by Susan Rohrer
♥ ♥ ♥
Across town, Charlie sat quietly at his Virtually Mine Operator’s station, staring at Kate’s picture. He recalled what she’d said about love. Could it be? Inspired, he picked up his desk phone and dialed, once again adopting Brad’s country boy twang.
Charlie listened to Kate’s outgoing message, enjoying the cadence of her voice. He knew she wasn’t there and how much she enjoyed coming home to find the light blinking on her answering machine. Via the disguise of a phone call, he would give her what she’d bargained for and more. He would pour out every unapologetically affectionate thought that crossed his ever-loving mind.
“Hey, Katie-girl,” he started. “Sorry I missed you; but I was just thinkin’ of you...which for me has become a constant state of affairs these days. I know this whole imaginary thing is, well, it is what it is, but somehow... It’s just that my real heart’s got itself wrapped so far around you I’m not sure what to do.”
It was easy for Charlie to get lost in talking to Kate, so easy that he almost didn’t notice that Samantha had slipped up behind him, only the scent of her perfume giving her presence away.
Charlie glanced back. He caught Samantha’s eye, then quickly turned back to the phone. “I, uh...I gotta go for now, Katie, but listen for me. I’ll be callin’ again soon.”
Charlie put the receiver back on its cradle and turned to Samantha sheepishly.
Sam studied him. “You are quite good. I’ve obviously underestimated you. Close my eyes and I’d have been charmed myself.”
Charlie wasn’t sure whether or not to take this as praise. “Really?”
“No wonder she re-upped this morning, bumped to the deluxe level to boot.”
Stunned, Charlie rose. “She did?”
Sam’s complimentary tone took on a decided chill. “Which would have pleased me no end had I not received three complaints from Archie’s clients who haven’t heard so much as a peep from you. Explanation?”
Charlie grappled with what to say. Indeed, he’d spent a fair amount of time looking over Archie’s files. He’d sent out some cards, emails, and gifts. It’s just that he hadn’t exactly serviced them with phone calls yet. “I’ve been, uh...developing a plan,” he explained, “a strategy, you know...catered specifically to the profiles of—”
“Make the calls.” With that, Samantha steamed away.
Turning back to his desk, Charlie reached for Archie’s stack of files. He flipped the first one open, then skipped to the second, wondering how on God’s green earth he could muster up interest in calling anyone other than Kate.
♥ ♥ ♥
As Wissy trained her camera on Eric’s audition with Judy, Eric could tell it was going well, at least for him. Judy was nothing to jump up and down about, but there was no mistaking that Wissy was firmly in his corner.
Judy referred to her script. “Michael. I’m... Listen, I’m really sorry, but could you excuse me?”
As Judy walked away, Wissy stepped from behind the lens. “Judy, thanks. Eric, could you hang outside for me?”
“Sure.” There it was, Eric exuded. Just as he’d thought. As he waited outside the door, Eric’s confidence grew.
Soon, Wissy emerged, leaning close so as not to be overheard. “Eric, that was excellent.”
“Did you want me to stay and read with someone else?”
Wissy checked around secretively. “Actually, it’s all very hush-hush, but this casting director I’m working for, I’m thinking you could be right for a film she’s just starting.”
Impressed, Eric took the bait. “Really?”
Wissy smiled coyly and extended her card. “Here’s my number. The script is under lock and key, but if you wanted to swing by my apartment Saturday night and read over my shoulder, let’s just say that I wouldn’t stop you.” With an inviting look, Wissy went back into the casting studio and closed the door behind herself.
Eric gazed at Wissy’s card, and then pitched it into the trash. She was another Samantha Raznick in the making. This time he would dodge that bullet. As he stopped to sign out, he noticed Kate’s picture and information card lying on the studio’s table. She was really pretty. Sweet, too, he remembered. Quickly, he grabbed a pencil and jotted down Kate’s number and address.
