by J. S. Cooper
“What do you think Gloria would’ve done if she’d heard me say big cock?” Lilian said with a giggle.
“She would’ve fired you,” I said.
And Shantal nodded. “Yep, you definitely would’ve been fired.”
“At least I would’ve been able to date Sebastian then,” Lilian said with a smile. “So do you know where we’re going to go, Shantal?
“Um, seeing as you guys are new, and we’re all kind of broke, I was thinking we could go to Harpoon Hurricanes. It’s this cool little bar about five minutes from here, and tonight they have $2 cocktails.”
“Two-dollar cocktails. Really?” I stared at her in surprise. “I’ve never heard of a place that has $2 cocktails.”
“Trust me, you’ll like it,” Shantal said. “I know all the good places with all the good deals.”
“Okay. Well, let me text my friend, Susie, and tell her where to meet us.”
“Sounds good,” Shantal said. “And oh, yeah, of word of advice, you guys.”
“I’m always open for advice,” Lilian said.
“Yes, please,” I added. “I need all the advice I can get.”
“If you ever get asked to do any work for Mr. Winchester, try to get out of it. He’s known for being a total slave driver.” She shuddered. “I’ve never had to work for him, and no one I know has had to work for him. But everyone that has worked for him doesn’t last at the company long. So if you need a paycheck …” She made a face.
“Oh, no,” I said.
“Uh-oh. What is it?”
“I got assigned to his executive team.”
“You did?” Shantal’s jaw dropped. “How is that even possible?”
“What do you mean?”
“No one gets assigned to the executive team unless they’ve been working here for at least a year. Especially not a temp. Wow, that’s crazy.” She looked at me. “Do you have connections or something?”
“No. I just got the job through ABC Temps,” I shrugged. “I mean, this isn’t even the job I was actually applying for.”
“Oh. What job were you applying for?”
“You guys really don’t want to know.” I bit my lip as we walked down the street.
“Yeah, we do. Tell us.”
“So I kind of was applying for the head of marketing position.”
“Ouch!” Shantal made a face. “You applied for head of marketing and they made you a temp instead. Wow, you must have crazy degrees and experience, huh?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Literally one bachelor’s degree and not much experience. But I figured I know social media, right?”
“What?” Shantal’s jaw dropped. “You’re joking.”
“No. What’s that saying? You lose all the bets you don’t make.”
“Never heard of that one before,” Lilian said cheerfully. “So, Shantal, she shouldn’t take the job in the executive office?”
“I mean, it’s unlikely that you’re going to work directly for Mr. Winchester. He has an EA and his EA has an EA and his EA’s EA has an EA. So you’ll most probably be in a supporting role to one of them. But,” she shrugged, “good luck.”
“I know,” I groaned. “I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be great, especially because I have to go to another day of training tomorrow with Gloria. So I can’t stay out long, and I can’t get drunk because I have to be here on time. I’m probably going to have to take copious notes and actually pay attention.
“You got this girl,” Lilian said. “Trust me. If anyone’s got this, you got it.”
“Really?” I stared at her in surprise. “I thought I’d been one of the least attentive people in the day’s training. Certainly not anyone that would make another new employee think that I was one of the best.”
“I mean, I’m trying to be positive for you.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m nervous. I can’t afford to lose this job.”
“Positive mental attitude, girl. You haven’t lost anything,” Shantal patted my arm. “And a word of advice.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t let Gloria goad you into saying or doing anything that you can’t back up.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” she said. “Trust me, you’ll see.”
Seven
“Don’t look now,” Susie said as she leaned forward.
“What?”
“But the guy that we saw the other day, he’s at the bar.”
“No way.” This time, I knew better than to actually turn around and look. I definitely did not want to make eye contact with the green-eyed, cocky bastard I had now seen three times.
“What are you girls whispering about?” Shantal asked as Susie sat back.
“So,” Susie grinned, “You want to tell them, or should I?”
“I’m not going to say anything. There’s nothing to say.” I looked around at my friends innocently.
“Okay, spill the tea,” Lilian said. “I need some good information.”
“There’s nothing—”
“There’s a guy that’s got the hots for Marcia,” Susie said, laughing.
“No, he doesn’t!” I objected, but Lilian cut me off.
“Ooh, tell me more,” she leaned in, looking eager. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
“Trust me, I haven’t. It’s not anything. We went to have a drink a couple of nights ago, and there was this guy at the bar who was trying to interrupt our conversation, and I told him, ‘Butt out, I’m not interested.’ Then we were sitting at a table and he happened to come over because I left my credit card there. Once again, nothing happened. And then I was walking down the street yesterday and I bumped into him again.”
“Wow, talk about serendipity,” Shantal said. “So, did you guys exchange numbers? Did you—”
“No, we did nothing. He was really cocky, really full of himself—”
“Marcia, you don’t even know him,” Susie said. “She’s not giving him a chance because her last boyfriend was really good-looking and a douche bag and a cheat, so now she’s scared to date someone really good-looking.”
