilings and walls. They sure don't make stuff like they used to.
"It was the first municipal water delivery plant," he stated. "The inside was just renovated within the last couple of years and made it into a restaurant, and there's an educational science center further down the property."
"Wow." I was still in awe. We didn't have anything like this near Trenton, at least not that I'd the privilege of seeing yet.
He turned his attention away from me and toward the wait staff. "We have reservations under MacLaine."
"Right this way, sir," a young male waiter stated. We were led out to the open veranda right on the river. Tiki torches lighted it—again the site was breath taking.
As soon as we were seated, Alex asked, "It isn't too cold for you out here is it?"
"No—Even if it was, I wouldn't want to give up this view."
He nodded his agreement, and we relaxed into random conversation while we ordered. When our meals finally came, I couldn't wait to dig in. Noting my surroundings and the type of place we were dining in, I made sure to be on my best behavior and took my time eating. The filet mignon was delectable. When I found myself at the end of my meal, I was still wishing there was more. Dessert arrived, and I couldn't contain my excitement. I'd ordered 'The Water Wheel' and a coffee. It was a flourless, triple raspberry torte with Bavarian Cream and Chambord ganache.
To say it was rich was a huge understatement. I pushed aside my plate with a very satisfied "Mmmmmmmm."
"I always like a lady that isn't afraid to eat," Alex chuckled.
I snorted. There was no way I was going to act too reserved to enjoy such a good meal.
"So, I was wondering how you like your job? I didn't want to bring up work, but after I heard you were a bounty hunter previously, I guessed purchasing wouldn't have the same thrill."
Uh oh, what had he heard? "There was too much thrill. My heart beat needed a break from going too fast," I replied.
"So you don't regret coming here?"
Not in this moment, I thought to myself. "No, there was a lot going on back home. I needed to take this step."
"Care to share?"
I feigned a yawn; not the topic of conversation I wanted to go into. "Maybe another time. Thirty some odd years are too much to cover in one night."
His eyes sparkled. "Ah, so you're agreeing to another date? You make my life too easy, honey."
Had I? And did he really just call me honey? "How about next time we go somewhere a little more low key," I said, laughing.
"Was this too much?" he asked, motioning with his hands around the restaurant.
"No," I laughed again. "It was wonderful. I just don't want you to go broke charming me."
It was Alex's turn to laugh. "Oh—so I charm you now, do I?"
Smirking, I said, "Maybe just a little."
After taking a leisurely walk around the property, Alex took me home. I was surprised and scared at how at ease I'd been for the entire date. The closer we got to my house my nerves worked their way back into my system. I felt like I was in high school and being dropped off after my first date.
"If you don't mind I'll walk you to your door." I nodded my assent, and we made our way up to my small landing.
"Thank you. It was a nice evening," I said, wanting Alex to know that yes I had a good time, but the fun for the evening stopped here.
"No, thank you for giving me the best company I've had to dinner in a long time. I look forward to doing it again." Without letting another moment pass, he took his right hand to cradle my left cheek and placed a kiss on my right cheek. Without moving his face any further away, he said, "Sleep tight." Without another word from me, he returned to his car.
I unlocked my door and ran to the phone. I definitely felt like I was back in high school and needed to call my very best friend forever to give her every single little detail. In the middle of dialing Mary Lou, I realized how late it was. Ugh, too late to call and tomorrow she'd be too busy with Mass and Sunday School. Lula and Connie had gone on a double date tonight, and I wasn't about to interrupt the aftermath of that. I knew Marisa was trying to get as much sleep as possible before the baby arrived. Oh well, maybe I'd keep this one to myself and see where it went. No, I'd need to at least tell Mary Lou. It's tradition!
Going to bed for the first night since the big split, I didn't have the urge to cry since my last thoughts weren't of Joe when I fell asleep.
Monday started off with the normal monthly meeting and lunch with Sue, Amy and the assistants at Jed's.