♥ ♥ ♥
Still outside the casting studios, Kate keyed a password into her cell to check her machine at home. An incredulous look crossed her face as she retrieved a message from Brad, at least whoever the real guy was, the one operating under Eric’s facade. She listened as her Imaginary spoke:
“I know this whole imaginary thing is—well, it is what it is—but somehow...it’s just that my real heart’s got itself wrapped so far around you I’m not sure what to do.”
Even knowing he couldn’t hear her, Kate talked back to her machine. “You’re not Eric. Who are you?”
The message continued. “I, uh...I gotta go for now, Katie, but I’ll be callin’ again soon.”
A beep signaled the end of the message. Kate saved the message, and then put the phone away, her resolve building. “Not if I get to you first.”
Kate’s timing wasn’t always perfect, but as providence would have it on this particular day, it was nigh on impeccable. Kate checked around the corner just in time to see Eric as he exited the casting studios. She dropped behind a bushy hibiscus, watching as he got into his car.
Kate looked at her scooter helplessly and scanned the nearby street. There was no way she could keep up. Frustratingly, the only cab around wasn’t in service. A portly cabbie sat in the front, downing a submarine sandwich. Kate jumped into the back seat, as much to hide from Eric’s departing car as to commandeer the cab.
His mouth half full, the cabbie shook his head. “No can do. I’m carbo-loading.”
“There’s a fat tip in it for you.” Kate reached for her wallet.
At that, the cabbie put his lunch aside and started his engine. “I do hear Atkins is good.”
Kate tracked Eric’s car intently as it motored down the street. “Just don’t lose that guy.”
ten
♥
When it came to sneezes, there were two types of women. There were demure sneezers like Kate, whose daintily pitched ka-choos bordered on amusing. Then, there were the window-rattling explosions that erupted out of M.J., no matter how hard she tried to stifle them. Alone in her apartment except for the two dogs jumping excitedly at her feet, M.J. sneezed to high heaven.
M.J. reached into her closet for a jacket. “Alright, already. I’m coming. But could I please just put on a—” Another sneeze reverberated through the apartment. Neither Shortie nor ChaCha (the name M.J. had taken to calling the scrawny part Chihuahua) seemed to notice at all as she scratched at her spreading case of hives. “I’m fine, Guys. No problem. Just reminds me to dose.” With that M.J. downed a couple of allergy caps.
By the time Freddie had joined M.J.’s dog walking brigade, M.J. was feeling better. Whether it was the meds kicking in or the open air of the park, she didn’t know. But with Freddie, Shortie, and ChaCha prancing along on their leashes ahead of her, M.J.’s assurance grew. She was multitasking, she thought. She was legit. She was walking three dogs, getting some exercise, and talking to Kate on her cell, all at the same time.
“I’m following him,” she heard Kate exude.
M.J. adjusted the phone at her ear. “What do you mean, you’re following him? I thought you said he’s not the guy.”
“Yes, but he said he’s going to the Virtually Mine headquarters and their address is unlisted.”
“Possibly for this very reason.”
“I’m just going to see where it’s located,” Kate explained. “The real guy behind the model works there.”
Catching sight of a nearby squirrel, Freddie began to bark.
“I think I heard stalking was upgraded to felony status in California,” M.J. quipped.
“What, are you worried that Rob’s going to turn you in?”
Suddenly, F
reddie, Shortie, and ChaCha were all straining at their leashes, anxious to get at the squirrel. M.J. did her best to control them. “Hey, I’m working for the guy. That’s different.”
“So, maybe I’ll apply for a job at Virtually Mine,” Kate answered.
Freddie led the charge as M.J.’s canine club yanked free of her grasp. Abruptly, M.J. pocketed her cell and gave chase to the scattering dogs, their red nylon leashes trailing behind them. “Freddie come back! Shortie, ChaCha, no!”
Though Freddie remained intent upon the squirrel, Shortie and ChaCha high-tailed it in two different directions. With no time to make a decision, M.J. ran after Freddie, who leapt right over a picnic table where two old gents were playing checkers, scattering their game-pieces everywhere.
“Sorry!” M.J. bolted onward, crashing into a jogger.
“Watch it!” the jogger groused.