“Ooh, so he’s really good-looking, is he?” Lilian said.
“Yeah, he’s really good looking and he’s at the bar right now,” Susie said.
“Ooh, where?” Both Shantal and Lilian looked towards the bar.
“Guys, you’re making it so obvious.”
“Um, sorry,” Lilian said with a wicked grin. “Which one is he?”
Susie looked towards the bar and frowned. “Oh, well, I guess he’s gone.”
“Or maybe you didn’t see him,” I grumbled.
“Trust me, I saw him, and he definitely noticed you. I saw him looking over here.”
“Oh, my gosh. I think this guy might be stalking me.”
“Oh my gosh, I just had an awful thought.” Susie’s expression suddenly became serious.
“What is it?”
“So, what if he is a bill collector?”
“What?” I looked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Girl, didn’t you say that you haven’t paid one of your credit card bills for a few months?”
“Yeah, but I called them and I told them I’m going to make a payment as soon as I get my first paycheck, and they said that’s fine. They’ve got me on some plan. They said if I don’t make the payment then they’re going to send me to collections, which would suck, but I told them I should get my first paycheck in a couple of weeks, and they said as long as I pay by then it’s going to be okay.”
“Oh, okay,” Susie said. “Well, I mean, you always hear about how sometimes these debt collection agencies send people.”
“Oh, my God, that would just be my luck,” I sighed. “Anyway, I’m going to go to the restroom. I’ll see you guys in a second, okay?”
“Don’t get lost,” Lilian said.
“I’ll try not to,” I laughed and then looked at my watch. “And I should most probably get going right after
that. I need to get my outfit ready for tomorrow and I really need to get a good night’s sleep, because I cannot afford to be late.”
“Aw, you don’t want to stay for one more drink?” Lilian said.
“No. I’m going to go to the restroom, and then I’ll come back and chat for a little bit, but then I’ll leave.”
“Okay.”
I got up and made my way through the bar. It was absolutely packed. I assumed that was because they had a crazy special on their drinks for women, and the even crazier part was that they were using top-shelf liquor, as well. I had a feeling it was because they were attracting so many businessmen who were willing to pay crazy prices for the cocktails. I looked around for the restroom and I saw a line of women at the far back and I assumed that was where it was. I made my way to the back when I felt some fingers tapping on my arm. I looked up in surprise and that’s then I saw him, Green Eyes himself.
“Are you following me?” I asked him before he could say anything.
“No. I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“You were about to ask me if I was following you?”
“Yeah. You keep showing up everywhere I am.”
“Uh-huh. Well, trust me, I’m not following you. In fact, I think it’s kind of creepy that in a city this big, you seem to choose every bar that I go to and you just seem to be everywhere.”
“Well, New York City isn’t the largest city in the world. Perhaps we just like to frequent the same places.”
“Perhaps.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Anyway, can I help you?”
“Just wanted to see what a hotshot marketing guru was doing in a bar like this.”
“I’m just having some drinks with my friends. You?”
“I just came to have a drink before I went back to the office to do some work, actually.”
“You work in an office?” I looked him up and down. He was wearing a denim shirt with jeans. “Don’t tell me you’re on Wall Street?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Not on Wall Street.” There was a twinkle in his eyes that I found hard to resist. “So,” he said, pausing slightly. “How long have you been a president at Winchester Enterprises?”
“Why are you so concerned about my job? I don’t ask you about yours.”
“I guess I’ve always been intrigued by women in powerful positions, and I’d love to know—”
“Dude, really? Is this your best pickup line?”
“My best pickup line?” He looked affronted. “Really? You think I’m trying to pick you up?”
“Let’s be real here. You don’t give a shit about what it’s like for me to be in a position of power.”
“I actually am very interested.”
“Really? Or are you just trying to figure out my relationship with Finn Winchester?”
“Your relationship with Finn Winchester? I didn’t know you had one.”
“Well, obviously, he and I are very close, because I’m president of his company, and—”
“Oh, I guess that wasn’t obvious to me, but please, do tell me more. What’s he like?”
“What—what’s he like?” I stammered. I wasn’t sure why I had brought it up again. Maybe because I wanted him to feel intimidated. Maybe because I wanted him to feel like I knew men who were much more powerful than him, so he should back off.
“Yeah, I mean, if he’s your boss and, from what I’m now gathering, your friend.”
“He’s really into mountaineering.”
“He’s really into mountaineering? Oh.”
“Yeah. He loves to climb mountains. He was just at Everest and he was also at—” I paused, trying to think of another mountain.
“What mountain?”
“Mount Sinai.”
“He was at Mount Sinai? Interesting. Where is that again?” He looked at me. I had a feeling he knew that I had absolutely no idea where Mount Sinai was, but maybe he didn’t know, either. I was going to call his bluff.
“Mount Sinai is in Australia. Yeah, he loves Australia. He goes there quite frequently because his aunt actually lives in Australia now.”