"So, I overheard Jessica talking to Sarah while they were waiting for the elevator and someone had a date with the big boss and didn't tell us. Said he can't stop smiling today," said Dave, who was now my assistant.
Since everyone at the table was either married or otherwise taken, they all turned and looked at me. "What?" I said shrugging my shoulders, "It wasn't a date. Which Jessica said this? Jessica—Alex's assistant—or Cosmetic's Jessica?"
"Jessica—Alex's assistant—Jessica. That's how I knew it was true. Okay, tell us now."
"That's why she was giving you dirty looks during the meeting," Sue observed.
I put my hand up. "Okay, for one thing, we're just getting to know each other so don't go getting too excited," I said to Dave. Turning to Sue, I added, "Why was she giving me dirty looks? I don't get it."
Amy answered, "Everyone knows she has a crush on Alex. Tell me you haven't seen it when you go to his office."
"Actually I've never been to his office. He always comes to me." They all started laughing.
"Laugh all you want. Jessica has nothing to worry about." Changing the subject to get the attention off of me, I said, "So Dave, you ready to help me lead next month's meeting?"
He groaned, and I smiled—mission accomplished. The rest of lunch was spent with Dave telling the story of how he had messed up the last meeting he was supposed to help with.
After work I was getting dinner together when my cell rang. It was Mary Lou!
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" she whined as soon as I answered. So I did.
"The restaurant was that nice?" she asked.
"Yeah, it was amazing and expensive," I replied, recalling the evening.
"You must have I love Sugar Daddies written on your forehead," she teased.
"He came to me, okay? And I do not. As a matter of fact, I asked him to take me to a less fancy place next time."
"Why the hell would you do that?" she asked in wonderment.
"Because I'm from the Burg too, remember? Hey, I got to let you go. Dinner's almost ready."
"I didn't hear the microwave ping," Mary Lou joked. "Or a doorbell."
Mary Lou was lucky she wasn't standing right next to me; otherwise, she would be withering in pain with the look I was shooting into the phone. "No microwave in use over here. I'm cooking."
"I think I may just have had a heart attack. You are so making me dinner when I'm there."
"You'll be lucky if I don't poison you for being so mean. Since I miss you maybe I'll wait to poison you the second meal," I teased back.
"Nope—I'll be watching your every move. Have a good night, Steph. I'm glad to hear you're happy there, and I can't wait to see you."
I missed my best friend and couldn't wait the few days it would take for her to be with me. I'd made a few friends through work, but there was nothing like that lifelong friend. In the meantime, I had plenty of work ahead of me and the weekend after Mary Lou was visiting, I'd have another date with Alex.
"Omigod, I was expecting to come to a place more like your apartment," Mary Lou said as soon as she stepped in the door.
As promised, she came up the second weekend of the month, and I was more than happy to have the company. I was more of a homebody in Philadelphia since I didn't have many friends there.
I grabbed her bag and took her into the living room. "I'm going to pretend that wasn't a rude comment."
Rolling her eyes, she retorted, "It wasn't. This place is nice."
"Are you saying it's too nice for me?" I wondered, while flopping myself down on the couch.
"Well aren't we Little Miss Sensitive today? No, this house suits you well. Give me the grand tour."
"Shut up," I tossed back at her. Heaving myself off the couch, I proceeded to show her the rest of the house. "It's because I haven't had anything, if you know what I mean, in months."
"What? I don't believe you." She put her hand over her heart as if she was having palpitations.
"HEY! It's true! Leave me alone. Where's my list? You've just reminded me I need to add something to it."
"Oh ye faithful shower massager?"
We both giggled.
"Just do me a favor and don't use it until I'm gone," Mary Lou quipped. "You'll probably use the entire city's water, and I want a hot shower before I go home tomorrow."
"Now you shut up!"
She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. "Let's go."