“Freddie, wait!” M.J. cried.
Finally, the squirrel that had started the whole melee skittered up a tree in the center of a garden. Freddie attempted to follow, leaping at the tree trunk, barking repeatedly at his fluffy-tailed prey.
Seeing her chance, M.J. followed Freddie into the flowerbed and dove onto the bare dirt to snatch his leash. Filthy, she rose and held the leash up, shouting victoriously. “There! Got ya! I am still M.J. Poster, Dog Walker Extraordinaire!”
As if on cue, the sprinkler system started with a vengeance, dousing M.J. and Freddie completely.
♥ ♥ ♥
Still riding in the cab, Kate listened closely to M.J.’s abandoned phone line. “M.J.? Where’d you go?”
The cabbie glanced back at Kate in his rear-view mirror. “He’s parking. You want out here?”
“Oh! Yeah. Thanks.”
With that, the cabbie pulled over to the curb. Kate paid him the fat tip she’d promised and exited the cab, scooter in hand. She ducked out of sight as Eric fed his parking meter just up the block, then watched as he entered a swanky high-rise office building.
This was it, she realized. These were the offices of Virtually Mine.
Stealthily, Kate peered through the tinted front windows, tracking Eric as he boarded an elevator. As soon as the door glided shut, Kate entered the lobby, carrying her scooter. She studied the passing floors’ lights above the elevator as they illuminated, marking Eric’s upward progress.
The security guard at the desk broke Kate’s concentration. “Is there something I can help you with, Miss?”
Kate wasn’t one to lie, even to fib very often, but given the back-against-the-wall circumstances, she rationalized. She would treat this situation as an improvisational exercise, like Antonio had often suggested in acting class. He had said that they should practice in real life, and Kate decided to do just that.
Reaching back to her Virginia roots, Kate turned on her Southern charm as she twisted toward the guard. “Me...uh, yes, I hope so. I’m just in from Virginia, and it’s my boyfriend’s birthday. I brought him this scooter, but shhhhh! ‘Cause it’s a big surprise an’ all. He works in this buildin’ at a place called Virtually Mine. You know where that is, Sweet Pea?”
The guard pointed Kate toward the building’s directory. “Nothing here by that name.”
Kate quickly scanned the board. There it was: V.M. Enterprises, with Samantha Raznick’s name and the suite number listed right beside it.
Kate spun back to the guard winningly. “That’s it. V.M. Enterprises, third floor. And me, I’m so completely goofy that I went and called it by the wrong name.”
The security guard eyed Kate, clearly softening. “I’m not really supposed to let anyone I don’t know onto that elevator without checking ahead.”
Kate eased toward the stairway. “Believe me, I understand completely. Rules are rules. I’ll go run up these stairs instead and thank you for the exercise. Just remember...” With a playful flick of the wrist, Kate locked her lips, and then glided through the stairwell door.
As unobtrusively as she could, Kate padded through the daunting double doors and into the plushly appointed lobby of Virtually Mine. A name placard announced that stylishly dressed Levon Mink was the guy perched at the reception desk filing his nails. Levon cut his eyes only briefly to observe Kate’s arrival.
It was hard not to feel conspicuous in this place. For one thing, Kate realized that she was the only person in the room wearing a dress. The rest of the lobby was populated by an assortment of hunky guys, either leafing through magazines or checking their smart phones. Job applicants, Kate supposed. With things growing more awkward by the second, Kate drew a deep breath and gamely approached Levon. “I’m here to see Samantha Raznick.”
Levon raised his eyes dubiously at Kate. Other than his lids, he barely moved. “No, you’re not.”
Though she could tell her wiles weren’t cutting it with him, Kate smiled warmly. “It’s about the job.”
Levon resumed his nail filing. “Wrong again, Doll Face. She doesn’t do girls.”
“Excuse me?
“She hires guys. Exclusively.”