“Oh, really?” The man’s lips were twitching. “His aunt lives in Australia, huh?”
“Yep, and he likes to visit her because he also likes kangaroos. That’s actually his favorite animal. Please don’t tell the press that, or he will know it came from me.”
“Oh, so you’re the only one that knows that Finn Winchester, CEO of the multi-billion-dollar Winchester Enterprises’ favorite animal is a kangaroo?”
“Yes, because he told me one night late when we were working in the office on a very important project.”
“Oh. Well, you see, this has been very insightful for me. So, he’s climbed Mount Everest. He’s climbed Mount Sinai. And he has an aunt in Australia that he likes to visit frequently because he loves kangaroos?”
“Well, I mean, it’s not just because he loves kangaroos. I mean, he also loves other animals, and he’s just really into Australia and, um, Tim Tams.”
“Tim Tams?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. He’s just really … Anyway, I just don’t have time to talk about this with you right now.”
“Aw, too bad. So, what’s your name?”
“You already know my name.”
“I know, but I thought we could introduce ourselves as if we’re meeting for the first time. I mean, maybe you could formally tell me your name, Marcia?”
“You literally just said my name.”
“Okay, but …” He shrugged. “I was just trying to be polite.”
“Dude, I don’t even know what your problem is.”
“Marcia, I don’t know what your problem is. You seem to have an attitude with me. Did your last boyfriend look just like me or something?”
“No. Why?”
“Because that’s frankly the only reason why I could think that you’re being like this with me.”
“How am I being?”
“I mean you’re being quite combative.”
“How am I being combative? It’s not like I hit you.”
“True, you didn’t. But I’m just trying to talk to you. We’re both at a bar. We’re both single.”
“You don’t know if I’m single or not, and I certainly don’t know if you’re single or not.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” He looked at my lips. “Do you think I’d be chatting you up if you weren’t single or if I wasn’t single?”
“Well, you don’t know if I’m single, and you’re a man, and lots of men chat up women whether they’re single or not.”
“So that’s the issue, huh?”
“That’s what issue?”
“Your last boyfriend cheated on you.”
“I don’t know where you’re getting that from.”
“I’m a very good reader of people, Marcia.”
“Okay, well, good for you.”
“There’s something about you, you know?”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He took my hand. “There’s just something about you.”
“Why are you holding my hand?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to play mercy.”
“Really? How old are you?”
“Are you asking because you want to know, or are you asking because you think I’m immature for suggesting we play mercy?”
“I don’t know, maybe you’ll ask me to play tic-tac-toe next.”
“I actually find tic-tac-toe to be quite an enjoyable game, don’t you?”
“This is absolutely ridiculous. I was going to the restroom, and then I need to go home, so as much as I’ve enjoyed this conversation—”
“Give me your number.”
“Sorry, what?” I blinked.
“If you’ve really enjoyed this conversation, give me your number.”
“I was just being polite. I didn’t actually enjoy this conversation.”
“Do you think I’m attractive?”
“No,” I
lied.
“Liar.”
“Excuse me?”
“I think you’re a liar, Marcia.”
“Why, because I said I don’t find you attractive?”
“Among other things,” he grinned.
I didn’t even bother to ask what he meant by that. He seemed the sort who liked to play games, and I was not interested in playing games, even though he was most probably one of the sexiest men I’d ever seen in my life and I’d have loved to kiss him.
Fine, I admitted to myself. I wanted to kiss him.
But I wouldn’t sleep with him because I wasn’t the sort of person that could sleep with a man without catching feelings, and I definitely didn’t want to catch feelings for Green Eyes. No thank you. Nope. I just needed to get out of the bar and pray that I never saw him again.
“So, Marcia?”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to know my name?”
I stared at him, considering the question. I did want to know his name, but knowing his name would make it too hard. Once I knew his name, I’d be able to Google him. I’d be able to find him on Facebook and everywhere else and figure out who he was and what he was doing with his life. And once I got in deep like that, then I would want to get to know him better, and he would be someone real to me instead of some stranger I just saw in the streets every now and again.
“No,” I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Okay, then. You’re honest about one thing, at least.”
“I’m a very honest person, thank you very much.”
“I’m sure you are,” he grinned. “I’m sure you are. Well, I guess I’ll bid you adieu, Marcia Lucas.”
“My whole name? You know my whole name?”
“You know that. I gave you back your credit card.”
“You didn’t have to read my credit card.”
“For that, I’m sorry. But don’t worry, I didn’t memorize the credit card number. Don’t worry, I won’t be spending your sixty grand.”
“My sixty grand? What are you—” And then I remembered the lie I told about my credit line. “Well, just so you know, if I see any charges on the credit card that I didn’t make, I’m going to blame you.”
“Okay, then,” he nodded. “Well, have a good evening with your friends, Ms. Lucas. Until we meet again.” He gave a little bow as if he were a butler in an old movie, and I couldn’t help smiling. He was funny, I’d give him that.