Mary Lou and I put Marisa's and my last shopping trip to shame. I had every single item on my list, plus more, and then there was Mary Lou's stuff. Good thing she'd brought her van. By the time we made it back to the house and brought in what felt like hundreds of bags, we were both starved as we'd opted to keep shopping over stopping for lunch. Mary Lou kept a bag of M&M's in her purse that luckily had kept us going through the day. Now the sugar high was over, and we needed food with nutrients.
"I'm going to make one of my specialties tonight," I said pulling meat out of the fridge.
"Stouffers?" she guessed. "Wait, did you just pull a jar of spaghetti sauce from the cupboard?"
"No, not Stouffers, and yes I did. You have a problem with that?" I pretended to be angry, trying to keep my scowl as real as possible.
"Are you sure you're from the Burg? I don't even think they sell jarred sauce within a fifty-mile radius. It's blasphemy!" She joked, although probably it was true.
"If you are looking for pasta and sauce from scratch, you're at the wrong place, but I did go kill the cow if that makes up for it," I joked. We both knew there was no way I could hurt any animal.
We had both finished dinner and pushed away our plates—too full of starch to even think about dessert.
"Oh man, I think I'm in love with sauce in a jar." Mary Lou said.
"Yeah, I know; me too." I said, pausing for a moment to debate if I really wanted to ask my question. "So, is there anything new at home? You haven't really said anything." I was fidgeting with the few last pieces of spaghetti left on my plate. I'd been dying to ask her the question since she arrived and curiosity had won over. I felt I'd shown some restraint for being an abnormally curious person.
"Well, there is something." She looked at me, and for once I couldn't read Mary Lou. What was she hiding and why couldn't I tell what she was thinking? I hadn't been away that long had I?
"You know how you said Joe moved here?"
"Yeah—"
I was on the edge of my seat. Why was she drawing out whatever she had to say?
"I heard he moved to New York."
"Are you serious?" I felt empty. Here I'd been holding out hope eventually we'd run into each other. I'd also convinced myself we hadn't run into each other yet because I stayed at home more often. Apparently I was wrong.
"Where'd you hear that? Are you sure?" I was feeling like I'd just been punched in the gut because my ex-boyfriend wasn't living in the same state as me—seeing as he was one of the more significant reasons I'd moved out of our home state to begin with. I was supposed to be over him. Hell, I had a new boyfriend that called earlier just to say he missed me.
Her eyes were full of sympathy. "Maybe it's a good thing he didn't move here, Steph. Maybe it's what you need so you can move on completely with Alex." Her voice defied her words as if she couldn't believe in what she was saying.
"Where'd you hear it, Mary Lou?" I asked again with more push.
She bent her head down, obviously not wanting to say it, but she finally peeked up at me and said quietly, "Eddie."
Well there wasn't a doubt now that Joe was, in fact, living in New York. Had it been anyone else who'd told Mary Lou I'd have continued to believe it was just a rumor, but Eddie had been one of mine and Mary Lou's best friends growing up, and he was close to Joe.
The rest of the night was spent watching girl movies, staying as far away from anything too sappy. We hadn't done anything like this since we were teenagers—so long in fact I'd almost forgotten I had this side in me. Sure I loved to pamper myself every once in a while and shop, but there was nothing like giggling uncontrollably with your best friend over an inside joke no one else would ever find funny or painting toe nails and putting those silly stickers on them. I couldn't wait for Marisa to have her baby, so I could do this with her when Mary Lou wasn't around. Marisa would never ever replace my Mary Lou, but I knew she would have a place very close to my heart as well.
The Monday following Mary Lou's visit, I was calling Macy's Suburban Square in Ardmore, a few cities over. I'd just received an email from Kent, the receiving manager at the store, that the last truck was shorted twenty-nine boxes. All the boxes not received were Michael Kors from their new spring line. I knew the protocol, because we'd had shortages before, but nothing of this magnitude. I asked Kent to double check the box count while I checked with Amber, my Michael Kors contact, to see if anything was missed on her side.