Kate pondered it for a moment, and then leaned into the desk confidentially. “Perhaps I should have introduced myself. My name is Katherine Mae, and I take it that Ms. Raznick has heard of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”
♥ ♥ ♥
Only too glad to be finished with his shift, Dustin removed his apron. His hopes of saying goodbye to the Doo-Wop Dinette had pretty much gone into the dumper after his whole no-vest callback debacle. He was also fairly sure that Wissy had moved onto passing her casting favors to Eric.
What Eric had that he didn’t was beyond Dustin’s grasp. All he knew was that he didn’t like the guy any more than the turn his life seemed to be taking. Clearly, something had fizzled for him with Kate, though he couldn’t imagine what on earth it was.
Dustin studied Reesa as she rang up an order for one of their regulars. As soon as the truck driver ambled out, Dustin sidled right up to Reesa. They exchanged an awkward glance or two before Dustin took it as his cue to speak. “Reesa, you’re a woman.”
Reesa closed the register drawer. “You had a fifty-fifty chance of getting that one right.”
Dustin lowered his voice. “Well, I was thinking about getting back with Kate.”
An amused grin curled on Reesa’s lips. “Casting babe shined you on, did she?”
Dustin nodded. “And trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.”
Reesa put her hands on her substantial hips. “And tell me, what is that? That lesson you learned.”
Dustin drummed his fingers on his cheek, completely stumped. He thought about it long and hard, then shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever. I just learned it. And I want to get back with Kate. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think it would be best for me.”
Reesa shook her head. “For you.”
“And Kate, too. Obviously.”
Reesa leaned back against the counter. “So, just what did you have in mind to do? To get her back.”
What to do, Dustin thought. What he needed was a plan, a sure-fire strategy. His face lit up as an idea struck. “Well, she seems to want me to know stuff about her. You wouldn’t by any chance know anything about her, would you?”
♥ ♥ ♥
Rob Galloway opened his front door. There stood a muddy, drenched M.J. with a sheepish smirk on her face.
Rob looked around for the other dogs as he let a still damp Freddie inside. “Wow. Where’s the rest of the pack?”
M.J. glanced back toward the park sheepishly. “Kind of on a spontaneous field trip. Freddie wasn’t so much on going, what with the bus ride and the name tags and... You totally know I’m lying, right?”
“I do.” In a way, it was a relief to Rob that M.J. fessed up. It saved him the trouble of calling her bluff. “Sussing out the real deal kind of goes with the therapist territory.”
M.J. shuffled uneasily. “Yeah. Okay, here’s the thing. I’m not a dog walker.”
“You aren’t.”
; “And there’s a fairly good chance that this is the extra meds talking and that I won’t remember much of this tomorrow, but I’m a Meter Maid. At least I was, till I saw you in the park and thought this might be a good way to meet you.”
Rob couldn’t help back-peddling a bit. “You invented a business with cards and dogs and—”
“Got fired from my job, don’t forget that,” M.J. added.
Rob looked at M.J. amazed. “You got fired?”
“I did,” M.J. nodded. “And what, you might ask, is the point anyway? I mean, A) You’re adorable. B) You’re completely out of my league, then C) I’m so freakishly allergic to your dog that I’m at risk of becoming a rampant over-the-counter drug addict and D)—”
“—and D),” Rob interjected, “I don’t own Freddie. I’m just taking care of him this month for a friend.”
Rob watched as M.J. rocked back in shock for a moment, and then started to edge away insecurely. “No, no. Erase, erase, erase. Freddie’s yours.”
Rob shook his head. “Uh-uh.”
A desperate look came over M.J.’s face. “He has to be. That way you can close that door and I can go pine about how our sweet, sad parting was totally about the dog and not about you rejecting me.”
“M.J...”
M.J. raised a hand to stop him. “There’s a fine line between tragic and pathetic, Rob. And I’m begging you, please. Let me stay on this side of it.”
♥ ♥ ♥
An assortment of Virtually Mine presents in his arms, Charlie stopped to look at the white velvet box one more time. There was the little gold heart necklace he could finally give to Kate, now that she’d signed up for the deluxe level. Affectionately, Charlie closed the velvet box and put it atop the stack of gifts he’d gathered.