Something told me this was not just an oversight, but it's not my job to investigate. I do the ordering and when discrepancies happen, I'm the go between Kors and Macy's. The offending company then opens an investigation when we, at Macy's, deem our inventory is correct and the fault was on the other end. What they do on their end I haven't a clue. All I know is I receive periodic updates and eventually a check is cut back to Macy's and no one gets in trouble.
I've heard horror stories of investigations never being solved. In my mind, this could go one of two ways. The inventory was still at the Kors facility or there was a miscount and Kent would find the boxes. The more I thought about it though, twenty-nine missing boxes seemed to be a little on the extreme side.
After I received the call back from Kent saying there was no way there was a mistake on our end, I alerted Amber and moved on to my next activity—my favorite task—going through the sample boxes. I know, it's a hard job, but someone has to do it!
With another successful workweek behind me, I was again ready for a date night with Alex. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I'd been for the first. Maybe it was because he'd said we were going somewhere more low key, or maybe I was more comfortable around him now. At work he always kept our relationship professional—no kissing or hugging, not that we'd done much of that anyways. The only difference was at the end of the day, he would walk me back to my car and give me a peck on the cheek before I headed home. We had gone out to lunch a few times, but, again, there hadn't been a whole lot of physical contact. After being with two very physical men over the last three years, it was nice not having any pressure to take our relationship to the next level. Not that affection from Ranger and especially Joe was a bad thing whatsoever. I just wasn't ready right now to explore more.
I was at the home improvement store picking up a few items for my cute little yard, and I'd just finished getting rung up. I was now a proud owner of a lawn mower, rake and a small tool set. I made the associate double make sure there were instructions for use and assembly for the lawn mower. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd driven him crazy enough to quit just so he wouldn't have to deal with me ever again. As I followed the same store associate I'd tortured with a million questions out to my car to load up the heavy items, my phone rang, and I felt the added skip to my step when I looked at the readout.
"Hey Alex," I answered.
"Hey, honey—listen change of plans," I felt my heart skip, and my walk slowed as if it would put off Alex canceling our date. "Do you have a pen and paper?" he asked.
"Hold on." I rummaged through my bag, wondering what the heck was going on. "Now I do."
"I'm not going to be able to pick you up, so write down this address—8111 Saint Martin's Lane. Meet me there at 6:30 okay? Don't forget—casual."
"Yeah, sure. I'll see you then."
"See you."
As soon as I got home, I pulled up the directions on the Internet. I wasn't all that familiar with the area, so I gave myself plenty of time to get there. As I was driving, I noticed I was going further and further into a residential area. It wasn't anything like the Brewerytown where I was living. This was a neighborhood full of giant family houses, plush green grass and huge trees. I parked my car on the side of the street and took a look to my left. There was another big house and right behind it looked like a country club of some sort. What was I getting myself into? I looked to my right, at 8111 Saint Martin's Lane and a groan escaped. There stood a gigantic, yet adorable, Tudor. Maybe this was his parents' house? He wasn't that much older than me so why would he need such a big house? He didn't have or want kids or a pack of dogs. He stated he was more of a career man than having a family would allow. Those words had sounded oh so familiar—just stated differently than what I'd heard in the past.
I rang the doorbell, and butterflies were fluttering at a manic speed in my stomach. Please don't let this be his parents' house. That would mean I would have to meet parents and this was only our second official date. But then again, if it wasn't his parents' house, that would mean it was his, and I really wasn't comfortable with that either.
I'd said I wanted to take our relationship slow. Obviously our 'slows' weren't the same speed. Thinking I should just turn around and leave, he answered the door holding a single red rose with a carnation tied together with a red ribbon and handed them to me. Oh God! Couldn't he have gotten any other color? And a carnation with it? It was Clyde and 'The Game' all over again. Where was the dog dart hiding?
More than likely taking the alarmed look on my face to be about our date at this location rather than it really being about the rose, he blurted out, "I thought a home meal and a movie would be lower key for you."
I couldn't bring myself to take the rose from him, and, in my nervous and spooked state, I side stepped him and let myself into his house. Get a grip Stephanie! He didn't know. Was I always going to associate that stupid flower combination with one of the most frightening nights of my life? No, I would allow this night to bring new meaning to a simple rose and carnation. After what probably seemed like an eternity it took me to get my bearings straight again, I turned back to Alex who was still standing in the doorway with a stunned look on his face.
"Yeah, of course. Sorry about that. Nerves ya know." I was completely out of my element. The idea of a homemade meal and a movie on the couch was low-key, but nothing about this house was low-key. The inside had six bedrooms and four baths then there was the outside with its oh so green and beautiful landscape. Almost like a fairy tale there was a huge patio and a pond with fish in it and a tree house. This would be the perfect house for a large family, and Alex had no intentions to produce more of his DNA.
"Why such a big house?" I asked after the tour.
"It was my grandparents, and my family didn't want to get rid of it. At the time I was the only one established in the area still, so I bought it to keep everyone happy. I'll go out of town, and my brother or sister's families will stay here."
Look on the bright side, I told myself. It isn't his parents' house. Why was I always finding myself drawn in by men that were levels above me? Ranger and Alex were both monetarily above me, while Joe was light years ahead of me on the maturity level. I cared more about the type of company I kept than the amount of money they had. So far Alex had been great company, opening up to me even though I had shared very little of me. I had covered the basics—family, friends and activities. I'd purposefully glossed over the details of past relationships and bounty hunting, but it was a start.
After a pleasant meal of 'low key', as Alex referred to it—barbequed chicken with a fresh salad and zucchini, we settled in to watch a movie. I ate a little of everything, but I probably would have preferred if there was no salad and if the zucchini was fried, but that's just me.
"How about Contraband?" Alex was asking for my option as he sifted through his newer movies.
Hmmmm, Mark Wahlberg—I was about to say yes, when I realized it was probably an action movie. What did Lula say about men and action movies? "You have anything funny?" Whew, the last thing I want is Alex's libido to go into overdrive and connect with my hungry hormones.
He was still going through the DVD case. "How about Friends with Benefits?"
"No, definitely not that one." Never seen it, but the title was enough for me.
"Here, I've got it," Alex said, as he made his way over to the entertainment center. He put the movie into the high tech system and turned around to flash me the cover to Horrible Bosses.
Laughing, "Okay, but don't get any ideas."
I'd made myself comfortable on the left side of the couch—apparently too comfortable— because I woke to Alex's voice and feeling like an earthquake was rumbling through.
"Steph."
I was in the middle of sleeping and wasn't conscience enough to respond. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the blank TV screen.
"Stephanie!" Alex's voice broke through into my head, and the tone he used had me on full alert as if something was wrong. I can't believe I fell asleep. I didn't even realize I was that tired or that comfortable.
"What?" I asked, swiping dampness from my cheeks. I groaned. I was drooling.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking concerned.
"Yeah, why?" What was with guys? Just because you fall asleep while you are over at their house doesn't mean that anything is wrong with you.
"Because you were crying." He sounded bothered by that. Ah, men, they're all the same when it comes to tears.
"Hunh—must have been a dream." Not one that I was remembering, thankfully. I needed to make an exit. Must not have been drool on my face, must have been tears. "Now that I'm awake, I should head out. I'm sorry for falling asleep during the movie."
"It's alright." He was rubbing my back soothingly. "Honey, are you sure you're going to be okay? The dream didn't sound like a happy dream."
"I'll be fine. Thank you for a great meal, Alex." I placed a small kiss on his cheek and started toward the door. Right as I was about to open it, Alex grabbed my arm, and instinctively I ripped my arm out of his grasp. Realizing he wasn't grabbing me in an offensive way, I gave him a look pleading for him not to question my reaction.
"Steph, one day we're going to have to talk about your past." He was giving me the same pleading, possibly hurt, look right back.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed—a loud, long and exasperated sigh. "I know. One day."
Inside my head was screaming you aren't supposed to be holding back. That's what got you into trouble last time! After the attack from my conscience, I added, "I promise." I gave Alex one more hug and went to kiss his cheek when he moved his face so my lips met his. Suddenly the gentle embrace became a little tighter. He made a move to make the kiss into more, and I pulled back.
"Goodnight Alex"
"Night Steph," he sighed.
As I made my way down the tan paver path that led to the street, I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss and hug. There wasn't anything to be afraid of, but it felt different—almost territorial.
Halfway down the walkway, I heard Alex's voice from not far behind me. When I turned around he was right in front of me.
"Who's Joe?"
Uh oh. "Why?" My uneasiness was evident in my voice.
"You were calling for this Joe when you were dreaming. Did this guy hurt you?" Alex said Joe's name with nothing but disdain.
No, mostly the opposite happened. I hurt him. The almost accusing tone Alex used pissed me off immediately.
"No. Joe is a BIG part of that past we haven't talked about." My tone was snippy.
He made a move to grab my arm again-what was with this man? "Let's go talk about that past." He said just as snippy.
"No." I shook my head and released myself from his grasp. "I said one day, and that isn't today. But I promise someday you'll know everything."
"Fine," he let out in a rush of air. "Call me when you get home, so I know you got there safe?"
I nodded and quickly got in my car. When I got home, I decided I wasn't ready to talk to Alex, so I texted him instead.
Home. Had fun, turning in for night. Thanks.
After the disastrous date with Alex, the workweek went by way too slowly. Nothing new had come of the Kors investigation, and I was doing all my normal ordering, inventory and sample checks. I loved my job, but I couldn't help but feel something was missing. I didn't have enough time to figure out what that was. There was far too much stuff to be done, so I could head out on time Friday to go see my family. I was rushing to the fax machine, and I wasn't watching where I was going—too occupied with making sure all my paperwork was in order. Consequently, I slammed into a well-kept body.
Oomph!
"Sorry, I'm so sorry. Jeez, I'm really sorry," I said frantically, while trying to gather all my papers. Now they were definitely going to be out of order. I didn't have time for this!
Hands came into view and started putting the papers together. "Calm down," Alex laughed.
I glanced up from my papers. "Hey," I said softly, "Sorry about that."
"No need to be. You're always apologizing. Listen, I wanted to apologize for the other night. I tried to earlier this week, but you wouldn't answer my calls."
"Yeah I know, I'm—" I was ready to apologize again, but stopped as he waved his hand.
"I understand, and I'll try my best not to push you again." He paused, unsure of how to go on but forged ahead, "It's just hard when I've told you so much about myself, and I know so little of you. I want to get to know you better."
"My past isn't all hunky dory like yours, okay? It's complicated. There are things in my past I am still working through," I stated testily.
I was still upset with the tone he'd used that night. I could understand his reaction, but my brain was holding a grudge against the accusation. Calming myself, I continued, "As soon as I'm ready, I promise you'll know more about me."
"So will you go to lunch with me tomorrow?"
Shaking my head I said, "Working through lunch tomorrow so I can head out early."
"That's right. You're going to your parents for the weekend, right?"
"Yes. I'll be back by Sunday evening."
"Have fun. Call me if you need anything." He brushed a soft kiss on my cheek and headed back to his office.
Right as I got out the door from work I got the call I'd been eagerly awaiting from Mark, Marisa's husband. Marisa had given birth, and they were now proud parents to another little girl named Sophia. I decided to go see Marisa and Sophia instead of heading to Trenton. I'd leave Saturday morning instead. I quickly called my mom to let her know the change in plans, so she wouldn't send out the search and rescue team. She was disappointed but glad I wasn't canceling my plans completely.
Saturday was a blur. I didn't get the chance to meet up with Lula and Connie, but called and promised next time I was in the Burg they would be the first I would see. I did, however, make sure I hit Tasty Pastry. And I spent the majority of my time with my mother without even getting a nasty case of the eye twitch. We talked about everything and nothing. We met up with Valerie and the girls at the park for a picnic lunch and then headed over to Mr. Alexander's. I still didn't trust anyone else with my hair, and I was long overdue for a cut. While Mr. Alexander was taming the beast, my mother got a manicure. It was so nice to see her relaxed around me. Usually I brought on anxiety in her, and we never found anything in common to talk about.
Sunday arrived all too soon, and I was taking Grandma with me to Philadelphia so she would have her appointment on Monday. Mom and Dad would pick her up Tuesday. Halfway home, I got a call from Alex. He'd tried calling me twice over the weekend. I'd wanted to spend time with my family instead of having my ear glued to the phone, so I hadn't answered. I'd felt badly for the way I'd left things on Friday, so I agreed to lunch with him. I was bringing Grandma though. She'd let me know what she really thought.
"You must be Edna," Alex said, taking my grandmother's hand in his and shaking it, "I'm Alexander MacLaine, but I prefer Alex."
"Nice to meet you, sonny. Stephanie wasn't kidding. You are mighty handsome."
Alex's eyes darted to mine, and I felt myself blush. He stepped closer to me and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "Glad you're back."
"So you're some big head honcho with Stephanie's company, huh?" Grandma asked Alex.
"Yes, I am," he replied.
"That's why you're all stiff, and I don't mean that in a good way." This was the Grandma I knew and loved. I didn't say anything to quiet her spirit. After all, she never did mine.
Alex and Grandma kept most of the conversation going throughout lunch. Not surprisingly Grandma would have some comment that came out of left field, and I would watch for Alex's reaction. At the first few comments, his eyes would goggle out of his head, but by the time lunch was over, he seemed to take anything she'd say in stride.
Alex tried to talk to her about her appointment tomorrow, but, as she did with me, she would brush off his concern, saying, 'It's just the damn arthritis. Stop worrying so much.'
Overall lunch was a success, and when I asked Grandma her opinion on Alex, she said she needed to see a little more of him before she could get a good enough feel.
It was the last day of the month. Between all the end of month reports and Dave out sick, I was running myself ragged. I'd dropped off Grandma Mazur that morning for her doctor's appointment on my way to work, giving her my numbers for when I needed to pick her up. She still wouldn't go into detail about what the appointment was for. The less she wanted to talk about it the more concerned I got. I noticed her using the same defense mechanisms I'd used when I didn't want to talk about something. Walking away, acting like she hadn't heard me and turning up the TV.
I'd been on a conference call and had my 'do not disturb' sign on my closed door when Jessica, Alex's assistant, emailed me: High Importance-Alex needs to see you ASAP. I'd told Jessica about Grandma's situation before I got on my call and told her to interrupt me if she heard from Grandma Mazur. Other than that, I wouldn't be available. As soon as I saw the email, my heart started to beat out of my chest. I felt my heart beat in my ears it was so hard. I wound down my call as fast as I could and practically ran to Jessica's office. Her office was set up much like Connie's at the bail bonds office—her desk was in front of Alex's door.
Seeing my frantic expression, Jessica asked, "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean what's wrong? Did Grandma call?" I asked as if she was stupid.
"No, I would have told you. I said Alex needed to see you," she said with her usual attitude towards me.
"Oh, thank God."
Finally my heartbeat started to slow down to an almost normal pace—that is until Jessica knocked on Alex's door. I was close enough to hear muffled conversation. My heart was back to the million beats per minute of moments ago, and I felt nervous beads of sweat beginning at my arms and feet along with unmentionable parts in-between. There was definitely a man in Alex's office. His voice was deeper, and his timbre soothed my soul. There was only one person I'd ever known that could make me feel like that just by hearing his voice.
It couldn't be.
